In this study, we use an integrative taxonomic approach to redescribe Schyzocotyle nayarensis (Malhotra, 1983) (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidae), based on newly collected specimens from the type-host Raiamas bola (Hamilton, 1822) (Cypriniformes: Danionidae) in Fulbari, Siliguri, West Bengal, India. The detailed morphological assessment, from whole mounts, histology and scanning electron microscopy, offers additional insights into the scolex structure, vitelline follicles, and egg morphology. Molecular data from this and previous studies corroborate the identity and systematics of S. nayarensis as a bothriocephalid closely related to the Asian Fish Tapeworm, Schyzocotyle acheilognathi (Yamaguti, 1934). This study elucidates the historical context and taxonomic ambiguities surrounding S. nayarensis, emphasizing the key role of the scolex in both generic and species identification. Amendments to the diagnosis of Schyzocotyle Akhmerov, 1960 are proposed. A differential diagnosis of the two valid species within the genus, namely S. acheilognathi and S. nayarensis, is also provided. An evaluation of the taxonomic status of Bothriocephalus teleostei Malhotra, 1984, and Capooria barilii Malhotra, 1985 suggests that they may be S. nayarensis. Finally, we posit that none of the ten species of Ptychobothrium Lönnberg, 1889 described from Indian freshwater teleosts belong to this genus but instead appear to be a mix of species belonging to Schyzocotyle, Senga Dollfus, 1934, and possibly even Proteocephalidae La Rue, 1911; all require further study based on newly collected, properly fixed specimens and an integrated taxonomic approach. Finally, future survey studies may reveal hidden diversity of Schyzocotyle species in Indian cyprinoids.

Phosphorus nitride (PN) is believed to be one of the major reservoirs of phosphorus in the interstellar medium (ISM). For this reason, understanding which reactions produce PN in space and predicting their rate coefficients is important for modelling the relative abundances of P-bearing species and clarifying the role of phosphorus in astrochemistry. In this work, we explore the potential energy surfaces of the $\textrm{P}(^4\textrm{S}) + \textrm{NH}(^3\Sigma^-)$ and $\textrm{N}(^4\textrm{S}) + \textrm{PH}(^3\Sigma^-)$ reactions and the formation of $\textrm{H}(^2\textrm{S}) + \textrm{PN}(^1\Sigma^+)$ through high accuracy ab initio calculations and the variable reaction coordinate transition state theory (VRC-TST). We found that both reactions proceed without an activation barrier and with similar rate coefficients that can be described by a modified Arrhenius equation ($k(T)=\alpha\!\left( T/300 \right)^{\beta} \exp\!{(\!-\!\gamma/T)})$ with $\alpha=0.93\times 10^{-10}\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}$, $\beta=-0.18$ and $\gamma=0.24\, \rm K$ for the $\textrm{P} + \textrm{NH} \longrightarrow \textrm{H} + \textrm{PN}$ reaction and $\alpha=0.88\times 10^{-10}\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}$, $\beta=-0.18$ and $\gamma=1.01\, \rm K$ for the $\textrm{N} + \textrm{PH} \longrightarrow \textrm{H} + \textrm{PN}$ one. Both reactions are expected to be relevant for modelling PN abundances even in the cold environments of the ISM. Given the abundance of hydrogen in space, we have also predicted rate coefficients for the destruction of PN via H + PN collisions.

Fish (Elasmobranchia and Actinopterygii) inhabit the majority of aquatic habitats globally. They are crucial for human nutrition but they may be negatively affected by parasitic protists and metazoan parasites. Fish parasites are also an extraordinary group of animals because of their ecological and evolutionary importance and unique adaptations to parasitism. They also play a key role in ecosystem functioning. In the present special issue, 13 review and research articles on major groups of fish parasites are provided to document the current advancement in our understanding of different aspects of their biology, ecology and associations with their fish hosts. The existing gaps in our knowledge of these peculiar animals are mapped and future trends in their research outlined.

In the interstellar medium, inelastic collisions are so rare that they cannot maintain a local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE). Atomic and molecular populations therefore do not follow a simple Boltzmann distribution and non-LTE spectra are the rule rather than the exception. In such conditions, accurate state-to-state collisional data are crucial for a quantitative interpretation of spectra. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in quantum calculations of inelastic cross sections for a variety of targets, types of transitions and projectiles. For a few benchmark species, detailed comparisons between theory and experiment were also carried out at the state-to-state level and in the quantum regime. In this article, we highlight such comparisons for three important molecules: CO, H2O and CH+. We also describe current computational efforts to extend these advances to ever larger targets, new transition types, and new environments (e.g. stellar envelopes or cometary atmospheres).

The paper corresponds to the session organised by the IAU inter-commission B2-B5 working group “Laboratory Astrophysics Data Compilation, Validation and Standardization: from the Laboratory to FAIR usage in the Astronomical Community” at the IAU 2022 General Assembly. The session included talks about the usage and implementation of FAIR concepts in VAMDC and in the IVOA, then domain specific talks oriented towards planetology, dust and ices. The program (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7050654) and the various talks can be found in the ZENODO “cb5-labastro” community (zenodo.org/communities/cb5-labastro).

The building of online atomic and molecular databases for astrophysics and for other research fields started with the beginning of the internet. These databases have encompassed different forms: databases of individual research groups exposing their own data, databases providing collected data from the refereed literature, databases providing evaluated compilations, databases providing repositories for individuals to deposit their data, and so on. They were, and are, the replacement for literature compilations with the goal of providing more complete and in particular easily accessible data services to the users communities. Such initiatives involve not only scientific work on the data, but also the characterization of data, which comes with the “standardization” of metadata and of the relations between metadata, as recently developed in different communities. This contribution aims at providing a representative overview of the atomic and molecular databases ecosystem, which is available to the astrophysical community and addresses different issues linked to the use and management of data and databases. The information provided in this paper is related to the keynote lecture “Atomic and Molecular Databases: Open Science for better science and a sustainable world” whose slides can be found at DOI : doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6979352 on the Zenodo repository connected to the “cb5-labastro” Zenodo Community (https://zenodo.org/communities/cb5-labastro).

This paper corresponds to an invited oral contribution to the session 5A organised by the IAU inter-commission B2-B5 working group (WG) “Laboratory Astrophysics Data Compilation, Validation and Standardization: from the Laboratory to FAIR usage in the Astronomical Community” at the IAU 2022 General Assembly (GA) Rengel (2022). This WG provides a platform where to discuss the Findability, Accessibility,Interoperability, Reuse (FAIR) usage of laboratory Atomic and Molecular (A&M) data in astronomy and astrophysics.

A&M data play a key role in the understanding of the physics and chemistry of processes in several research topics, including planetary science and interdisciplinary research in particular the atmospheres of planets and planetary explorations, etc. Databases, compilation of spectroscopic parameters, and facility tools are used by computer codes to interpret spectroscopic observations and simulate them. In this talk I presented existing A&M databases of interest to the planetary community focusing on access, organisation, infrastructures, limitations and issues, etc.

Molecular data obtained from laboratory studies are crucial for deriving chemical abundances in astrophysical environments. The Leiden Ice Database for Astrochemistry (LIDA; https://icedb.strw.leidenuniv.nl/) has supported these studies for years in the context of astrophysical ices. For the era of the James Webb Space Telescope - JWST, LIDA hosts more than 1100 infrared spectra of pure and mixed ices that mimic different astrophysical conditions and UV-vis optical constants of water ice. Additionally, LIDA has an online tool - SPECFY, that allows the creation of protostar synthetic spectra. In this paper, we create a synthetic spectrum including OCS ice to check the detection feasibility of this molecule with a 3σ significance using JWST. The calculations are made with the exposure time calculator (ETC). LIDA is a prime deliverable of Ice Age, an Early Release Science JWST program. The collected data and online tools are also accessible for other programs collecting ice data.

The Galactic TeV ${\gamma}$ -ray source ${\mathrm{HESS\,J}1804{-}216}$ is currently an unidentified source. In an attempt to unveil its origin, we present here the most detailed study of interstellar gas using data from the Mopra Southern Galactic Plane CO Survey, 7- and 12-mm wavelength Mopra surveys and Southern Galactic Plane Survey of HI. Several components of atomic and molecular gas are found to overlap ${\mathrm{HESS\,J}1804{-}216}$ at various velocities along the line of sight. The CS(1-0) emission clumps confirm the presence of dense gas. Both correlation and anti-correlation between the gas and TeV ${\gamma}$ -ray emission have been identified in various gas tracers, enabling several origin scenarios for the TeV ${\gamma}$ -ray emission from ${\mathrm{HESS\,J}1804{-}216}$ . For a hadronic scenario, ${\mathrm{SNR\,G}8.7{-}0.1}$ and the progenitor supernova remnant (SNR) of ${\mathrm{PSR\,J}1803{-}2137}$ require cosmic ray (CR) enhancement factors of ${\mathord{\sim} 50}$ times the solar neighbour CR flux value to produce the TeV ${\gamma}$ -ray emission. Assuming an isotropic diffusion model, CRs from both these SNRs require a slow diffusion coefficient, as found for other TeV SNRs associated with adjacent ISM gas. The morphology of gas located at 3.8 kpc (the dispersion measure distance to ${\mathrm{PSR\,J}1803{-}2137}$ ) tends to anti-correlate with features of the TeV emission from ${\mathrm{HESS\,J}1804{-}216}$ , making the leptonic scenario possible. Both pure hadronic and pure leptonic scenarios thus remain plausible.

The diatomic free radical methylidyne (CH) is an important tracer of the interstellar medium, and the study of it was critical to our earliest understanding of star formation. Although it is detectable across the electromagnetic spectrum, observations at radio frequencies allow for a study of the kinematics of the diffuse and dense gas in regions of new star formation. There is only two published (single-dish) detections of the low-frequency hyperfine transitions between 700 and 725 MHz, despite the precise frequencies being known. These low-frequency transitions are of particular interest as they are shown in laboratory experiments to be more sensitive to magnetic fields than their high-frequency counterparts (with more pronounced Zeeman splitting). In this work, we take advantage of the radio quiet environment and increased resolution of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) over previous searches to make a pilot interferometric search for CH at 724.7883 MHz (the strongest of the hyperfine transitions) in RCW 38. We found the band is clean of radio frequency interference, but we did not detect the signal from this transition to a five-sigma sensitivity limit of 0.09 Jy, which corresponds to a total column density upper limit of 1.9 $\times 10^{18}$ cm–2 for emission and 1.3 $\times 10^{14}$ cm–2 for absorption with an optical depth limit of 0.95. Achieved within 5 h of integration, this column density sensitivity should have been adequate to detect the emission or absorption in RCW 38, if it had similar properties to the only previous reported detections in W51.

Water is a ubiquitous molecule in circumstellar envelopes (CSEs). Its emission has been detected at a wide range of distances from the central oxygen-rich evolved star. In particular, the water maser transition at 22 GHz, typically extending from about 5–20 stellar radii to as far as several hundred stellar radii from the star, has been commonly used to probe the structure and dynamics of the intermediate regions of the CSE where dust is condensing and the inner wind is being accelerated. The advent of ALMA has opened the door to high-angular resolution mapping of much higher excitation transitions of water, probing the inner regions of the CSEs, some of which are anticipated to exhibit maser action. The ALMA ATOMIUM large program observed many such transitions towards a sample of AGB stars & red supergiants. The preliminary results show that while some transitions depart only slightly from LTE, others clearly show signs of maser action. The Gaussian fitting of the non-diffuse/compact part of some of the (quasi) thermal & maser transitions reveal interesting velocity gradients, signatures of outflowing and infalling motions hence providing important constraints for stellar wind models.

Mature worms of Stephanoprora amurensis sp. nov. were obtained in an experimental study of its life cycle. In the Russian southern Far East, this trematode circulates using freshwater snails Parajuga subtegulata, freshwater fish and birds as the first, second intermediate and final hosts, respectively. Stephanoprora amurensis sp. nov. differs from the well-known representatives of Stephanoprora in a number of morphometric indicators of the developmental stages. The validity of the species was also confirmed by nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers. In addition, new genetic data were obtained for Echinochasmus suifunensis and Echinochasmus milvi. An analysis of phylogenetic relationships within Echinochasmidae based on the 28S rRNA gene and ITS2 region identified two clusters, one of which combines species of Echinochasmus with 20–22 collar spines and short-tailed cercariae, and the other which includes Stephanoprora spp. and a number of representatives of Echinochasmus with 24 collar spines and long-tailed cercariae. The results of phylogenetic analysis based on ITS2 data show interfamily level of differences between the two clusters and intergeneric differentiation between the three subclusters uniting the species of Stephanoprora and Echinochasmus.

A description and the molecular characterization of two new species in the Haploporidae and Haplosplanchnidae families are provided herein. Parasaccocoelium armatum n. sp. was collected from the intestine of a Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 from the Primorsky region, Russia, and Pseudohaplosplanchnus catbaensis n. g. n. sp. was collected from Moolgarda seheli (Forsskål, 1775) in the coastal waters of Cat Ba Island, Vietnam. The morphological features of P. armatum n. sp. closely resemble those of Parasaccocoelium polyovum, but these species differ from one another by hermaphroditic sac and vitellaria area length and by maximal egg size. The main difference between P. armatum n. sp. and P. polyovum is the presence of an armed hermaphroditic duct in the new species. Molecular data support the case for inclusion of the studied trematodes in P. armatum n. sp. Worms P. catbaensis n. g. n. sp. from the mullet from Vietnam are morphologically close to Haplosplanchnus (Haplosplosplanchninae). The only difference between P. catbaensis n. g. n. sp. and species of Haplosplanchnus is the presence of few (1–7) large eggs, measuring 135–142 × 92–104 μm, versus numerous small eggs with a maximal size of 75 × 50 μm. Phylogenetic analysis showed that there is a contradiction between the morphological similarity of the worms and their position in the Haplosplanchnidae system, based on the genetic data. Results of this study indicate that P. catbaensis n. g. n. sp. is genetically distant from other representatives of Haplosplanchnus, despite their morphological similarity. According to the molecular data, P. catbaensis n. g. n. sp. is close to Hymenocotta mulli Manter, 1961 (Hymenocottinae). However, these species are considerably different to each other morphologically. Molecular data argue for the possibility of establishing a new subfamily for P. catbaensis n. g. n. sp. However, considering earlier studies of Haplosplanchnidae, we support the view that creating new subfamilies within this family is unreasonable because of the lack of molecular data for most haplosplanchnid species, which are necessary to resolve the problematic systematics and phylogeny of this family.

We investigate the interstellar medium towards seven TeV gamma-ray sources thought to be pulsar wind nebulae using Mopra molecular line observations at 7 mm [CS(1–0), SiO(1–0, v = 0)], Nanten CO(1–0) data and the Southern Galactic Plane Survey/GASS Hi survey. We have discovered several dense molecular clouds co-located to these TeV gamma-ray sources, which allows us to search for cosmic rays coming from progenitor SNRs or, potentially, from pulsar wind nebulae. We notably found SiO(1–0, v = 0) emission towards HESS J1809–193, highlighting possible interaction between the adjacent supernova remnant SNR G011.0–0.0 and the molecular cloud at d ∼ 3.7 kpc. Using morphological features, and comparative studies of our column densities with those obtained from X-ray measurements, we claim a distance d ∼ 8.6 − 9.7kpc for SNR G292.2–00.5, d ∼ 3.5 − 5.6 kpc for PSR J1418–6058 and d ∼ 1.5 kpc for the new SNR candidate found towards HESS J1303–631. From our mass and density estimates of selected molecular clouds, we discuss signatures of hadronic/leptonic components from pulsar wind nebulae and their progenitor SNRs. Interestingly, the molecular gas, which overlaps HESS J1026–582 at d ∼ 5 kpc, may support a hadronic origin. We find however that this scenario requires an undetected cosmic-ray accelerator to be located at d < 10 pc from the molecular cloud. For HESS J1809–193, the cosmic rays which have escaped SNR G011.0–0.0 could contribute to the TeV gamma-ray emission. Finally, from the hypothesis that at most 20% the pulsar spin down power could be converted into CRs, we find that among the studied pulsar wind nebulae, only those from PSR J1809–1917 could potentially contribute to the TeV emission.

The VAMDC Consortium intended to find a way for users to cite the datasets accessed through the infrastructure. The Research Data Alliance Data citation working group provided the researchers and data centres communities with a recommendation to identify and cite dynamic data. This recommendation perfectly matched the VAMDC needs: the proposed solution relies on a query centric view and the set-up of a Query Store. Data should be stored in a versioned time-stamped manner and accessed through queries. The Query Store we implemented for VAMDC is interlinked with Zenodo. Since Zenodo is indexed in OpenAIRE and since the latter implements Scholix, VAMDC indirectly implements Scholix via its Query Store. The paper outlines the successes and limitations of the above approach.

H2D+ and D2H+ are important chemical tracers of prestellar cores due to their pure rotational spectra that can be excited at the ~20 K temperature of these environments. The use of these molecules as probes of prestellar cores requires understanding the chemistry that forms and destroys these molecules. Of the eight key reactions that have been identified (Albertssonet al. 2013), five are thought to be well understood. The remaining three are the isotope exchange reactions of atomic D with H $${ + \over 3}$$ , H2D+, and D2H+. Semi-classical results differ from the classical Langevin calculations by an order of magnitude (Moyano et al. 2004). To resolve this discrepancy, we have carried out laboratory measurements for these three reactions. Absolute cross sections were measured using a dual-source, merged fast-beams apparatus for relative collision energies between ~10 meV to ~10 eV (Hillenbrand et al. 2019). A semi-empirical model was developed incorporating high level quantum mechanical ab initio calculations for the zero-point-energy-corrected potential energy barrier in order to generate thermal rate coefficients for astrochemical models. Based on our studies, we find that these three reactions proceed too slowly at prestellar core temperatures to play a significant role in the deuteration of H $${ + \over 3}$$ isotopologues.

PAH clusters are one candidate species for the interstellar “very small grains” or “VSGs”, i.e., dust grains small enough to be stochastically heated and contribute to the aromatic infrared emission bands (AIBs). This possibility motivated laboratory experiments on the infrared spectroscopy of PAH clusters using matrix isolation spectroscopy. The spectral shifts due to PAH clustering in argon matrices provide clues for the AIB contribution from PAH clusters in the interstellar medium. Here we review results from a number of small PAH species, extrapolation to the much larger PAHs believed to be present in the interstellar medium, and the implications for a PAH cluster contribution to the VSG population.

The multi-photon photodissociation (MPD) action spectrum of the coronene cation $$({{\rm{C}}_{24}}{\rm{H}}_{12}^ + )$$ has been measured as a function of storage time up to 60 s in the cryogenic electrostatic storage ring DESIREE. These measurements reveal not only the intrinsic absorption profile of isolated coronene cations, but also the rate at which hot-band absorptions are quenched by radiative cooling. The cooling rate is interpreted using a Simple Harmonic Cascade model of infrared vibrational emission.

Spectra of exoplanets, cool stars and brown dwarfs contain features due to molecular absorptions. Modelling these requires extensive line lists which are provided by the ExoMol project. Here we report on current progress and future prospects for the project.

The starting point for the development of any astrochemical model is the knowledge of whether a molecule is present in the astrophysical environment considered, with the astronomical observations of spectroscopic signatures providing the unequivocal proof of its presence. Among the goals of astrochemistry, the detection of potential prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium and planetary atmospheres is fundamental in view of possibly understanding the origin of life. The detection of new molecules in space requires the spectroscopic signatures (mostly, rotational transition frequencies) to be accurately determined over a large frequency range. This task is more and more often the result of a synergic interplay of experiment and theory.