Diurnal concentrations, sources, and cancer risk assessments of 1 PM 2.5 -bound PAHs, NPAHs, and OPAHs in urban, marine and 2 mountain environments

International audienceAmbient measurements of PM2.5-bounded polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitro-PAHs (NPAHs), and oxy-PAHs (OPAHs) were conducted during the summer in Jinan, China, an urban site, and at Tuoji island and Mt. Tai, two background locations. 3.5 h and 11.5 h sampling intervals in daytime and nighttime were utilized to research the diurnal variations of PAHs, NPAHs, and OPAHs. The concentrations of PAHs, NPAHs, and OPAHs were highest at the urban site and lowest at the marine site. The diurnal patterns of PAHs and NPAHs at the urban and marine sites were dissimilar to those observed at the mountain site partly due to the influence of the boundary layer. Vehicle emissions at the urban site made a large contribution to high molecular weight PAHs. 1N-PYR and 7N-BaA during morning and night sampling periods in JN were relatively high. Fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning were the main sources for all three sites during the sampling periods. The air masses at the marine and mountain sites were strongly impacted by photo-degradation, and the air masses at the marine site were the most aged. Secondary formation of NPAHs was mainly initiated by OH radicals at all the three sites and was strongest at the marine site. Secondary formation was most efficient during the daytime at the urban and mountain sites and during morning periods at the marine site. The average excess cancer risk from inhalation (ECR) for 70 years' life span at the urban site was much higher than those calculated for the background sites

Persistent sulfate formation from London Fog to Chinese haze

Sulfate aerosols exert profound impacts on human and ecosystem health, weather, and climate, but their formation mechanism remains uncertain. Atmospheric models consistently underpredict sulfate levels under diverse environmental conditions. From atmospheric measurements in two Chinese megacities and complementary laboratory experiments, we show that the aqueous oxidation of SO2 by NO2 is key to efficient sulfate formation but is only feasible under two atmospheric conditions: on fine aerosols with high relative humidity and NH3 neutralization or under cloud conditions. Under polluted environments, this SO2 oxidation process leads to large sulfate production rates and promotes formation of nitrate and organic matter on aqueous particles, exacerbating severe haze development. Effective haze mitigation is achievable by intervening in the sulfate formation process with enforced NH3 and NO2 control measures. In addition to explaining the polluted episodes currently occurring in China and during the 1952 London Fog, this sulfate production mechanism is widespread, and our results suggest a way to tackle this growing problem in China and much of the developing world

Evaluation of individual and ensemble probabilistic forecasts of COVID-19 mortality in the United States

Short-term probabilistic forecasts of the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States have served as a visible and important communication channel between the scientific modeling community and both the general public and decision-makers. Forecasting models provide specific, quantitative, and evaluable predictions that inform short-term decisions such as healthcare staffing needs, school closures, and allocation of medical supplies. Starting in April 2020, the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub (https://covid19forecasthub.org/) collected, disseminated, and synthesized tens of millions of specific predictions from more than 90 different academic, industry, and independent research groups. A multimodel ensemble forecast that combined predictions from dozens of groups every week provided the most consistently accurate probabilistic forecasts of incident deaths due to COVID-19 at the state and national level from April 2020 through October 2021. The performance of 27 individual models that submitted complete forecasts of COVID-19 deaths consistently throughout this year showed high variability in forecast skill across time, geospatial units, and forecast horizons. Two-thirds of the models evaluated showed better accuracy than a naïve baseline model. Forecast accuracy degraded as models made predictions further into the future, with probabilistic error at a 20-wk horizon three to five times larger than when predicting at a 1-wk horizon. This project underscores the role that collaboration and active coordination between governmental public-health agencies, academic modeling teams, and industry partners can play in developing modern modeling capabilities to support local, state, and federal response to outbreaks

The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset

Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages

A simple and rapid method for preparing the whole section of starchy seed to investigate the morphology and distribution of starch in different regions of seed

Abstract Background Storage starch in starchy seed influences the seed weight and texture, and determines its applications in food and nonfood industries. Starch granules from different plant sources have significantly different shapes and sizes, and even more the difference exists in the different regions of the same tissue. Therefore, it is very important to in situ investigate the morphology and distribution of starch in the whole seed. However, a simple and rapid method is deficient to prepare the whole section of starchy seed for investigating the morphology and distribution of starch in the whole seeds for a large number of samples. Results A simple and rapid method was established to prepare the whole section of starchy seed, especially for floury seed, in this study. The whole seeds of translucent and chalky rice, vitreous and floury maize, and normal barley and wheat were sectioned successfully using the newly established method. The iodine-stained section clearly exhibited the shapes and size of starch granules in different regions of seed. The starch granules with different morphologies and iodine-staining colors existed regionally in the seeds of high-amylose rice and maize. The sections of lotus and kidney bean seeds also showed the feasibility of this method for starchy non-cereal seeds. Conclusion The simple and rapid method was proven effective for preparing the whole sections of starchy seeds. The whole section of seed could be used to investigate the morphology and distribution of starch granules in different regions of the whole seed. The method was especially suitable for large sample numbers to investigate the starch morphology in short time

Seed Plumpness of Rice with Inhibition Expression of Starch Branching Enzymes and Starch Properties, Grain Position on Panicle

Cereal crops with inhibition expression of starch branching enzyme (SBE) contain highly resistant starch in the endosperm, and have potential health benefits for human. However, seed plumpness is significantly different, with different inhibition effects of SBE expression, resulting in differently shrunken seeds. In this study, a transgenic resistant starch rice line, which has highly resistant starch and is developed through inhibition expression of SBEs, had non-, slightly, and moderately shrunken seeds with plumpness from high to low. The differently shrunken seeds had significantly different seed weight and starch content. Different morphological starch granules were detected in the endosperm and had similar spatial distribution pattern among the non-, slightly, and moderately shrunken seeds. Starches from differently shrunken seeds had similar amylose content and amylopectin structure. The protein amount of amylose/amylopectin synthesis key enzymes in endosperm was no different between differently shrunken seeds. The primary branch of the panicle had a higher percentage of non-shrunken seeds than did the secondary branch at the same part of the panicle. From the upper part to the base of the panicle, non-shrunken seeds gradually decreased but slightly and moderately shrunken seeds gradually increased. The above results indicated that the differently shrunken seeds in transgenic rice line had the same SBE dosage, and the starch morphology and structure had no relationship with seed plumpness. The grain position on the panicle influenced seed plumpness, but had no effect on starch properties

Effects of Algal Utilization of Dissolved Organic Phosphorus by <i>Microcystis Aeruginosa</i> on Its Adaptation Capability to Ambient Ultraviolet Radiation

Phosphorus (P) plays an important role in eutrophication and algal adaptation to environmental stresses; therefore, a better understanding of the impact of P is essential to control cyanobacterial bloom. In this study, Microcystis aeruginosa is treated with 5 h of ambient irradiation in the culture medium with different availabilities of dissolved organic P (DOP) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) to explore algal physiological responses. Compared to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), ambient UV-A and UV-B radiation exerted oxidative stresses and has inhibitive effects on the growth and photosynthesis of M. aeruginosa. However, M. aeruginosa had a strong adaptation capability, and the negative effects of UV radiation can be alleviated with DOM addition in the DOP-rich medium. The adaptation of M. aeruginosa to UV radiation in the DOP-rich waters can be mainly achieved through hydrolysis of DOP and metabolism of dissolved inorganic P (DIP), and the DOP utilization behaviors of M. aeruginosa might greatly affect algal UV adaptation capability. In the DOP-rich medium without DOM, the great inactivation of algal alkaline phosphatase (APase) after UV radiation could result in worse affinity for DOP, slower DOP uptake and lower cellular P quota. Consequently, the P demand of M. aeruginosa could not be satisfied for UV adaptation processes, including decreasing UV-induced damages and promoting self-repair. However, DOM could act as an antioxidant and significantly decrease APase inactivation of UV-radiated M. aeruginosa. In the DOP-rich medium with DOM, DOP utilization by M.aeruginosa in the UV-A and UV-B treatments is promoted and algal demand for P is satisfied for its adaptation, such as enhanced production of photosynthetic pigments, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, recovery of photosynthetic efficiency, etc. Overall, our findings indicate the close relationship between algal DOP utilization and the adaptation to ambient UV radiation of typical cyanobacteria in DIP-limited and DOP-enriched natural waters

Influence of fireworks displays on the chemical characteristics of PM2.5 in rural and suburban areas in Central and East China

International audienceTo explore the spatial and chemical characteristics of PM2.5 pollution and the influence of fireworks displays on PM2.5 and its chemical components in rural areas in Central and East China, PM2.5 samples were collected at three rural sites and one suburban site in Henan and Shandong provinces during the 2016 Chinese New Year, and the chemical composition of PM2.5, including water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and trace elements (TEs) was analysed. The concentrations of PM2.5 at the four sites were significantly higher than the Grade I national standard of 35 μg/m3, indicating serious PM2.5 pollution in rural and suburban areas. The contributions of secondary WSIIs to total WSIIs at the four sites were lower than in urban areas. The TEs in XP and LC were significantly enriched in PM2.5. A significant difference was found in the main chemical compositions of different sites. Fireworks displays directly increased the concentrations of PM2.5 and many chemicals, especially K+, Cl−, K, Cl, S, Cu and Sr, and concentrations of NO3− and NH4+ ions peaked after the fireworks period in the three rural sites, indicating the influence of firecrackers on the secondary formation of the precursors of NO2. The ratio of WSOC/OC decreased during fireworks displays, indicating the direct influence of firecrackers on water insoluble organic matter. Fireworks-related ions were a key component of the aerosol at the four sites during fireworks displays, accounting for 28–38% of the total measured species