Pioneering observation of atmospheric volatile organic compounds in Hangzhou in eastern China and implications for upcoming 2022 Asian Games

Understanding the emission sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is critical for air pollution mitigation. Continuous measurements of atmospheric VOCs were conducted from January to February in Hangzhou in 2021. The average measured concentration of total VOCs (TVOCs) was 38.2 ± 20.9 ppb, > 42% lower than that reported by previous studies at the urban center in Hangzhou. The VOC concentrations and proportions were similar between weekdays and weekends. During the long holidays of the Spring Festival in China, the concentrations of TVOCs were ∼50% lower than those during the regular days, but their profiles showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Further, we deduced that aromatics and alkenes were the most crucial chemicals promoting the formation of O₃ and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in Hangzhou. According to interspecies correlations, combustion processes and solvent use were inferred as major VOC emission sources. This study provides implications for air quality improvements before and during the upcoming Asian Games that will be hosted in Hangzhou in 2022.     

Doppler echocardiographic diagnosis of intrauterine closure of the ductus arteriosus

A case of in utero closure of the ductus arteriosus was detected by Doppler echocardio-graphy at 31 weeks of gestation. It presented as a non-hydropic distressed fetus with ultrasound detection of tricuspid regurgitation. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound showed markedly decreased blood flow through the tricuspid and pulmonary valves and absent blood flow at the ductus arteriosus. These, as well as the resultant increased right-to-left shunting across the foramen ovale, were reaffirmed by colour flow mapping.     

Locating major PM10 source areas in Seoul using multivariate receptor modeling

Identifying the major sources contributing to air pollution is a problem of fundamental importance in developing effective air quality management plans. Multivariate receptor modeling aims to achieve this goal by unfolding the air pollution data into components associated with different sources based on factor analysis models. We analyze the PM₁₀ data obtained from 17 monitoring sites in Seoul to locate the major source regions using multivariate receptor modeling. The model uncertainty caused by the unknown number of sources and identifiability conditions is assessed by posterior probability of each model. The estimated source spatial profiles seem to be consistent with our prior expectation about the PM₁₀ sources in Seoul.     

Source profiles and ozone formation potentials of volatile organic compounds in three traffic tunnels in Kaohsiung,Taiwan

Twenty-five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) up to C10 were measured using Carbotrap multibed thermal adsorption tubes during the morning and afternoon rush hours on four different days in all three traffic tunnels in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a flame-ionization detector (FID) was then used to analyze the VOCs. The analytical results show that VOC concentrations increase with traffic flow rate, and emission profiles in the three tunnels are mostly in the range C2-C6. In addition to the traffic conditions and vehicle type, the pattern of emissions in each tunnel was also influenced by other factors, such as vehicle age, nearby pollution sources, and the spatial or temporal variation of VOCs in the urban atmosphere. The ozone formation potential (OFP) in each tunnel was assessed based on the maximum incremental reactivities of the organic species, demonstrating that OFP increases with traffic flow rate. Vehicle distribution influences the contributions of organic group to OFP in a tunnel. Meanwhile, when ranked in descending order of contribution to OFP in all tunnels, the organic groups followed the sequence olefins, aromatics, and paraffins.     

The presence of eggs in the nest and female choice in common freshwater gobies (Rhinogobius brunneus)

In many species of fishes with paternal care, females prefer to spawn with males who are already guarding eggs. We studied the effect of egg presence on female mate choice in common freshwater gobies, Rhinogobius brunneus sp. OR. In our tests, females did not prefer males with eggs, suggesting egg presence per se may not act as a cue to attract females. We also examined the effects of brood size on paternal care and offspring survival to look for possible benefits females could obtain when choosing males with eggs. Both fanning by egg-guarding males and egg survival increased with brood size. The presence of neighboring males did have a significantly negative effect on males' parental activity, which subsequently results in a lower level of egg survival than in solitary egg-guarding males. This result provides a partial explanation for the result of eggs not attracting females to mate.     

Characteristic study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for fine and coarse particulates at Pastureland near Industrial Park sampling site of central Taiwan

The concentrations of ambient air polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in a farm area (Tunghai University Pastureland) between August 2001 and April 2002 in central Taiwan, Taichung. Particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected on quartz filters, the collected sample was extracted with a dichloromethane (DCM)/n-hexane mixture (50/50, v/v) for 24 h, and then the extracts were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis. The PM2.5 (fine particulate) and PM2.5-10 (coarse particulate) total PAHs concentrations at the Tunghai University Pastureland sampling site were found to be 180.62 ngm(-3) and 164.98 ngm(-3), respectively. In general, the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were higher in spring and winter than those of summer and autumn for either PM2.5 or PM2.5-10 in Pastureland in central Taiwan. Moreover, coarse particulates are the dominant species during the dust storm season (March and April) in central Taiwan.     

Effect of complex nitrogen source on the synthesis and accumulation of poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) by recombinantEscherichia coli in flask and fed-batch cultures

When a recombinantEscherichia coli XL1-Blue harboring pSYL105 was cultured in a complex medium, a poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) concentration of 7.16 g/L was obtained in 48 h. However, a PHB concentration of only 0.91 g/L was obtained in 60 h by culturing in a defined medium. Also, fed-batch culture in a defined medium resulted in considerably lower PHB accumulation than in a complex medium. With the aim to produce a high concentration of PHB at a reduced medium cost, we examined 10 complex nitrogen sources for their ability to promote PHB synthesis in a defined medium. Tryptone, casamino acids, and casein hydrolysate promoted PHB synthesis to a higher extent than the others tested. PHB synthesis was also enhanced during fedbatch cultures when a defined medium was supplemented with various complex nitrogen sources. With tryptone supplementation a PHB concentration of 66.7 g/L could be obtained in 44 h. Yeast extract was less effective for promoting PHB synthesis than tryptone. Corn steep liquor, which did not enhance PHB synthesis significantly, could promote PHB synthesis considerably when supplemented together with yeast extract in both flask and fed-batch cultures.     

Temperature Effects on Soil Mineralization of Polylactic Acid Plastic in Laboratory Respirometers

A respirometric system was used to analyze the biodegradation of high molecular weight (120,000 to 200,000 g mol^–1) polylactic acid (PLA) plastic films in soil under laboratory conditions. The respirometric system consisted of air-conditioning pretraps, a soil reactor, and a carbon dioxide (CO₂) posttrap. A 200-g homogeneous soil mixture of all-purpose potting soil : manure soil : sand [1 : 1 : 1 (w/w)] and 1.5 g of PLA plastic films in 1 × 1-cm² squares was added to each bottle. The respirometers were placed in a 28, 40, or 55°C water bath for 182 days. Treatments (three replicates) included native corn starch (positive control), polyethylene (Glad Cling Wrap; negative control), and three PLA films: Ca-I (Cargill Dow Polymers LLC, monolayer), GII (Cargill Dow Polymers LLC, Generation II), and Ch-I (Chronopol; monolayer). The degree of polymer mineralization was indicated by the cumulative CO₂ liberated from each respirometer. The initial average mineralization rate and total percentage mineralized of the PLA plastic films at 28, 40, and 55°C was 24.3, 41.5, and 76.9 mg/day with a 27, 45, and 70% carbon loss, respectively. No decrease in soil pH was observed after 182 days of mineralization. Hence, increase in soil temperature drastically enhanced the biodegradation of PLA plastic films in soil under laboratory conditions (P < 0.0001).     

A laboratory scale study on arsenic（Ⅴ） removal from aqueous medium using calcined bauxite ore

The present work deals with the As（Ⅴ） removal from an aqueous medium by calcined refractory grade bauxite （CRB） as a function of solution pH, time, As（Ⅴ） concentration and temperature. The residual As（Ⅴ） was lowered from 2 mg/L to below 0.01 mg/L in the optimum pH range 4.0-7.0 using a 5 g/L CRB within 3 h contact time. The adsorption data fits well with Langmuir isotherm and yielded Langmuir monolayer capacity of 1.78 mg As（Ⅴ）/g of CRB at pH 7.0. Presence of anions such as silicate and phosphate decreased As（Ⅴ） adsorption efficiency. An increase temperature resulted a decrease in the amount of As（Ⅴ） adsorbed by 6%. The continuous fixed bed column study showed that at the adsorbent bed depth of 30 cm and residence time of 168 min, the CRB was capable of treating 340 bed volumes of As（V） spiked water （C0 = 2 mg/L） before breakthrough （Ce = 0.01 mg/L）. This solid adsorbent, although not reusable, can be considered for design of adsorption columns as an efficiency arsenic adsorption media.