Study of relationship between daily maxima in ozone and temperature in an urban site in India

he relationship between surface-level observations of daily maxima in ozone (O3max) volume mixing ratio and ambient air temperature (Tmax) has been studied at an urban site, i.e. Pune (18.4°N, 73.8°E), India during 2003-04. The mixing ratios of O3max were found to be highest during winter to pre-monsoon period and lowest in the monsoon season. The dependence of O3max levels on Tmax has been quantified using the linear regression fit for the different seasons. However, except for the monsoon season, reasonably good correlations between O3max and Tmax were noticed. The correlation between daily O3max concentration and minimum NOx (NOxmin) concentration was also studied to assess the importance of photochemical mechanism mainly reduction in the loss due to titration. Overall, the strong dependencies of O3max on Tmax and NOxmin signify the role of both meteorological and photochemical processes during most months of a year. The positive slopes of ΔO3max/ΔTmax and ΔO3max/ΔNOxmin clearly indicate the role of significant production and accumulation of O3 under high temperature and low NOx conditions respectively, during winter and premonsoon seasons. The statistical analysis of O3 in relation with the key meteorological and chemical parameters is important to understand the sensitivity of secondary pollutants on various controlling factors

Temporal variation of Particulate Matter (PM) and potential sources at an urban site of Udaipur in Western India

Measurements of mass concentrations of particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10) and mixing ratio of carbon monoxide (CO) were made at an urban site of Udaipur (24.58°N, 73.68°E) in India from April 2010 to March 2011. Concentrations of PM2.5, PM10 and CO show strong diurnal and seasonal variations. The highest concentrations coincide with the rush traffic and lower nocturnal boundary layer depth. The lowest concentrations in the afternoon hours are attributed to the dilution caused by higher boundary layer height and reduced traffic. The levels of trace constituents during the weekend were significantly reduced compared to the weekdays of observations

Radiative impact of mixing state of black carbon aerosol in Asian outflow

The radiative impact of the mixing state of black carbon (BC) aerosol is investigated in Asian outflow. The mixing state and size distribution of BC aerosol were measured with a ground-based single-particle soot photometer at a remote island (Fukue) in Japan in spring 2007. The mass concentration of BC in Asian continental air masses reached 0.5 μg m-3, with a mass median diameter of 200-220 nm. The median value of the shell/core diameter ratio increased to ∼1.6 in Asian continental and maritime air masses with a core diameter of 200 mn, while in free tropospheric and Japanese air masses it was 1.3-1.4. On the basis of theoretical calculations using the size distribution and mixing state of BC aerosol, scattering and absorption properties of PM1 aerosols were calculated under both dry and ambient conditions, considering the hygroscopic growth of aerosols. It was estimated that internal mixing enhanced the BC absorption by a factor of 1.5-1.6 compared to external mixing. The calculated absorption coefficient was 2-3 times higher in Asian continental air masses than in clean air. Coatings reduced the single-scattering albedo (SSA) of PM1 aerosol by 0.01 -0.02, which indicates the importance of the mixing state of BC aerosol in evaluating its radiative influence. The SSA was sensitive to changes in air mass type, with a value of ∼0.98 in Asian continental air masses and ∼0.95 in Japanese and free tropospheric air masses under ambient conditions. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union

Accumulation-mode aerosol number concentrations in the Arctic during the ARCTAS aircraft campaign: Long-range transport of polluted and clean air from the Asian continent

We evaluate the impact of transport from midlatitudes on aerosol number concentrations in the accumulation mode (light-scattering particles (LSP) with diameters >180 nm) in the Arctic during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) campaign. We focus on transport from the Asian continent. We find marked contrasts in the number concentration (NLSP), transport efficiency (TE N-LSP, the fraction transported from sources to the Arctic), size distribution, and the chemical composition of aerosols between air parcels from anthropogenic sources in East Asia (Asian AN) and biomass burning sources in Russia and Kazakhstan (Russian BB). Asian AN air had lower NLSP and TEN-LSP (25 cm-3 and 18% in spring and 6.2 cm-3 and 3.0% in summer) than Russian BB air (280 cm-3 and 97% in spring and 36 cm-3 and 7.6% in summer) due to more efficient wet scavenging during transport from East Asia. Russian BB in this spring is the most important source of accumulation-mode aerosols over the Arctic, and BB emissions are found to be the primary source of aerosols within all the data in spring during ARCTAS. On the other hand, the contribution of Asian AN transport had a negligible effect on the accumulation-mode aerosol number concentration in the Arctic during ARCTAS. Compared with background air, NLSP was 2.3-4.7 times greater for Russian BB air but 2.4-2.6 times less for Asian AN air in both spring and summer. This result shows that the transport of Asian AN air decreases aerosol number concentrations in the Arctic, despite the large emissions of aerosols in East Asia. The very low aerosol number concentrations in Asian AN air were caused by wet removal during vertical transport in association with warm conveyor belts (WCBs). Therefore, this cleansing effect will be prominent for air transported via WCBs from other midlatitude regions and seasons. The inflow of clean midlatitude air can potentially have an important impact on accumulation-mode aerosol number concentrations in the Arctic. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union

Assessment of occupational health problems and physiological stress among the brick field workers of West Bengal, India

Objectives: The brick field industry is one of the oldest industries in India, which employs a large number of workers of poor socioeconomic status. The main aim of the present investigation is i) to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among brick field workers, ii) to determine the prevalence of respiratory disorders and physiological stress among brick field workers compared to control workers. Material and Methods: For this study, a total of 220 brick field workers and 130 control subjects were selected randomly. The control subjects were mainly involved in hand-intensive jobs. The Modified Nordic Questionnaire was applied to assess the discomfort felt among both groups of workers. Thermal stress was also assessed by measuring the WBGT index. The pulmonary functions were checked using the spirometry. Physiological assessment of the workload was carried out by recording the heart rate and blood pressure of the workers prior to work and just after work in the field. Results: Brick field workers suffered from pain especially in the lower back (98%), hands (93%), knees (86%), wrists (85%), shoulders (76%) and neck (65%). Among the brick-making activities, brick field workers felt discomfort during spading for mud collection (98%), carrying bricks (95%) and molding (87%). The results showed a significantly lower p value < 0.001 in FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio and PEFR in brick field workers compared to the control group. The post-activity heart rate of the brick field workers was 148.6 beats/min, whereas the systolic and diastolic blood pressure results were 152.8 and 78.5 mm/Hg, respectively. Conclusions: This study concludes that health of the brick field workers was highly affected due to working in unhealthy working conditions for a long period of time

The effectiveness of a low-intensity problem-solving intervention for common adolescent mental health problems in New Delhi, India: protocol for a school-based, individually randomized controlled trial with an embedded stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled recruitment trial

Background Conduct, anxiety and depressive disorders account for over 75% of the adolescent mental health burden globally. The current protocol will test a low-intensity problem-solving intervention for school-going adolescents with common mental health problems in India. The protocol also tests the effects of a classroom-based sensitization intervention on the demand for counselling services in an embedded recruitment trial. Methods We will conduct a two-arm individually randomized controlled trial in six Government-run secondary schools in New Delhi. The targeted sample is 240 adolescents in grades 9-12 with persistent, elevated mental health symptoms and associated impact. Participants will receive either a brief problem-solving intervention delivered over 3 weeks by lay counsellors (intervention), or enhanced usual care comprised of problem-solving booklets (control). Self-reported adolescent mental health symptoms and idiographic problems will be assessed at 6 weeks (co-primary outcomes) and again at 12 weeks post-randomization. In addition, adolescent-reported impact of mental health difficulties, perceived stress, mental wellbeing and clinical remission, as well as parent-reported adolescent mental health symptoms and impact scores, will be assessed at 6 and 12 weeks post-randomization. We will also complete a parallel process evaluation, including estimations of the costs of delivering the interventions. An embedded recruitment trial will apply a stepped-wedge, cluster (class)-randomized controlled design in 70 classes across the six schools. This will evaluate the added impact of a classroom-based sensitization intervention over school-level recruitment sensitization activities on the primary outcome of referral rate into the host trial (i.e. the proportion of adolescents referred as a function of the total sampling frame in each condition of the embedded recruitment trial). Other outcomes will be the proportion of referrals eligible to participate in the host trial, proportion of self-generated referrals, and severity and pattern of symptoms among referred adolescents in each condition. Power calculations were undertaken separately for each trial. A detailed statistical analysis plan will be developed separately for each trial prior to unblinding. Discussion Both trials were initiated on 20 August 2018. A single research protocol for both trials offers a resource-efficient methodology for testing the effectiveness of linked procedures to enhance uptake and outcomes of a school-based psychological intervention for common adolescent mental health problems

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Biodegradable, flexible silicon nanomembrane-based NO x gas sensor system with record-high performance for transient environmental monitors and medical implants

Abstract: A novel transient electronics technology that is capable of completely dissolving or decomposing in certain conditions after a period of operation offers unprecedented opportunities for medical implants, environmental sensors, and other applications. Here, we describe a biodegradable, flexible silicon-based electronic system that detects NO species with a record-breaking sensitivity of 136 Rs (5 ppm, NO2) and 100-fold selectivity for NO species over other substances with a fast response (~30 s) and recovery (~60 s). The exceptional features primarily depend on not only materials, dimensions, and design layouts but also temperatures and electrical operations. Large-scale sensor arrays in a mechanically pliable configuration exhibit negligible deterioration in performance under various modes of applied loads, consistent with mechanics modeling. In vitro evaluations demonstrate the capability and stability of integrated NOx devices in severe wet environments for biomedical applications

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Fertilization induces a transient exposure of phosphatidylserine in mouse eggs

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is normally localized to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and the requirement of PS translocation to the outer leaflet in cellular processes other than apoptosis has been demonstrated recently. In this work we investigated the occurrence of PS mobilization in mouse eggs, which express flippase Atp8a1 and scramblases Plscr1 and 3, as determined by RT-PCR; these enzyme are responsible for PS distribution in cell membranes. We find a dramatic increase in binding of flouresceinated-Annexin-V, which specifically binds to PS, following fertilization or parthenogenetic activation induced by SrCl2 treatment. This increase was not observed when eggs were first treated with BAPTA-AM, indicating that an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration was required for PS exposure. Fluorescence was observed over the entire egg surface with the exception of the regions overlying the meiotic spindle and sperm entry site. PS exposure was also observed in activated eggs obtained from CaMKIIγ null females, which are unable to exit metaphase II arrest despite displaying Ca2+ spikes. In contrast, PS exposure was not observed in TPEN-activated eggs, which exit metaphase II arrest in the absence of Ca2+ release. PS exposure was also observed when eggs were activated with ethanol but not with a Ca2+ ionophore, suggesting that the Ca2+ source and concentration are relevant for PS exposure. Last, treatment with cytochalasin D, which disrupts microfilaments, or jasplakinolide, which stabilizes microfilaments, prior to egg activation showed that PS externalization is an actin-dependent process. Thus, the Ca2+ rise during egg activation results in a transient exposure of PS in fertilized eggs that is not associated with apoptosis.Fil: Curia, Claudio Augusto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Ernesto, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Stein, Paula. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Busso, Dolores. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Schultz, Richard. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Cuasnicu, Patricia Sara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); ArgentinaFil: Cohen, Debora Juana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); Argentin