Heterogeneous Interactions of ClONO2 and HCl with Sulfuric Acid Tetrahydrate: Implications for the Stratosphere

The reaction probabilities for ClONO2+H2O- HOCl + HNO3 and ClONO2+ HCl Cl2 +HNO3 have been investigated on sulfuric acid tetrahydrate (SAT, H2SO4-4H2O)surfaces at temperatures between 190 and 230 K and at reactant concentrations that are typical in the lower stratosphere, using a fast-flow reactor coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The results indicate that the reaction probabilities as well as HCl uptake depend strongly on the thermodynamic state of SAT surface: they decrease significantly with decreasing H2O partial pressure at a given temperature, and decrease with increasing temperature at a given H2O partial pressure, as the SAT changes from the H2O-rich form to the H2SO4-rich form. For H2O-rich SAT at 195 K gamma(sub 1) approx. = -0.01 and gamma(sub 2) greater or equal to 0.1, whereas the values for H2SO4-rich SAT decrease by more than 2 orders of magnitude. At low concentrations of HCl, close to those found in the stratosphere, the amount of HCl taken up by H2O-rich SAT films corresponds to a coverage of the order of a tenth of a monolayer (approx. = 10(exp 14) molecules/sq cm); H2SO4-rich SAT films take up 2 orders of magnitude less HCl (les than 10(exp 12) molecules/sq cm). Substantial HCl uptake at high HCl concentrations is also observed, as a result of surface melting. The data reveal that frozen stratospheric sulfate aerosols may play an important role in chlorine activation in the winter polar stratosphere via processes similar to those occurring on the surfaces of polar stratospheric cloud particles

Towards a Strategy for Improving Agricultural Inputs Markets in Africa

Agribusiness, Downloads July 2008-July 2009: 19,

Market-Oriented Strategies to Improve Household Access to Food: Experience from Sub-Saharan Africa

The objectives of this report are to identify market-oriented strategies to alleviate both chronic and transitory food insecurity, and to examine the interactions between short-run targeting mechanisms and longer-run strategies designed to alleviate the chronic causes of inadequate access to food. The main premise of the report is that sustained improvements in household access to food in Sub-Saharan Africa require the development of more reliable food and input markets that (a) create incentives to adopt cost-reducing investments at various stages in the food system; and (b) offer incentives for rural households to shift from a subsistence-oriented pattern of production and consumption to more productive systems based on specialization and gains from exchange. Sustained productivity growth in most parts of the world has typically entailed some form of structural transformation, which, in the historical development processes of other regions, has been a prerequisite for broad-based and sustained growth in productivity, real incomes and purchasing power throughout society. Structural transformation involves a movement away from subsistence-oriented, household-level production toward an integrated economy based on specialization and exchange. But specialization makes households dependent on the performance of exchange systems. The ability to capture the productivity gains from new technology and specialization thus depends on reducing the risks and uncertainty of market-based exchange, thereby facilitating greater participation in the types of specialized production and consumption patterns involved in the process of structural transformation. Section 3 presents empirical evidence from research conducted in Africa to draw conclusions about how the design of agricultural policies and transfer programs have affected household access to food in both rural and urban areas. Based on the foregoing, section 4 presents the following guidelines for the design of strategies to promote access to food in Africa: (1.) Focus on achieving productivity gains in the food system. (2.) Focus on how food and income transfer programs can be designed to promote the long-run development of the food system- the basis for providing food for most people over the long run in addition to providing food to people in the short run. (3.) Focus on reducing consumer food costs by expanding the range of products available to produce and consume. (4.) Focus on the cost and reliability of food supplies to rural areas as a component of non-farm, livestock, and other income diversification strategies designed to promote access to food over the longer run. (5.) Focus on developing local analytical expertise to help guide food system development.Food Security and Poverty, Downloads July 2008-June 2009: 12,

Secondary organic aerosol formation from in-use motor vehicle emissions using a potential aerosol mass reactor.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from in-use vehicle emissions was investigated using a potential aerosol mass (PAM) flow reactor deployed in a highway tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Experiments consisted of passing exhaust-dominated tunnel air through a PAM reactor over integrated hydroxyl radical (OH) exposures ranging from ∼ 0.3 to 9.3 days of equivalent atmospheric oxidation. Experiments were performed during heavy traffic periods when the fleet was at least 80% light-duty gasoline vehicles on a fuel-consumption basis. The peak SOA production occurred after 2-3 days of equivalent atmospheric oxidation. Additional OH exposure decreased the SOA production presumably due to a shift from functionalization to fragmentation dominated reaction mechanisms. Photo-oxidation also produced substantial ammonium nitrate, often exceeding the mass of SOA. Analysis with an SOA model highlight that unspeciated organics (i.e., unresolved complex mixture) are a very important class of precursors and that multigenerational processing of both gases and particles is important at longer time scales. The chemical evolution of the organic aerosol inside the PAM reactor appears to be similar to that observed in the atmosphere. The mass spectrum of the unoxidized primary organic aerosol closely resembles ambient hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA). After aging the exhaust equivalent to a few hours of atmospheric oxidation, the organic aerosol most closely resembles semivolatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA) and then low-volatility organic aerosol (LV-OOA) at higher OH exposures. Scaling the data suggests that mobile sources contribute ∼ 2.9 ± 1.6 Tg SOA yr(-1) in the United States, which is a factor of 6 greater than all mobile source particulate matter emissions reported by the National Emissions Inventory. This highlights the important contribution of SOA formation from vehicle exhaust to ambient particulate matter concentrations in urban areas

Management of lupus nephritis: a systematic literature review informing the 2019 update of the joint EULAR and European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association (EULAR/ERA-EDTA) recommendations.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the current evidence for the management of lupus nephritis (LN) informing the 2019 update of the EULAR/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association recommendations. METHODS: According to the EULAR standardised operating procedures, a PubMed systematic literature review was performed, from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018. Since this was an update of the 2012 recommendations, the final level of evidence (LoE) and grading of recommendations considered the total body of evidence, including literature prior to 2012. RESULTS: We identified 387 relevant articles. High-quality randomised evidence supports the use of immunosuppressive treatment for class III and class IV LN (LoE 1a), and moderate-level evidence supports the use of immunosuppressive treatment for pure class V LN with nephrotic-range proteinuria (LoE 2b). Treatment should aim for at least 25% reduction in proteinuria at 3 months, 50% at 6 months and complete renal response (<500-700 mg/day) at 12 months (LoE 2a-2b). High-quality evidence supports the use of mycophenolate mofetil/mycophenolic acid (MMF/MPA) or low-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide (CY) as initial treatment of active class III/IV LN (LoE 1a). Combination of tacrolimus with MMF/MPA and high-dose CY are alternatives in specific circumstances (LoE 1a). There is low-quality level evidence to guide optimal duration of immunosuppression in LN (LoE 3). In end-stage kidney disease, all methods of kidney replacement treatment can be used, with transplantation having the most favourable outcomes (LoE 2b). CONCLUSIONS: There is high-quality evidence to guide the initial and subsequent phases of class III/IV LN treatment, but low-to-moderate quality evidence to guide treatment of class V LN, monitoring and optimal duration of immunosuppression

Aircraft-based aerosol size and composition measurements during ACE-Asia using an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer

An Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) was deployed during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment-Asia (ACE-Asia) field campaign on board the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft to measure the size-resolved chemical composition of submicron aerosols in the outflow from eastern Asia. Research flights were carried out from 31 March to 1 May 2001 in an area that covered 127°E–135°E and 32°N–38°N. Valid data from the AMS were obtained during 15 out of a total of 19 research flights. During the mission the AMS measured distinct layers (from the boundary layer to ∼3700 m) of submicron aerosols composed of sulfate, ammonium, and organics as the major nonrefractory components, separated by layers with much lower aerosol concentrations. Sulfate and organics mass concentrations of up to 10 μg m^(−3) and 13 μg m^(−3), respectively, were measured in some pollution layers. Back-trajectory analysis shows that the polluted layers originated in urban and industrial areas of China and Korea. The mass-weighed size distribution of the submicron sulfate was relatively constant from day to day and layer to layer, with an aerodynamic diameter mode of 400–500 nm and a width (full width half maximum) of about 450 nm in most of the layers. On the days with low influence of dust in the aerosol outflow, as indicated by other instruments aboard the Twin Otter, the total mass of nonrefractory aerosols estimated by the AMS correlated well with total volume of aerosols measured by a differential mobility analyzer

Temporal regulation of expression of immediate early and second phase transcripts by endothelin-1 in cardiomyocytes

Background: Endothelin-1 stimulates Gq protein-coupled receptors to promote proliferation in dividing cells or hypertrophy in terminally differentiated cardiomyocytes. In cardiomyocytes, endothelin-1 rapidly (within minutes) stimulates protein kinase signaling, including extracellular-signal regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2; though not ERK5), with phenotypic/physiological changes developing from approximately 12 h. Hypertrophy is associated with changes in mRNA/protein expression, presumably consequent to protein kinase signaling, but the connections between early, transient signaling events and developed hypertrophy are unknown. Results: Using microarrays, we defined the early transcriptional responses of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes to endothelin-1 over 4 h, differentiating between immediate early gene (IEG) and second phase RNAs with cycloheximide. IEGs exhibited differential temporal and transient regulation, with expression of second phase RNAs within 1 h. Of transcripts upregulated at 30 minutes encoding established proteins, 28 were inhibited >50% by U0126 (which inhibits ERK1/2/5 signaling), with 9 inhibited 25-50%. Expression of only four transcripts was not inhibited. At 1 h, most RNAs (approximately 67%) were equally changed in total and polysomal RNA with approximately 17% of transcripts increased to a greater extent in polysomes. Thus, changes in expression of most protein-coding RNAs should be reflected in protein synthesis. However, approximately 16% of transcripts were essentially excluded from the polysomes, including some protein-coding mRNAs, presumably inefficiently translated. Conclusion: The phasic, temporal regulation of early transcriptional responses induced by endothelin-1 in cardiomyocytes indicates that, even in terminally differentiated cells, signals are propagated beyond the primary signaling pathways through transcriptional networks leading to phenotypic changes (that is, hypertrophy). Furthermore, ERK1/2 signaling plays a major role in this response

Prognostic DNA Methylation Biomarkers in High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer:A Systematic Review to Identify Loci for Prospective Validation

Context: High-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) represents over 30% of all incident urothelial bladder cancers (BCs); patients are at risk of progression, and 20–30% will die from BC within 5 yr. Current guidelines recommend induction and maintenance of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or upfront radical cystectomy for highest-risk disease, treatments with markedly different morbidity, mortality, and patient burden. There are no validated biomarkers to facilitate such treatment decisions. Alterations in DNA methylation are commonplace in BC; hence, measurable changes in DNA methylation represent an opportunity for the discovery of such biomarkers.Objective: To systematically assess the evidence regarding DNA methylation markers as prognosticators for HR-NMIBC.Evidence acquisition: Standard systematic review methods were employed with searches undertaken in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed up to January 2019. Studies that included patients with HR-NMIBC and investigated the utility of DNA methylation biomarkers as prognostic tools were included.Evidence synthesis: Of 63 prognostic biomarker studies identified, 21 met the protocol-driven inclusion criteria and were directly relevant to HR-NMIBC patient outcomes: tumour recurrence (TR), tumour progression (TP), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS). These studies described 140 methylation markers; of these, the most promising were cadherin-13 (CDH13; hazard ratios [HRs]: 5.1 for TR, 6.6 for TP, 3.8–8.0 for OS), protocadherins (PCDHs; HRs: 4.7 for TR, 2.5 for TP, 3.0–4.8 for OS), Runt domain transcription factor 3 (RUNX3; HR: 5.1 for TP), Homeobox 9 (HOXA9; HR: 1.9 for TR), Islet-1 (ISL1; HRs: 1.7 for TR, 3.3 for TP), and PAX6 (HR: 2.2 for TR).Conclusions: This systematic review identifies a number of potentially useful prognostic methylation markers for HR-NMIBC. These loci (CDH13, PCDHs, RUNX3, HOXA9, ISL1, and PAX6) should be validated in prospective studies in order to translate benefit to patients.Patient summary: Early bladder cancer represents a more complex spectrum of disease than can be assessed by conventional methods Emerging studies on molecular markers will improve our understanding of this disease, and may enable more precise and personalised treatment.</p

Prognostic DNA Methylation Biomarkers in High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer:A Systematic Review to Identify Loci for Prospective Validation

Context: High-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) represents over 30% of all incident urothelial bladder cancers (BCs); patients are at risk of progression, and 20–30% will die from BC within 5 yr. Current guidelines recommend induction and maintenance of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or upfront radical cystectomy for highest-risk disease, treatments with markedly different morbidity, mortality, and patient burden. There are no validated biomarkers to facilitate such treatment decisions. Alterations in DNA methylation are commonplace in BC; hence, measurable changes in DNA methylation represent an opportunity for the discovery of such biomarkers.Objective: To systematically assess the evidence regarding DNA methylation markers as prognosticators for HR-NMIBC.Evidence acquisition: Standard systematic review methods were employed with searches undertaken in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed up to January 2019. Studies that included patients with HR-NMIBC and investigated the utility of DNA methylation biomarkers as prognostic tools were included.Evidence synthesis: Of 63 prognostic biomarker studies identified, 21 met the protocol-driven inclusion criteria and were directly relevant to HR-NMIBC patient outcomes: tumour recurrence (TR), tumour progression (TP), disease-specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS). These studies described 140 methylation markers; of these, the most promising were cadherin-13 (CDH13; hazard ratios [HRs]: 5.1 for TR, 6.6 for TP, 3.8–8.0 for OS), protocadherins (PCDHs; HRs: 4.7 for TR, 2.5 for TP, 3.0–4.8 for OS), Runt domain transcription factor 3 (RUNX3; HR: 5.1 for TP), Homeobox 9 (HOXA9; HR: 1.9 for TR), Islet-1 (ISL1; HRs: 1.7 for TR, 3.3 for TP), and PAX6 (HR: 2.2 for TR).Conclusions: This systematic review identifies a number of potentially useful prognostic methylation markers for HR-NMIBC. These loci (CDH13, PCDHs, RUNX3, HOXA9, ISL1, and PAX6) should be validated in prospective studies in order to translate benefit to patients.Patient summary: Early bladder cancer represents a more complex spectrum of disease than can be assessed by conventional methods Emerging studies on molecular markers will improve our understanding of this disease, and may enable more precise and personalised treatment.</p

Evaluation of the new capture vapourizer for aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS) through laboratory studies of inorganic species

Aerosol mass spectrometers (AMSs) and Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitors (ACSMs) commercialized by Aerodyne are widely used to measure the non-refractory species in submicron particles. With the standard vapourizer (SV) that is installed in all commercial instruments to date, the quantification of ambient aerosol mass concentration requires the use of the collection efficiency (CE) to correct for the loss of particles due to bounce. A new capture vapourizer (CV) has been designed to reduce the need for a bounce-related CE correction. Two high-resolution AMS instruments, one with a SV and one with a CV, were operated side by side in the laboratory. Four standard species, NH4NO3, NaNO3, (NH4)2SO4 and NH4Cl, which typically constitute the majority of the mass of ambient submicron inorganic species, are studied. The effect of vapourizer temperature (Tv&thinsp;&sim;&thinsp;200&ndash;800 &deg;C) on the detected fragments, CE and size distributions are investigated. A Tv of 500&ndash;550 &deg;C for the CV is recommended. In the CV, CE was identical (around unity) for more volatile species (e.g. NH4NO3) and comparable to or higher than the SV for less-volatile species (e.g. (NH4)2SO4), demonstrating an improvement in CE for laboratory inorganic species in the CV. The detected relative intensities of fragments of NO3&nbsp;and SO4&nbsp;species observed with the CV are different from those observed with the SV, and are consistent with additional thermal decomposition arising from the increased residence time and multiple collisions. Increased residence times with the CV also lead to broader particle size distribution measurements than with the SV. A method for estimating whether pure species will be detected in AMS sizing mode is proposed. Production of CO2(g) from sampled nitrate on the vapourizer surface, which has been reported for the SV, is negligible for the CV for NH4NO3&nbsp;and comparable to the SV for NaNO3.&thinsp;. We observe an extremely consistent fragmentation for ammonium compared to very large changes for the associated anions. Together with other evidence, this indicates that it is unlikely that a major fraction of inorganic species vapourizes as intact salts in the AMS.</p