Effects of varying dilutions, pH, temperature and cations on spermatozoa motility in fish Larimichthys polyactis

The objectives of this present study were to assess the effects of varying dilutions, pH, temperature and cations on spermatozoa motile parameters (SMPs) in fish Larimichthys polyactis. Optimal SMPs were observed when emen was diluted in artificial seawater (ASW) at a ratio of 1 to 100, with temperature of 10 degreesC and pH 8.0. The spermatozoa of L. polyactis were immotile in distilled water and motile in solution containing different cations. Maximum SMPs were obtained in each solution containing 0.4 mol NaCI, 0.4 mol KCI, 0.2 mol CaCI2 and 0.2 mol MgCl2. This study provides baseline knowledge of L. polyactis spermatozoa sensitivity of pH, temperature and cationic effects.     

Personal, indoor, and outdoor exposure to VOCs in the immediate vicinity of a local airport

This study measures the effect of emissions from an airport on the air quality of surrounding neighborhoods. The ambient concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-, m-, and p-xylene (BTEX) were measured using passive samplers at 15 households located close to the airport (indoor, outdoor, and personal), at the end of airport runways and an out-of-neighborhood location. Measurements occurred over a 48-h period during summer 2006 and winter 2006?C2007. The average concentrations were 0.84, 3.21, 0.30, 0.99, and 0.34 ??g/m³ at the airport runways and 0.84, 3.76, 0.39, 1.22, and 0.39 ??g/m³ in the neighborhood for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-, p-, and o-xylene. The average neighborhood concentrations were not significantly different to those measured at the airport runways and were higher than the out-of-neighborhood location (0.48, 1.09, 0.15, 0.78, and 0.43 ??g/m³, each BTEX). B/T ratios were used as a tracer for emission sources and the average B/T ratio at the airport and outdoors were 0.20 and 0.23 for the summer and 0.40 and 0.42 for the winter, suggesting that both areas are affected by the same emission source. Personal exposure was closely related to levels in the indoor environment where subjects spent most of their time. Indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios for BTEX ranged from 1.13 to 2.60 and 1.41 to 3.02 for summer and winter. The seasonal differences in I/O ratios reflected residential ventilation patterns, resulting in increased indoor concentrations of volatile organic compounds during winter.     

Sulfur deposition simulations over China, Japan, and Korea: a model intercomparison study for abating sulfur emission

In response to increasing trends in sulfur deposition in Northeast Asia, three countries in the region (China, Japan, and Korea) agreed to devise abatement strategies. The concepts of critical loads and source?Creceptor (S?CR) relationships provide guidance for formulating such strategies. Based on the Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia (LTP) project, this study analyzes sulfur deposition data in order to optimize acidic loads over the three countries. The three groups involved in this study carried out a full year (2002) of sulfur deposition modeling over the geographic region spanning the three countries, using three air quality models: MM5-CMAQ, MM5-RAQM, and RAMS-CADM, employed by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean modeling groups, respectively. Each model employed its own meteorological numerical model and model parameters. Only the emission rates for SO₂ and NO_x obtained from the LTP project were the common parameter used in the three models. Three models revealed some bias from dry to wet deposition, particularly the latter because of the bias in annual precipitation. This finding points to the need for further sensitivity tests of the wet removal rates in association with underlying cloud?Cprecipitation physics and parameterizations. Despite this bias, the annual total (dry plus wet) sulfur deposition predicted by the models were surprisingly very similar. The ensemble average annual total deposition was 7,203.6?±?370 kt S with a minimal mean fractional error (MFE) of 8.95?±?5.24?% and a pattern correlation (PC) of 0.89?C0.93 between the models. This exercise revealed that despite rather poor error scores in comparison with observations, these consistent total deposition values across the three models, based on LTP group's input data assumptions, suggest a plausible S?CR relationship that can be applied to the next task of designing cost-effective emission abatement strategies.