Protonated acetone ion chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for real-time measurement of atmospheric ammonia

Ammonia (NH₃) is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, it can affect the formation of secondary aerosols and particulate matter, and cause soil eutrophication through sedimentation. Currently, the use of radioactive primary reagent ion source and the humidity interference on the sensitivity and stability are the two major issues faced by chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) in the analysis of atmospheric ammonia. In this work, a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) Kr lamp was used to replace the radioactive source, and acetone was ionized under atmospheric pressure to obtain protonated acetone reagent ions to ionize ammonia. The ionization source is designed as a separated three-zone structure, and even 90 vol.% high-humidity samples can still be directly analyzed with a sensitivity of sub-ppbv. A signal normalization processing method was designed, and with this new method, the quantitative relative standard deviation (RSD) of the instrument was decreased from 17.5% to 9.1%, and the coefficient of determination was increased from 0.8340 to 0.9856. The humidity correction parameters of the instrument were calculated from different humidity, and the ammonia concentrations obtained under different humidity were converted to its concentration under zero humidity condition with these correction parameters. The analytical time for a single sample is only 60 sec, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 8.59 pptv (signal-to-noise ratio S/N = 3). The ambient measurement made in Qingdao, China, in January 2021 with this newly designed CIMS, showed that the concentration of ammonia ranged from 1 to 130 ppbv.     

Effect of preparation method of noble metal supported catalyts on formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature: Gas or liquid phase reduction

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is toxic to the human body and is one of the main threats to the indoor air quality (IAQ). As such, the removal of HCHO is imperative to improving the IAQ, whereby the most useful method to effectively remove HCHO at room temperature is catalytic oxidation. This review discusses catalysts for HCHO room-temperature oxidation, which are categorized according to their preparation methods, i.e., gas-phase reduction and liquid-phase reduction methods. The HCHO oxidation performances, structural features, and reaction mechanisms of the different catalysts are discussed, and directions for future research on catalytic oxidation are reviewed.     

一种考虑环境因素的自动步枪可靠性分析方法

目的 分析环境因素对于自动步枪系统可靠性的影响。方法 首先介绍贝叶斯网络理论,然后将自动步枪系统可靠性建模划分为刚性抛壳机构和弹匣供弹机构两大模块。在此基础上,从设计制造、使用因素和环境因素3个方面进行故障树建模。将故障树转化为贝叶斯模型后,基于给出的底事件失效概率和引入的环境影响因子,计算考虑环境因素带来的共因失效效应时自动步枪系统的可靠度。结果 从系统层面来看,环境因素的影响会使系统的可靠度下降8.1%。结论 在进行自动步枪的系统可靠性分析时,考虑由环境因素带来的共因失效效应更为符合实际情况,不考虑共因失效效应时,往往会高估子系统的可靠度。     

A study on torrefaction characteristics of waste sawdust in an auger type pyrolyzer

Torrefaction is thermo-chemical process which can improve solid fuel quality as well as grindability. In previous studies, torrefaction has been studied mainly for removal of moisture and for improving grindability. In this experiment, the characteristics of torrefied waste sawdust were studied especially for its energy yield. Hence, torrefaction was performed on varying reaction temperatures (200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300 °C) and solid residence time (10, 30, 60 min). The results indicated that the yield of torrefaction decreases with increasing temperature and residence time. It was found that above 280 °C, the yield got remarkably decreased. The lowest yield was obtained at the residence time of 60 min. It was also noticed that the HHV of torrefied samples increases with increasing temperature. The highest HHV was found to be 26.09 MJ/kg which was obtained at 60 min and 300 °C. However, the highest energy yield was obtained to be 104.17 % which was noticed at 30 min and 260 °C.     

Experimental evaluation of the rainfall retention and inorganic pollutant mitigation effect by dual-layer and polyacrylamide-modified green roofs

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Research on substrate layer modification and filler configuration is an important direction for improving the retention and interception efficiency of...     

A comparison of microplastic contamination in freshwater fish from natural and farmed sources

Contamination of aquatic systems mainly by urbanization and poor sanitation, deficient or lack of wastewater treatments, dumping of solid residues, and run off has led to the presence of particles, including manmade polymers, in tissues of many marine and freshwater species. In this study, the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater fish from farmed and natural sources was investigated. Oreochromis niloticus from aquaculture farms in the Huila region in Colombia, and two local species (Prochilodus magdalenae and Pimelodus grosskopfii), naturally present in surface waters were sampled. Of the particles identified, fragments were the predominant type in the three tissue types (stomach, gill, and flesh) derived from farmed and natural fishes. MicroFT-IR spectroscopy was conducted on 208 randomly selected samples, with 22% of particles identified as MPs based on spectra with a match rate ≥ 70%. A total of 53% of identified particles corresponded to cellophane/cellulose, the most abundant particle found in all fish. Not all fish contained MPs: 44% of Oreochromis farmed fish contained MPs, while 75% of natural source fish contained MPs in any of its tissues. Overall, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyester (PES), and polyethylene (PE) were the prevalent MPs found in the freshwater fish. A broader variety of polymer types was observed in farmed fish. The edible flesh part of fish presented the lower prevalence of MPs compared to gill and stomach (gut), with gut displaying a higher frequency and diversity of MPs. This preliminary study suggests that the incidence and type of MPs varies in farmed verses natural fish sources as well as across different tissue types, with significantly less detected within the edible flesh tissues compared with stomach and gill tissues.

     

A new method to estimate the temperature-CVD mortality relationship

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Few detailed, individual-focused studies have researched the added effect of temperature on cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in China....     

背角无齿蚌钙调蛋白基因的克隆及Ca2+和Cd2+对其表达的影响

钙调蛋白(CaM)是Ca2+结合蛋白,参与程序性细胞死亡、自噬、肌肉收缩、炎症和免疫应答等多种生物学过程.为探讨Ca2+和Cd2+对背角无齿蚌(Anodonta woodiana)的生理效应,克隆出AwCaM1全基因序列,分析Ca2+和Cd2+对AwCaM1表达的影响.结果显示,背角无齿蚌AwCAM1 cDNA全长由692个碱基组成,包含一个516 bp开放阅读框编码的172个氨基酸的多肽链,AwCaM1氨基酸序列包含有4个Ca2+结合EF-手形结构域.Ca2+处理后,肝胰脏中AwCaM1表达水平在0.01、0.02、0.04和0.08 mg·L-1处理组呈时间和剂量依赖性方式上调;Cd2+处理后,肝胰脏中AwCaM1表达水平在8 mg·L-1和16 mg·L-1处理组增加了65.04％(P<0.01)以上.与对照组相比,Ca2+处理后鳃中AwCaM1表达水平增加了79.41％(P<0.01)以上,Cd2+处理后AwCaM1表达水平增加了88.23％(P<0.01)以上.与对照组相比,外套膜中AwCaM1表达水平在0.16 mg·L-1的Ca2+处理组增加了1.69倍以上(P<0.01),AwCaM1表达水平在8 mg·L-1和16 mg·L-1的Cd2+处理组增加了1.65倍(P<0.01)以上.以上结果表明,Ca2+和Cd2+处理对背角无齿蚌AwCaM1表达水平具有显著的诱导作用,其原因与钙的吸收和胁迫效应有关.     

Sources and mass fluxes of the main contaminants in a heavily polluted and modified river of the North China Plain

Many rivers in China and other newly industrialized countries have suffered from severe degradation of water quality in the context of rapid economic growth. An accounting method was developed to investigate the source and mass fluxes of the main contaminants in the Ziya River, a severely polluted and heavily modified river in a semiarid area of the North China Plain, where chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N) were the most important indicators of pollution. The results showed that the urban sewage with high concentration of COD and NH₄-N dominated the streams, contributing to 80.7 % of the streamflow, 92.2 % of COD, and 94.5 % of NH₄-N. The concentrations of COD and NH₄-N in streams varied from 24.0–195.0 to 5.8–43.8 mg/L, respectively. Mass fluxes of COD and NH₄-N of all pathways were quantified. Much of the polluted water was diverted to irrigation, and some eventually flowed into the Bohai Sea. Installation of adequate wastewater treatment facilities and making strict discharge standards can help improve the water quality. Our findings imply that a simple accounting method provides an extremely well-documented example for load estimation and can be useful for intervention strategies in heavily polluted and modified rivers in newly industrialized countries.