Aerosol and cloud feedbacks on surface energy balance over selected regions of the Indian subcontinent

We investigate aerosol and cloud forcing on the surface energy balance over selected regions in India. Four regions were selected with different surface characteristics and have considerable differences in the long-term trends and seasonal distribution of clouds and aerosols. These regions are described as (1) northern semiarid, (2) humid subtropical, (3) populated central peninsula, and (4) northeast monsoon impacted. Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis version 2 (CFSR) data are used in this study. An intercomparison of cloud fractions from both data sets shows that CFSR systematically underestimates high-cloud fraction during premonsoon and monsoon seasons. However, there are fewer low-cloud fraction biases. The positive temporal trend over 31years (1979-2009) from MERRA in high clouds is greater than that of low clouds. This is due to positive anomalies in the cloud ice and supercooled liquid water content in MERRA. Biases in the radiative fluxes and surface fluxes show a strong relationship (correlations exceeding 0.8) with cloud fraction biases, more so for the high clouds. During the premonsoon season, aerosol forcing causes a change in surface shortwave radiation of -24.5, -25, -19, and -16Wm -2 over regions 1 -4, respectively. The corresponding longwave radiation decrease is -9.8, -6.8, -4.5, and -1.9Wm -2 over these same regions, respectively. The maximum surface shortwave reduction due to clouds, which is observed during the monsoon season, is -86, -113, -101, and -97Wm -2 for these same regions, respectively. A decreasing trend in the boundary layer height is noticed both in MERRA and CFSR. The variation in the Bowen ratio and its relation to aerosol and cloud effect anomalies are also discussed

Impact of pulmonary exposure to gold core silver nanoparticles of different size and capping agents on cardiovascular injury

Background:The uses of engineered nanomaterials have expanded in biomedical technology and consumer manufacturing. Furthermore, pulmonary exposure to various engineered nanomaterials has, likewise, demonstrated the ability to exacerbate cardiac ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the influence of particle size or capping agent remains unclear. In an effort to address these influences we explored response to 2 different size gold core nanosilver particles (AgNP) with two different capping agents at 2 different time points. We hypothesized that a pulmonary exposure to AgNP induces cardiovascular toxicity influenced by inflammation and vascular dysfunction resulting in expansion of cardiac I/R Injury that is sensitive to particle size and the capping agent. Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to 200 μg of 20 or 110 nm polyvinylprryolidone (PVP) or citrate capped AgNP. One and 7 days following intratracheal instillation serum was analyzed for concentrations of selected cytokines; cardiac I/R injury and isolated coronary artery and aorta segment were assessed for constrictor responses and endothelial dependent relaxation and endothelial independent nitric oxide dependent relaxation. Results: AgNP instillation resulted in modest increase in selected serum cytokines with elevations in IL-2, IL-18, and IL-6. Instillation resulted in a derangement of vascular responses to constrictors serotonin or phenylephrine, as well as endothelial dependent relaxations with acetylcholine or endothelial independent relaxations by sodium nitroprusside in a capping and size dependent manner. Exposure to both 20 and 110 nm AgNP resulted in exacerbation cardiac I/R injury 1 day following IT instillation independent of capping agent with 20 nm AgNP inducing marginally greater injury. Seven days following IT instillation the expansion of I/R injury persisted but the greatest injury was associated with exposure to 110 nm PVP capped AgNP resulted in nearly a two-fold larger infarct size compared to naïve. Conclusions: Exposure to AgNP may result in vascular dysfunction, a potentially maladaptive sensitization of the immune system to respond to a secondary insult (e.g., cardiac I/R) which may drive expansion of I/R injury at 1 and 7 days following IT instillation where the extent of injury could be correlated with capping agents and AgNP size.This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences U19ES019525, U01ES020127, U19ES019544 and East Carolina Universit

Automatic cytometric device using multiple wavelength excitations

International audiencePrecise identification of eosinophils, basophils, and specific subpopulations of blood cells (B lymphocytes) in an unconventional automatic hematology analyzer is demonstrated. Our specific apparatus mixes two excitation radiations by means of an acousto-optics tunable filter to properly control fluorescence emission of phycoerythrin cyanin 5 (PC5) conjugated to antibodies (anti-CD20 or anti-CRTH2) and Thiazole Orange. This way our analyzer combining techniques of hematology analysis and flow cytometry based on multiple fluorescence detection, drastically improves the signal to noise ratio and decreases the spectral overlaps impact coming from multiple fluorescence emissions

1-(2-Picolyl)-substituted 1,2,3-triazole as novel chelating ligand for thepreparation of ruthenium complexes with potential anticancer activity

The 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole ligand prepared by click chemistry 1-(2-picolyl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole (ppt) was investigated as novel chelating ligand for Ru(II) complexes with potential antitumor activity. The preparation and structural characterization, mainly by NMR spectroscopy in solution and by X-Ray crystallography in the solid state, of four new Ru(II) complexes is reported: two isomeric Ru-dmso compounds, trans,cis-[RuCl2(dmso-S)2(ppt)] (1) and cis,cis-[RuCl2(dmso-S)2(ppt)] (2), and two half-sandwich Ru-[9]aneS3 coordination compounds, [Ru([9]aneS3)(dmso-S)(ppt)][CF3SO3]2 (3), and [Ru([9]aneS3)Cl(ppt)][CF3SO3 ] (4). In all compounds ppt \ufb01rmly binds to ruthenium in a bidentate fashion through the pyridyl nitrogen atom and the triazole N2, thus forming a puckered six-membered ring. The chemical behavior in aqueous solution of the water-soluble complexes 3 and 4 was studied by UV-Vis and NMR spectroscopy and compared to that of the previously described organometallic analogue [Ru(h6-p-cymene)Cl(ppt)][Cl] (5) in view of their potential antitumor activity. Compounds 3\u20135 were tested also in vitro for cytotoxic activity against two human cancer cell lines, one sensitive and one resistant to cisplatin, in comparison with cisplatin. Compound 4, the one that aquates faster, was found to be more cytotoxic than cisplatin against human lung squamose carcinoma cell line (A-549)

Aerosol and cloud feedbacks on surface energy balance over selected regions of the Indian subcontinent

We investigate aerosol and cloud forcing on the surface energy balance over selected regions in India. Four regions were selected with different surface characteristics and have considerable differences in the long-term trends and seasonal distribution of clouds and aerosols. These regions are described as (1) northern semiarid, (2) humid subtropical, (3) populated central peninsula, and (4) northeast monsoon impacted. Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis version 2 (CFSR) data are used in this study. An intercomparison of cloud fractions from both data sets shows that CFSR systematically underestimates high-cloud fraction during premonsoon and monsoon seasons. However, there are fewer low-cloud fraction biases. The positive temporal trend over 31 years (1979-2009) from MERRA in high clouds is greater than that of low clouds. This is due to positive anomalies in the cloud ice and supercooled liquid water content in MERRA. Biases in the radiative fluxes and surface fluxes show a strong relationship (correlations exceeding 0.8) with cloud fraction biases, more so for the high clouds. During the premonsoon season, aerosol forcing causes a change in surface shortwave radiation of -24.5, -25, -19, and -16 W m<SUP>-2</SUP> over regions 1 -4, respectively. The corresponding longwave radiation decrease is -9.8, -6.8, -4.5, and -1.9 W m<SUP>-2</SUP> over these same regions, respectively. The maximum surface shortwave reduction due to clouds, which is observed during the monsoon season, is -86, -113, -101, and -97 W m<SUP>-2</SUP> for these same regions, respectively. A decreasing trend in the boundary layer height is noticed both in MERRA and CFSR. The variation in the Bowen ratio and its relation to aerosol and cloud effect anomalies are also discussed

Biological evaluation of diazene derivatives as anti-tubercular compounds.

&lt;p&gt;Despite efforts made in chemotherapeutic research in the past and present, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the etiological agent of tuberculosis, still causes more than a million deadly casualties each year, second only to HIV. The rapid generation and spread of drug resistant strains, a problem exacerbated by co-infection with HIV demands further efforts in the investigation of novel classes of anti-tubercular compounds. A library of eight substituted diazenecarboxamides, three carbamoyldiazenecarboxylates and four diazene-1,2-dicarboxamides was synthesized in a straightforward manner followed by a biological evaluation of the compounds. We observed minimal inhibitory concentrations below 10 μg/mL against the H37Rv lab strain of M.tb. Three compounds that showed a potency of 90% growth inhibition of M.tb at a concentration lower than 10 μg/mL were further evaluated and showed potency against other clinically relevant mycobacterial species such as Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium ulcerans. The selected compounds were examined for acute cell toxicity on a murine macrophage like monocyte cell line J774 A.1 in which the cell viability was reduced by 50% at concentrations ranging from 7.4 μg/mL to 20.7 μg/mL. Neither of the three compounds showed signs of genotoxicity by VITOTOX or by Comet assay. The study was complemented by demonstration of the inhibition of intracellular replication of M.tb H37Rv inside J774 A.1 cells at 2 μg/mL concentration and the susceptibility of a MDR LAM-1 strain at concentrations between 5 and 1 μg/mL of the most active compound.&lt;/p&gt;</p