Air quality effects of alternative fuels. Final report

To support the Alternative Fuels Utilization Program, a comparison of potential air quality effects of alternative transportation fuels is being performed. This report presents the results of Phase 1 of this program, focusing on reformulated gasoline (RFG), methanol blended with 15 percent gasoline (M85), and compressed natural gas (CNG). The fuels are compared in terms of effects on simulated future concentrations of ozone and mobile source air toxics in a photochemical grid model. The fuel comparisons were carried out for the future year 2020 and assumed complete replacement of gasoline in the projected light-duty gasoline fleet by each of the candidate fuels. The model simulations were carried out for the areas surrounding Los Angeles and Baltimore/DC, and other (non-mobile) sources of atmospheric emissions were projected according to published estimates of economic and population growth, and planned emission control measures specific to each modeling domain. The future-year results are compared to a future-year run with all gasoline vehicle emissions removed. The results of the comparison indicate that the use of M85 is likely to produce similar ozone and air toxics levels as those projected from the use of RFG. Substitution of CNG is projected to produce significantly lower levels of ozone and the mobile source air toxics than those projected for RFG or M85. The relative benefits of CNG substitution are consistent in both modeling domains. The projection methodologies used for the comparison are subject to a large uncertainty, and modeled concentration distributions depend on meteorological conditions. The quantitative comparison of fuel effects is thus likely to be sensitive to alternative assumptions. The consistency of the results for two very different modeling domains, using very different base assumptions, lends credibility to the qualitative differentiation among these fuels. 32 refs., 42 figs., 47 tabs

Aktywność enzymów antyoksydacyjnych oraz koncentracja białka, Mn, Cu i Zn w świńskim płynie pęcherzykowym

Oxidative metabolism is essential for the gamete and the embryo energy production and is unavoidably associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Enzymatic antioxidant defenses are present in the mammalian oocytes, embryos and follicular fluid (FF). An addition of porcine FF to maturation media have positive effects on the IVM and IVF results. The aim of this study was to study the CAT, SOD and GSH-Px activity, as well as Cu, Mn, and Zn concentration in porcine FF collected from the left and the right ovary. The ovaries were collected from 77 gilts at age 8 months. All the analyzed samples of FF revealed active enzymes (24.2·10–3 U · l–1, 2.65·10–3 U · l–1, and 525 U · l–1 for CAT, GSH-Px, and SOD, respectively) and contained Zn, Cu and Mn (13.8·103mol · l–1, 33.3·103 mol · l–1, and 133·10–9 mol · l–1, respectively). In the pFF collected from the left ovary, SOD and GSH-Px activity was higher compared to pFF from the right ovary. On the contrary, the concentration of Cu and Mn was significantly lower in the left ovary pFF. The concentration of Cu ions was negatively correlated with SOD activity. The CAT activity in pFF form left or right ovary did not show any differences.Metabolizm oksydacyjny jest niezbędny do produkcji energii na potrzeby gamet i zarodków, co związane jest z wytwarzaniem reaktywnych form tlenu. Antyoksydacyjny mechanizm ochrony enzymatycznej znajduje się w oocytach i zarodkach ssaków, a także w płynie pęcherzykowym. Dodatek świńskiego płynu pęcherzykowego do odżywek hodowlanych korzystnie wpływa na wyniki zapłodnienia i dojrzewania in vitro. Celem badań było określenie aktywności katalazy (CAT) dysmutazy ponadtlenkowej (SOD) i persoksydazy glutationowej (GSH-Px) oraz koncentracji Cu,Mn i Zn wpłynie pęcherzykowym świń pobranym z prawego i lewego jajnika. Ogółem pobrano jajniki od 77 loch w wieku 8 miesięcy.Wewszystkich analizowanych próbkach badane enzymy wykazywały aktywność (24,2; 2,65 10–3 U · l–1 i 525 U · l–1 odpowiednio w przypadku CAT, GSH-Px i SOD) i zawierały jomy Zn, Cu i Mn (odpowiednio 13,8 · 103 mol · l–1; 33,3 · 103 mol · l–1 i 133 · 10–9 mol · l–1). W płynie pęcherzykowym pobranym z lewego jajnika aktywność SOD i GSH-Px była wyższa niż w płynie pęcherzykowym prawego jajnika. Natomiast koncentracja Cu i Mn była istotnie niższa w płynie z lewego jajnika. Koncentracja jonów Cu była skorelowana ujemnie z aktywnością SOD. Aktywność CAT w płynie pęcherzykowym z prawego lub lewego jajnika nie wykazała różnic

Peripheral VH4+ plasmablasts demonstrate autoreactive B cell expansion toward brain antigens in early multiple sclerosis patients

Plasmablasts are a highly differentiated, antibody secreting B cell subset whose prevalence correlates with disease activity in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). For most patients experiencing partial transverse myelitis (PTM), plasmablasts are elevated in the blood at the first clinical presentation of disease (known as a clinically isolated syndrome or CIS). In this study we found that many of these peripheral plasmablasts are autoreactive and recognize primarily gray matter targets in brain tissue. These plasmablasts express antibodies that over-utilize immunoglobulin heavy chain V-region subgroup 4 (VH4) genes, and the highly mutated VH4+ plasmablast antibodies recognize intracellular antigens of neurons and astrocytes. Most of the autoreactive, highly mutated VH4+ plasmablast antibodies recognize only a portion of cortical neurons, indicating that the response may be specific to neuronal subgroups or layers. Furthermore, CIS-PTM patients with this plasmablast response also exhibit modest reactivity toward neuroantigens in the plasma IgG antibody pool. Taken together, these data indicate that expanded VH4+ peripheral plasmablasts in early MS patients recognize brain gray matter antigens. Peripheral plasmablasts may be participating in the autoimmune response associated with MS, and provide an interesting avenue for investigating the expansion of autoreactive B cells at the time of the first documented clinical event

Nonlinearity in the Slopes of Clausius−Clapeyron Plots for SVOCs.

Plots of partial pressures of semivolatile organic compounds versus inverse temperature at the time of measurement (Clausius−Clapeyron or CC plots) have been used to infer local air exchange with surfaces. Recent studies have shown that the slopes of such plots are smaller than would be expected from the known heats of vaporization, of air−water exchange, and probably also of air−vegetation exchange. Using data from the Point Petre Master Station of the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network, CC plots for trans-chlordane are examined for various wind directions approaching the measurement site. The slopes of the CC plots are not linear over the entire range of temperatures measured. It is shown that such behavior can be expected from the combination of exchange and transport processes that affect the air concentration at a remote site. The positive curvature of the CC plots can be detected in the usually noisy CC plots by use of regressions, which include an increasing number of data from lower temperatures. The degree of such curvature is postulated to indicate the degree of importance of long-range transport (LRT) versus local exchange. A conceptual model is presented in which the variation in CC slopes can be ascribed to the relative amount of LRT versus local exchange