Excessive air pollution may adversely affect plant growth and development. The overall objective of this research was to elucidate some microscopic effects of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) on the formation, development, and structure of pollen grains and its proteins in Phaseolus vulgaris L. Bean plants were grown in experimental pots and treated with different concentrations of the water-soluble fraction of DEP. Flowers and young buds were removed, fixed in FAA70 (formalin?:?acetic acid?:?ethanol, 2?:?1?:?17), and subjected to developmental studies. Our results show that DEP cause some abnormalities during pollen development. Pollen grains in normal plants are spherical in equatorial view and triangular in polar view; in DEP-treated plants, they were changed into irregular shapes in equatorial view and asteroidal in polar view. Delay in degeneration of the tapetum layer of the anther, and formation of giant, irregular, and non-fertile pollen grains are other results of DEP treatment. Gel electrophoretic studies revealed that a new protein with a molecular mass of 80?kD was formed in the DEP-treated group. Some pollen proteins may act as allergens, considering the fact that pollen allergy frequency is increased in polluted areas; the possibility arises that DEP could be an effective agent entail formation of detoxifying proteins which, on the other hand, can also act as allergens. 相似文献
Fine and coarse atmospheric particles were collected in Ashdod—a midsize industrial city on the southeastern Mediterranean coast, and in Gedera—a rural site, to characterize ambient particles and to determine their long-range transport during two major seasons—winter and summer. Manual PM2.5 and PM10 samplers, dichotomous samplers, continuous automated PM10 samplers, and denuders were used to sample particulate and gaseous pollutants.Fine and coarse concentrations in Ashdod were 21.2 and 39.6 μg m−3, and 23.9 and 30.5 μg m−3 in the fall–winter and summer campaigns, respectively. Crustal material, as calcites or dolomites mixed with silicates, dominated the coarse fraction and also the fine fraction on dusty days. In the fall–winter, S, P, and Ni were coupled with minerals. Coarse Ni was associated with crustal material during dust storms, while P originated from shipping and deposition of phosphates in the urban area around.Sulfates dominated the fine fractions in the summer season averaging 12 μg m−3. Multivariate analysis indicated that S was associated with As and Se, V and Ni, both associated with heavy fuel combustion, and Zn and Pb. In winter, those mixed sources were local, but in summer they were part of long-range transport. In the fall–winter, Zn and Pb were strongly associated with Mn, Ga, and Cu—elements emitted from either traffic or metal processing plants.Although the influence of crustal material on both size fractions was significant, most heavy metals were associated with PM2.5. Higher concentrations were linked to a larger number of particles in this fraction, to a larger surface area available for biochemical reaction [Harrison, R., Shi, J., Xi, S., Khan, A., Mark, D., Kinnersley, R., Yin, J., Philos, T., 2000. Measurement of number, mass and size distribution of particles in the atmosphere. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 358, 2567–2579], and finally to a larger concern in regards to health effects. 相似文献
Settled particulate matter was collected in three heavily travelled roadway tunnels (Trinidad, Paraiso and El Valle) to be characterised in terms of lead concentration and composition of organic compounds. Atomic Emission Spectrometry with Inductively Coupled Plasma and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) were employed to isolate and identify Pb in acid extracts, and organic compounds in hexane and hexane-dichloromethane extracts. The results for lead analysis reveal that the total concentration present in each tunnel ranges from 5500 to 1260gg–1. This figure indicates a relatively low concentration of lead for settled particles, compared with those reported for suspended particles in this kind of environment, which suggests the lead fractionating between settled and suspended particles in the Caracas Valley area. Thermogravimetric analysis shows the presence of total carbon (total organic carbon + carbonate), to be between 10% and 20% of the total sample. Of this total carbon, 55% is under carbonate (calcite) form and 45% as organic carbon, mostly in the form of tire residues. A fraction of this organic carbon (1%) is soluble in organic solvent (hexane-dichloromethane). The analysis of saturated hydrocarbons showed a similar distribution pattern for each sample. The n-alkane, terpane and sterane compounds, closely resemble those present in gasoline and lubricant additives. The aromatic fraction also displays very similar patterns for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons constituted by alkyl dibenzothiophene, phenanthrene, pyrene and chrysene. The distribution of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the samples was found to be very similar to those in the diesel fuel used by heavy truck vehicles. 相似文献
Flame propagation behaviors of nano- and micro-polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) dust explosions were experimentally studied in the open-space dust explosion apparatus. High-speed photography with normal and microscopic lenses were used to record the particle combustion behaviors and flame microstructures. Simple physical models were developed to explore the flame propagation mechanisms. High-speed photographs showed two distinct flame propagation behaviors of nano- and micro-PMMA dust explosions. For nano-particles, flame was characterized by a regular spherical shape and spatially continuous combustion structure combined with a number of luminous spot flames. The flame propagation mechanism was similar to that of a premixed gas flame coupled with solid surface combustion of the agglomerates. In comparison, for micro-particles, flame was characterized by clusters of flames and the irregular flame front, which was inferred to be composed of the diffusion flame accompanying the local premixed flame. It was indicated that smaller particles maintained the leading part of the propagating flame and governed the combustion process of PMMA dust clouds. Increasing the mass densities from 105 g/m3 to 217 g/m3 for 100 nm PMMA particles, and from 72 g/m3 to 170 g/m3 for 30 μm PMMA particles, the flame luminous intensity, scale and the average propagation velocity were enhanced. Besides, the flame front became more irregular for 30 μm PMMA dust clouds. 相似文献
Time series of nanoparticle number concentration during new particle formation (NPF) events in the urban environment of Brisbane, Australia, showed that the formation of charged particles often occurred before that of neutral particles. We monitored 241 days during the calendar year 2012 over which NPF events were observed on 108 days. We studied the times at which the charged and neutral particle concentrations in the size range 1.8–3.2 nm reached their peak values and found that they were clearly different in 50 events with the peak neutral particle concentration lagging behind the charged particle concentration during 42 of these events with a mean time lag of 24±12 min. While the charged particles were more likely to form before the neutral particles, once formed, the growth rate of the particles did not depend on their charge. While ion-induced nucleation is not the dominant mechanism of NPF in the atmosphere, our observations suggest that the presence of ions in the atmosphere plays a role that cannot be ignored.
