Emission of Speciated Mercury from Residential Biomass Fuel Combustion in China

Among various sources, mercury emissions from biomass fuel combustion have received growing attention. Mercury emission from biomass fuels can be estimated on the basis of the combustion amount and the emission factors (EFs). Although mercury emissions from biomass fuel combustion occur mostly in developing countries, most EFs have been measured in developed countries, leading to bias in mercury emission inventories. In this study, mercury EFs for 25 species of fuelwood, eight species of crop residues, and two types of biomass pellets were determined according to the real-life practice of residential burning. Results showed that the EFs ranges were 0.65–28.44 ng g^–1 for fuelwood, 3.02–12.05 ng g^–1 for crop residues, and 5.22–8.10 ng g^–1 for biomass pellets. Hg⁰ is the dominant form of mercury emitted from biomass fuel combustion. The proportion of Hg⁰, Hg²⁺, and Hg^p was 76 ± 17, 6 ± 5, and 18 ± 14% for fuelwood; 73 ± 11, 4 ± 5, and 23 ± 13% for crop residues; and 97 ± 1, 1 ± 0.2, and 2 ± 0.7% for biomass pellets, respectively. Biomass pellets can reduce mercury emissions compared with the uncompressed raw materials. On the basis of the measured EFs, inventories of mercury emission from biomass fuel combustion in rural China from 2000–2007 were estimated. The annual mercury emission ranged from 1.94 to 5.07 Mg, of which crop residues and fuelwood accounted for 62 and 38%, respectively

Representative confocal micrographs of mouse myocardial direct green fluorescence.

<p>Adult GFPdgn non-transgenic (<b>A</b>) and transgenic (<b>B</b> ∼ <b>D</b>) mice at 10 weeks of age were treated with bortezomib (1 mg/kg, i.p.; <b>C</b>), bafilomycin A1 (BFA, 2.5 mg/kg/12 hrs, i.p.; <b>D</b>), or vehicle control (DMSO, <b>A</b> and <b>B</b>). At 24 hours after the first BFA injection, ventricular myocardial tissues were collected and immediately immersion-fixed with 3.8% paraformaldehyde and processed for cryo-sectioning. The cryosections were mounted and imaged for direct fluorescence via confocal microscopy. Scale bar = 100 µm.</p

Lysosomal inhibition accumulates both autophagic and proteasomal substrates in mice: hearts and kidneys.

<p>Male GFPdgn transgenic mice at 10 weeks of age were treated with bortezomib (BZM, 1 mg/kg, i.p.), bafilomycin A1 (BFA, 2.5 mg/kg/12 hrs, i.p.), or vehicle control (CTL). The mice were sacrificed at either 3 or 24 hours after the first injection and myocardial and kidney tissues were collected for total protein and RNA extraction and subsequent analysis. <b>A</b> and <b>B</b>, Representative images (A) and pooled of densitometry data (B) of western blot analyses for myocardial GFPdgn and other indicated proteins. <b>C</b>, Representative images (upper) and pooled densitometry data (lower) of western blot analyses for renal GFPdgn protein levels. <b>D</b> and <b>E</b>, Representative images (upper) and pooled densitometry data of reverse transcription (RT) PCR analyses of GFPdgn mRNA levels in heart and kidney tissues. Total RNA was used for the RT to synthesize the first strand cDNA which was subsequently used for GFPdgn and GAPDH duplex RT-PCR. GAPDH was probed as loading control. N = 4 mice/group. *<i>p</i><0.05, **<i>p</i><0.01 vs. CTL.</p

Autophagic inhibition accumulates GFPu in a p62 dependent manner.

<p>Cultured NRVMs were infected with adenoviruses to express GFPu and RFP (Ad-GFPu/RFP) 24 hours before transfection with siRNA for Atg7 (siAtg7), Rab7 (siRab7) and/or for p62 (sip62). A luciferase-specific siRNA (siLuc) was used as control for siRNA infection and off-target effects. The cells were harvested at 48 h later for extracting total proteins. <b>A</b>, Shown are representative images out of 3 repeats. <b>B</b>, pooled densitometry data. *p<0.05 vs. CTL.</p

Dynamic effects of ALP inhibition via 3-MA or BFA on p62 protein levels and a surrogate UPS substrate in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs).

<p>Cultured NRVMs were infected with adenoviruses to express GFPu and RFP (Ad-GFPu, Ad-RFP) 48 hr before 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or bafilomycin A1 (BFA) treatment. <b>A ∼ C</b>, The time course of protein level changes in the GFPu/RFP ratio and the p62/β-tubulin ratio in NRVMs treated with 3-MA (3 mM) or vehicle control. Representative images of western blots (<b>A</b>) and quantitative data from 3 repeats (<b>B, C</b>) are shown. Paired <i>t</i>-test, *<i>p</i><0.01. <b>D</b> and <b>E</b>, 3-MA and BFA concentration-dependently increases GFPu/RFP ratio at 24 hours. At 24 hr after the drug treatment, the cells were harvested for total protein extraction and western blot analyses of the indicated proteins. Representative images (<b>D</b>) and pooled densitometry data (<b>E</b>) are shown. Two-way ANOVA followed by the Scheffé's test; *<i>p</i><0.05, **<i>p</i><0.01 vs. CTL; n = 3 repeats/group.</p

Bim forms complexes with Bcl2 but not Bax in HS-Csn8KO liver.

<p>Crude proteins extracts from liver tissues were used for immunoprecipitation (IP) followed by iimunoblotting (IB) analyses. (<b>A</b>) Immunoprecipitation using a Bim-specific antibody followed by IB for the indicated proteins. (<b>B</b>) Pooled densitometry data of the IP western blot analyses as illustrated in panel A. For each protein, the density of the Csn8KO group is shown as the relative value to the average value of the corresponding CTL group. Arbitrary unit is used. (<b>C</b>) Immunoprecipitation of Bcl2 was followed by IB for Bcl2, Bim, and Bax. NS denotes a non-specific band. (<b>D</b>) Pooled densitometry data of the IP western blot analyses as illustrated in panel C. (<b>E</b>) Immunoprecipitation of Bax was followed by IB for Bax and Bim. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 vs. CTL.</p

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome sequence of <i>Lycium qingshuiheense</i> (Solanaceae)

Lycium qingshuiheense is a typical drought and salt-alkali-tolerant plant, which has been added to the new species of Lycium in recent years. Here, we first sequenced the complete chloroplast genome of L. qingshuiheense to investigate its evolutionary relationship within the family Solanaceae. Results suggested that the circular complete chloroplast genome of L. qingshuiheense was 154,945 bp in length, including a large single-copy (LSC) of 85,930 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) of 18,203 bp, and two inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,406 bp. The GC content accounts for 37.90% and annotated 131 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree revealed that L. qingshuiheense was a sister species to L. ruthenicum. Our study provides a new insight into the systematic evolution of Lycium in the Solanaceae family.</p

Effect of Bortezomib on AngII-induced aortic remodeling.

<p>Figure 3A shows photos of Masson's trichrome staining of aortas (5× magnification). Figure 3B shows the medial cross sectional area. Figure 3C shows the aorta inner lumen area. Figure 3D shows the aorta medial cross sectional area to inner lumen area ratio. Vehicle saline and vehicle cyclodextrin treatment (Veh), AngII continuous infusion (AngII), bortezomib treatment (Bort) or combined AngII and bortezomib treatment (AngII/Bort). N = 5. Overall ANOVA Fig. 3B p = 0.01, Fig. 3C p = 0.66, Fig. 3D p = 0.0003. Post hoc analysis (Newman Keuls) for Veh versus Ang II and AngII versus AngII+Bort comparisons shown in each figure</p

Effect of Bortezomib on AngII-induced Hypertensive Changes in TIMP Expression.

<p>For figure 5A, the upper panel is the western blot result of TIMP1 in aorta and the lower panel is a summary of densitometric values. For figure 5B, the upper panel is the western blot result of TIMP2 in aorta with the lower panel as the densitometry. Vehicle saline and vehicle cyclodextrin treatment (Veh), AngII continuous infusion (AngII), bortezomib treatment (Bort), AngII and bortezomib treatment (AngII/Bort). N = 3. Overall ANOVA Fig. 5A p = 0.02, Fig. 5B p = 0.003. Post hoc analysis (Newman Keuls) for Veh versus Ang II and AngII versus AngII+Bort comparisons shown in each figure.</p

HR-Csn8KO impairs UPS proteolytic function in mouse livers.

<p>CTL::GFPdgn tg and H-Csn8KO::GFPdgn tg littermate mice resulting from cross-breeding between GFPdgn tg and HS-Csn8KO mice were used at 4 weeks of age. (<b>A</b>, <b>B</b>) Representative image (A) and pooled densitometry data (B) of western blot analyses of hepatic GFPdgn. A nonspecific band at a molecular weight of ~80kDa is used as the loading control (LC). (C) Representative fluorescence confocal micrographs of GFPdgn direct fluorescence. Scale bar=50 µm. (D, E) Western blot analyses of Rpt5 in this cohort of mice. *p<0.01 vs. CTL::GFPdgn, n=4 mice/group; Student’s t-test.</p