A geological, mineralogical, and geochemical characterization of the Tamame de Sayago (Zamora, Spain) deposit was carried out with the aim of knowing the conditions that facilitated the genesis in the same deposit of kaolinite and smectites. The alteration processes affecting a Variscan granite were deduced throughout the study of a very wide group of representative samples by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), chemical analyses of major, minor, and trace elements, as well as δ18O, δ34S stable isotope and K/Ar dating analyses. In addition, 2D and 2.5D graphs of the kaolinite and smectite isoconcentrations were obtained from core data. According to the color and texture, two different clayey rock types were identified and named as homogeneous alteration zones (ZAHO) and heterogeneous alteration zones (ZAHE). The ZAHO are regoliths in which the granite texture is preserved, and the feldspars are almost completely kaolinized. In the ZAHE, the original texture of the granitic rock is lost, and the main clay mineral is smectite. The mineralogical composition is similar, with kaolinite, smectite, mica, quartz, scarce feldspar, and occasionally natroalunite and APS (aluminum-phosphate-sulphate); however, the mineral concentration varies considerably because ZAHO are rich in kaolin areas whereas ZAHE are bentonitic areas. Both rock types contain numerous veins and nodules. The weathering of the Paleozoic granite alongside the absence of sedimentation during the Mesozoic led to the formation of kaolinite that is preserved in ZAHO materials. Nonetheless, during the Cretaceous–Tertiary transit, the conditions of tectonic stability varied. Late Variscan faults reactivated which allowed the percolation of Mg- and Ca-rich hydrothermal fluids through the already kaolinized granite, increasing the alteration of the primary silicates and leading to the formation of smectites in ZAHE materials. The amount of smectites is greater closer to the faults. The stable isotopes indicate the meteoric nature of the low-temperature hydrothermal fluids. The K/Ar data obtained from the natroalunite of veins indicate that those hydrothermal fluids circulated in different pulses from 66.4 ± 1.7 to 58.8 ± 1.5 Ma, as a minimum. Those ages are coincident with the first formation stages of the Duero Basin.

NGC 7293, the Helix nebula, represents one of the rare instances in which theoretical predictions of stellar evolution can be accurately tested against observations since the precise parallax distance and the velocity and proper motion of the star are well known. We present numerical simulations of the formation of the Helix PN that are fully constrained by the progenitor stellar mass, stellar evolution history, and star-interstellar medium (ISM) interaction. In the simulations, multiple bow-shock structures are formed by fragmentation of the shock front where the direct interaction of the stellar wind with the ISM takes place.

Intensive care units are technologically advanced environments that are designed to safeguard the patient while their vitals are stabilized for further treatment. Audible and visual alarms are part of the healthcare ecology. However, these alarms are so many that clinicians suffer from a syndrome called ‘alarm fatigue’ and often do not comply with the task alarm is conveying. Measuring compliance with rules in the workspace and determining the success of a system belongs to the field of ergonomics and is based on data collected through task observations and scoring. In this paper, we will explore compliance with critical alarms by not only from their potential success or failure perspective but also from the perspectives of the clinician capacity, needs, and motivations to comply with alarms in critical environments. We will finally, reflect on further possible design strategies to increase compliance in critical care that are beyond following rules per se but through intrinsic motivation.

We explore the circumstellar effects on the Li and Ca abundances determination in a complete sample of massive Galactic AGB stars. The Li abundance is an indicator of the hot bottom burning (HBB) activation, while the total Ca abundance could be affected by overproduction of the short-lived radionuclide 41Ca by the s-process. Li abundances were previously studied with hydrostatic models, while Ca abundances are determined here for the first time. The pseudo-dynamical abundances of Li and Ca are very similar to the hydrostatic ones, indicating that circumstellar effects are almost negligible. The new Li abundances confirm the (super-)Li-rich character of the sample Li-detected stars, supporting the HBB activation in massive Galactic AGB stars. Most sample stars display nearly solar Ca abundances that are consistent with predictions from the s-process nucleosynthesis models. A minority of the sample stars show a significant Ca depletion. Possible reasons for their (unexpected) low Ca content are given.

The formation process(es) of fullerenes in space is still uncertain and several mechanisms have been proposed in the literature. In particular, the most accepted idea to explain the simultaneous presence of fullerenes and PAH-like emission in the H-rich circumstellar envelopes of PNe is that these molecular species may be formed from the photochemical processing of a carbonaceous compound with a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic structures, which should be a major constituent of their circumstellar envelopes. Here we present seeing-limited narrow-band mid-IR GTC/CanariCam images of the fullerene-containing PN IC 418. The narrow-band images cover the 9−13, 11.3, and 17.4 μm emission features (and their adjacent continua) in this extended PN. We study the relative sub-arcsecond spatial distribution of the nebula in these filters with the intention of getting some clues about the formation process of fullerenes in H-rich circumstellar environments.

Large fullerenes and fullerene-based molecules have been proposed as carriers of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). The recent detection of the most common fullerenes (C60 and C70) around some Planetary Nebulae (PNe) now enable us to study the DIBs in fullerene-rich space environments. We have studied the presence of DIBs in the optical spectra (~3300-9400 Å) of two fullerene-containing PNe (Tc 1 and M 1-20). Special attention is given to DIBs which are found to be unusually intense in fullerene-containing PNe; several of these DIBS have not previously been reported. Fullerenes larger than C60 (and C70) and multishell fullerenes may be possible candidate carriers for the unusual DIBs seen in fullerene-rich environments.

The spectra of fullerenes C60 and C70, higher fullerenes C76, C78 and C84 and hydrogenated fullerenes (fulleranes) were studied in laboratory in the UV and in the visible spectral range and could be used for searching and recognizing these molecules in space. Furthermore, the radical cation spectra of all the mentioned fullerene series and also of a series of large and very large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were generated in the laboratory and studied in the near infrared spectral range.

We present and discuss carbon-rich compounds of astrochemical interest such as polyynes, acetylenic carbon chains and the related derivative known as monocyanopolyynes and dicyanopolyynes. Fullerenes are now known to be abundant in space, while fulleranes - the hydrogenated fullerenes - and other carbon-rich compounds such as very large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy petroleum fractions are suspected to be present in space. We review the synthesis, the infrared spectra as well as the electronic absorption spectra of these four classes of carbon-rich molecules. The existence or possible existence in space of the latter molecules is reported and discussed.

The effect of mesogenic organic salts as reinforcing fillers for natural rubber has been investigated. The influence of cation size (thallium and sodium) and organic chain length (thallium (I) pentanoate and dodecanoate) on the vulcanization parameters, physical and mechanical characteristics and rheological behavior has also been analyzed. In general, the maximum torque of the vulcanizates increases in the presence of the salts and is clearly manifested in a sensible increase in tensile modulus and strength of the composites. The reinforcing effect of these salts is noticeable in the natural rubber matrix. The thallium (I) salts are more effective reinforcements than the sodium salt, and the length of the organic chain hardly has any influence on the mechanical properties. The composites based on the thallium (I) dodecanoate salt show a very peculiar rheological behavior with a “plateau” in the G’ and G” vs temperature graphics which is related with solid phase I, existing between 83.5 ºC and 127 ºC, characterized as a plastic condis phase. This issue is especially interesting for the fabrication of devices such as sensors to control, for instance, the security (resistance of a material) as a function of temperature.

The aims of this Working Group are:

• • To ensure that scientific symposia on planetary nebulae take place regularly, ideally every 5 years. These symposia would preferably be sponsored by the IAU;

• • To organize and coordinate the Joint Discussions on the subject at the IAU General Assemblies. These discussions should address topics of interest not only to our Division VI but to other Divisions as well; and

• • To maintain a Web page with general information about the WG, the activities related to planetary nebulae, and the future meetings and symposia.

We present a complete study of the morphology of post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB) stars. The post-AGB stage is a very short evolutionary phase between the end of the AGB and the beginning of the Planetary Nebula (PN) stage (between 100 and 10,000 yrs). Post-AGB stars do not show variability and are not hot enough to fully ionize the hydrogen envelope. We have defined the end of the post-AGB phase and the beginning of the PN phase when the star has a temperature of 30000 K. Post-AGB stars have a circumstellar shell that is illuminated by the central stars or partially ionized. However, this circumstellar shell is too small to be resolved by ground-based observations. Thus, we have used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) database to resolve these shells. 117 post-AGBs were found in this database. Here we present the preliminary results on their morphological classification and the correlation with the galactic latitude. Our preliminary results show that 38% of the sample are stellar-like (S), 31% bipolar (B), 12% multipolar (M) and 19% elliptical (E).

GALEX (the Galaxy Evolution Explorer) has provided far-UV(1344-1786Å) and near-UV(1771-2831Å) imaging of several Planetary Nebulae (e.g., Bianchi et al. 2008, Bianchi 2012), with flux limits ~27.5 mag/sq.arcsec for objects in the Medium-deph Imaging Survey (MIS). PNe images in the GALEX broad-band UV filters include flux from both nebular line and continuum emission. We use the GALEX grism observing mode to obtain slitless spectral imaging of a sample of PNe with diameters >1′, in the near-UV. We show the first data from this program. The grism produces 2D images of the prominent UV nebular emission lines, when such lines dominate the flux. Combined with monochromatic images of diagnostic lines in the optical domain, such data help detect and interpret ionization and shock fronts, especially in faint nebular regions.

Fullerenes, the carbon molecules with 60 and 70 atoms, were recently detected in a series of planetary nebulae, in protoplanetary nebulae and in other astrophysical objects. The detection and the quantitative determination of these molecules was made possible by the measurement of their reference infrared spectra and the relative molar extinction coefficients and integrated molar absorptivity on laboratory scale. It is expected that also fulleranes the hydrogenated derivatives of C60 and C70 may be present in the same objects where fullerenes were detected. This prompted us to synthesize the hydrogenated fullerenes, to record their infrared spectra and the measure the molar extinction coefficients and integrated molar absorptivity on laboratory scale to have a reference in the search of these fullerene derivatives in space

A sample of ~150 compact Galactic PNe has been observed with the Spitzer/IRS spectrograph to characterize their dust properties. These PNe are likely to be at the onset of the PN evolutionary phase, and are therefore ideal for probing dust evolution. The molecular emission features in these Galactic PN spectra are similar to those found in our Magellanic Cloud sample, except that we found a sizable fraction of PNe with mixed-chemistry dust which are not observed in the Clouds. We also found that the distribution among dust types depends strongly on the metallicity of the parent population, implying that the metallicity of the progenitors affects the evolution of a PN from its early stages.