Local Circulation with Aeolian Dust on the Slopes and Foot Areas of the Tianshan and Kunlun Mountains around the Taklimakan Desert, China

Four automatic weather stations (AWS) were installed on the slopes and foot areas of the Tianshan and Kunlun Mountains along a longitude of 80 degrees east: (1) Taglak 2400 m a.s.l., (2) Aksu 1000 m, (3) Kartash 2800 m, and (4) Qira 1700 m. These two slopes face the Taklimakan Desert. Tagliak lies on the southern slope of Tianshan, and Kartash on the northern slope of Kunlun. The meteorological characteristics of the mountainous regions were investigated using surface data obtained during an intensive observation period (IOP) in spring 2002. It was found that visibility on the slopes decreases in the daytime, and there is no relationship between visibility and wind speed in the mountainous areas. Two snow layers containing dust particles were observed in the snow cover in Taglak during the IOP in spring 2003. These results suggest that a warm air parcel containing aeolian dust climbs over the slopes of the mountainous areas, and dust particles in the mountainous areas are transported from the foot areas.     

Identification of residual pesticides in water by GC/QPMS

The extensive use of the broad range of pesticides employed to maintain golf courses has prompted serious environmental concerns in Japan since courses tend to be located in mountainous regions, often in close proximity to virgin water sources. Since older empirical methods are not appropriate for substance identification and determination of substance concentrations on the ppb order, gas chromatographyquadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/QPMS) can be employed. A simple extraction of 500 ml of drainage pond water gives a sample which allows identification of pesticides with quantitation on the ppb order using selected ion monitoring (SIM). A sample of drainage pond water from a golf course revealed fenitrothion, funitrothion, chlorothalonil and isoprothiolane in concentrations of 120.1, 20.7, 45.6 and 130.5 ppb, respectively.     

Congener-specific analysis of polychlorinated biphenyl in human blood from Japanese

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) of whole blood samples taken from 24 healthy adult Japanese volunteers (12 males and 12 females; age range 25–46 years). On average, 95 PCB congeners were detected in whole blood samples. The mean of total PCB concentration in whole blood was 771.9 pg g^–1 whole blood (139.6 ng per g-lipid). Congener-specific analysis identified the predominant PCB congeners as #153 (22.2), #180 (11.6), #138 (8.4), #182/187 (6.6), #118 (5.6), #163/164 (5.0), #99 (3.9), #74 (3.6), #146 (3.3), #170 (3.0) and #156 (2.2), representing 75.6 of all PCBs detected in the human blood samples. Among the predominant PCB congeners, #153, #180, #138, #187 #118, #99 and #74 had chlorine as the substituent at the 2-, 4- and 5- positions of the phenyl-ring. In human blood in Japanese individuals, it is assumed that these congeners would be characteristic of the entire population, based on the relation between PCB ingestion and metabolism. Measuring 209 PCB congeners has the advantage of providing detailed information regarding the congener distribution within the blood samples, which can be compared to congener patterns in other matrices. Congener-specific analysis of 209 PCB congeners is especially useful in evaluating human exposure to PCBs.     

CuCl2-catalyzed PCDD/F formation and congener patterns from phenols

Homologue and isomer patterns of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) in CuCl2-catalyzed formation were studied in an isothermal flow reactor using a distribution of 20 phenols as measured in municipal waste incinerator (MWI) exhaust gases. A mixture of 20 phenols was synthesized and used as reactants for this study because phenols are known to be key precursors in the formation of PCDD/F. Experiments were conducted at 400 degrees C. The 92% of nitrogen (N2) and 8% of oxygen (O2) were used as a carrier gas. PCDD/F homologue and isomer patterns with dibenzo-p-dioxin (DD) and dibenzofuran (DF) were obtained from a mixture of 20 phenols. DF+PCDF formation was favored over DD+PCDD formation. The major homologue groups formed were non-chlorinated DD and DF, and PCDD/F homologue fraction decreased with the degree of chlorination. PCDD/F homologue and isomer distributions were almost constant. Phenol and lower chlorinated phenols present in high amount played an important role in PCDD/F congener distributions. The results presented here can be used as characteristics or fingerprints for homologue and isomer patterns of PCDD/F formation attribution in CuCl2-catalyzed reaction from phenols.     

Light Stability of Oriental Lacquer Films Irradiated by a Fluorescent Lamp

Oriental lacquer film was prepared and exposed to a fluorescent lamp. The color difference and gloss of the surface of the film decreased compared to those of film kept in a dark place by irradiation with the fluorescent light. The percentage of discoloration was 7.0% on a relative scale with an irradiation of 3600 h. The surface of the film was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The oxygen content of the surface increased considerably with the decrease in triene groups with exposure time. These changes were also observed when the film was exposed in a glass or acrylic plate box. The change of the above properties was not observed when the film was kept in a dark place for more than 4800 h. The results suggest that oriental lacquer film deteriorates even under irradiation with visible light.     

Effects of sulfur dioxide on growth,gas exchange rate and leaf sulfur content of massion pine seedlings

Ｅｆｆｅｃｔｓｏｆｓｕｌｆｕｒｄｉｏｘｉｄｅｏｎｇｒｏｗｔｈ，ｇａｓｅｘｃｈａｎｇｅｒａｔｅａｎｄｌｅａｆｓｕｌｆｕｒｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｏｆｍａｓｓｉｏｎｐｉｎｅｓｅｅｄｌｉｎｇｓＹａｎｇＬｉａｎｇＵｎｉｔｅｄＧｒａｄｕａｔｅＳｃｈｏｏｌ，ＴｏｋｙｏＵｎ...