Physicochemical studies of some compounds

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Chemical characteristics of PM<SUB>10</SUB> aerosols and airmass trajectories over Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea during ICARB

For the first time, chemical characterization of PM10 aerosols was attempted over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and Arabian Sea (AS) during the ICARB campaign. Dominance of SO42-, NH4+ and NO3- was noticed over both the regions which indicated the presence of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate as major water soluble particles playing a very important role in the radiation budget. It was observed that all the chemical constituents had higher concentrations over Bay of Bengal as compared to Arabian Sea. Higher concentrations were observed near the Indian coast showing influence of landmass indicating that gaseous pollutants like SO2, NH3 and NO x are transported over to the sea regions which consequently contribute to higher SO42-, NH4+ and NO3- aerosols respectively. The most polluted region over BoB was 13&#176;-19&#176;N and 70&#176;-90&#176;E while it was near 11&#176;N and 75&#176;E over AS. Although the concentrations were higher over Bay of Bengal for all the chemical constituents of PM10 aerosols, per cent non-sea salt (nss) fraction (with respect to Na) was higher over Arabian Sea. Very low Ca2+ concentration was observed at Arabian Sea which led to higher atmospheric acidity as compared to BoB. Nss SO42-alone contributed 48% of total water soluble fraction over BoB as well as AS. Ratios SO42- /NO3- over both the regions (7.8 and 9 over BoB and AS respectively) were very high as compared to reported values at land sites like Allahabad (0.63) and Kanpur (0.66) which may be due to very low NO.3 over sea regions as compared to land sites. Air trajectory analysis showed four classes: (i) airmass passing through Indian land, (ii) from oceanic region, (iii) northern Arabian Sea and Middle East and (iv) African continent. The highest nss SO42- was observed during airmasses coming from the Indian land side while lowest concentrations were observed when the air was coming from oceanic regions. Moderate concentrations of nss SO2- 4 were observed when air was seen moving from the Middle East and African continent. The pH of rainwater was observed to be in the range of 5.9-6.5 which is lower than the values reported over land sites. Similar feature was reported over the Indian Ocean during INDOEX indicating that marine atmosphere had more free acidity than land atmosphere

Measurements of carbonaceous aerosols at urban and remote marine sites

Concentrations of total carbon (TC) and black carbon (BC) in ambient air at Delhi (urban site) and over Indian Ocean (remote marine) were determined as a part of INDOEX programme. Over Indian Ocean, the TC and BC concentrations varied from 1.81 to 10.05 &#956;g/m3 and 0.13 to 1.36 &#956;g/m3 respectively during FFP-98. During the same season at Delhi, the TC and BC ranged from 7.50 to 40.27 &#956;g/m3 and 0.49 to 2.84 &#956;g/m3 respectively. In addition, at Delhi, the TC and BC concentrations were noticed very low during the monsoon season. However, the percentage BC during monsoon season was very high compared to winter season. High concentrations of TC were observed due to high organic carbon (OC) which might be due to biomass burning of various kinds. Similar to Delhi, near Indian coast, the concentration of OC was very high while towards ITCZ and across ITCZ, OC content was relatively lower

Chemical characteristics and source apportionment of aerosols over Indian Ocean during INDOEX-1999

During INDOEX IFP-99, the samples of aerosols were collected onboard ORV Sagar Kanya over Indian Ocean along the cruise track, for chemical characterization and identification of dominating sources of aerosols. The concentrations of nss-SO4, nss-Ca, nss-Mg, NO3, K, NH4 and SO2 were observed to be significantly higher before ITCZ in northern hemisphere than across ITCZ in southern hemisphere. In this study, variation of concentrations of nss-SO4, nss-Ca and nss-K with respect to change in latitude, wind direction, wind speed and relative humidity have been highlighted. North of ITCZ, nss-SO4 varied from 2.20 to 18.31 μg/m3 and south of ITCZ from 0.50 to 2.79 μg/m3 while nss-Ca varied from 0.02 to 0.72 μg/m3 north of ITCZ and from 0.01 to 0.14 μg/m3 south of ITCZ. nss-K ranged 0.09-1.43 μg/m3 and 0.07-0.60 μg/m3 before ITCZ and across ITCZ respectively. nss-Ca and nss-SO4 were contributed mainly by NNW and ENE winds while nss-K was observed to be contributed mainly by SSW and ENE winds. Wind speed greater than 4.5 m/s negatively influenced the concentration of nss-Ca concentrations. Correlation coefficients of nss-SO4 with SO2 (r = 0.7) and RH (r = 0.5) suggested a significant contribution of nss-SO4 by aqueous phase oxidation of SO2. Using PCA, four major sources namely sea salt, biogenic combustion, secondary SO4 and crustal contribution were identified over Indian Ocean during INDOEX period

Scavenging in Northwestern Europe: A Survey of UK Police Specialist Search Officers

Physical search methods used by police specialist searchers are based on counter-terrorism methods and not on the search and recovery of outdoor surface deposited human remains, nevertheless these methods are applied to scenes involving human remains. Additionally, there is limited published forensic literature within Northwestern Europe on the potential taphonomic agents within this region that are capable of modifying human remains through scavenging, scattering and removal. The counter-terrorism basis in physical search methods and the gap in published forensic literature regarding scavenging in this region can potentially impede searchers’ abilities to adapt physical search methods to their full efficiency in the search and recovery of scavenged human remains. This paper analysed through a questionnaire survey of 111 police specialist searchers, within the U.K., the impact of animal scavenging on the search and recovery of human remains.According to questionnaire respondents’ experiences and knowledge, the occurrence of scavenging at scenes in which respondents took part in a physical search for human remains was common (63.46%,n= 66) and happened most frequently with surface deposits (68.25%,n= 43). Scavenging resulted in the recovery of incomplete sets of remains (59.79%, n= 58) and influenced search perimeters (58.33%, n= 35). Scavenging also affected recovery rates at scene searches (80.43%,n= 74) that included the use of cadaver dogs with police handlers. The impact scavengers within this region have on different crime scene scenarios and search methods is not reflected in current published literature or search standards

Effectiveness of conservative non-pharmacological interventions in people with muscular dystrophies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Management of muscular dystrophies (MD) relies on conservative non-pharmacological treatments, but evidence of their effectiveness is limited and inconclusive. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of conservative non-pharmacological interventions for MD physical management. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and searched Medline, CINHAL, Embase, AMED and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial (inception to August 2022). Effect size (ES) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) quantified treatment effect. RESULTS: Of 31,285 identified articles, 39 studies (957 participants), mostly at high risk of bias, were included. For children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), trunk-oriented strength exercises and usual care were more effective than usual care alone in improving distal upper-limb function, sitting and dynamic reaching balance (ES range: 0.87 to 2.29). For adults with Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), vibratory proprioceptive assistance and neuromuscular electrical stimulation respectively improved maximum voluntary isometric contraction and reduced pain intensity (ES range: 1.58 to 2.33). For adults with FSHD, Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), strength-training improved dynamic balance (sit-to-stand ability) and self-perceived physical condition (ES range: 0.83 to 1.00). A multicomponent programme improved perceived exertion rate and gait in adults with Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) (ES range: 0.92 to 3.83). CONCLUSIONS: Low-quality evidence suggests that strength training, with or without other exercise interventions, may improve perceived exertion, distal upper limb function, static and dynamic balance, gait and well-being in MD. Although more robust and larger studies are needed, current evidence supports the inclusion of strength training in MD treatment, as it was found to be safe

Line tester analysis for combining ability and heterosis in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea)

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Vertical migration of some herbicides through undisturbed and homogenized soil columns

A laboratory experiment was conducted by using three herbicides, two from dinitroaniline group and one from thiocarbamate group to know their degree of downward movement (leachability) through soil columns and their contribution in ground water contamination. Soil columns were loaded with Pendimethalin, Benthiocarb and Oryzalin at doses of 10.0, 10.0 and 7.7 kg/ha, respectively. After 30 days soil samples were analyzed from each segments (i.e. 0–6, 6–12, 12–18, 18–24 and 24–30 cm) for Benthiocarb and Pendimethalin by GLC equipped with Ni63 electron capture detector (ECD) and for Oryzalin by HPLC coupled with UV-VIS detector. The results obtained in the present study reveal that the residues of the three herbicides under investigation were predominantly confined to the upper soil layer (0–6 cm). Comparatively, low mobility of these herbicides in soils could be due to strong adsorption of these chemical to soil colloids