Ternary nucleation of H_2SO_4, NH_3 and H_2O

A classical theory of the ternary homogeneous nucleation of sulfuric acid—ammonia—water is presented. For NH3 mixing ratios exceeding 1 ppt, the presence of ammonia enhances the binary (sulfuric acid—water) nucleation rate by several orders of magnitude. However, the limiting component for ternary nucleation—as for binary nucleation—is sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid concentration needed for significant ternary nucleation is several orders of magnitude below that required in binary case

Individual fluctuations in blood lactate concentration during an ice hockey game; differences between player positions

Source at:https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijes/vol15/iss6/13The main purpose of the current study was to provide an in-depth description of individual player’s intra-game physiological responses during an ice hockey game. A secondary aim was to compare these responses between forwards and defensemen. Six elite junior ice hockey players, three forwards and three defensemen, median (interquartile range) 17 (17–17) years, 182 (180– 185) cm, and 78 (74– 80) kg were recruited to participate in the study. Capillary blood samples were taken following each shift and analyzed for blood lactate concentration (BLC). Heart rate (HR) was registered continuously throughout the game. The game was filmed and shift lengths were determined retrospectively using a time-motion analysis. All players had BLC ranging between 1.8 and 10.7 mmol/L (mean = 5.5 mmol/L), with forwards reaching a significantly higher value than defensive players (F1, 32 = 75.2, p < 0.0001), a significant effect of time was also observed (F2, 25 = 6.4, p = 0.0058). During the game, the players accumulated 11:18 ± 5:04 (minutes:seconds) above 90% of their maximal heart rate (HRmax), but the majority of the time was below 80% of HRmax. The fluctuations in BLC and heart rate demonstrate that the intensity is highly variable during games and challenges both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways. The higher BLC of forwards might indicate that they perform more high-intensity work during games than defensive players

Individual Fluctuations In Blood Lactate Concentration During An Ice Hockey Game; Differences Between Player Positions

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(6): 985-993, 2022. The main purpose of the current study was to provide an in-depth description of individual player’s intra-game physiological responses during an ice hockey game. A secondary aim was to compare these responses between forwards and defensemen. Six elite junior ice hockey players, three forwards and three defensemen, median (interquartile range) 17 (17–17) years, 182 (180–185) cm, and 78 (74– 80) kg were recruited to participate in the study. Capillary blood samples were taken following each shift and analyzed for blood lactate concentration (BLC). Heart rate (HR) was registered continuously throughout the game. The game was filmed and shift lengths were determined retrospectively using a time-motion analysis. All players had BLC ranging between 1.8 and 10.7 mmol/L (mean = 5.5 mmol/L), with forwards reaching a significantly higher value than defensive players (F1, 32 = 75.2, p \u3c 0.0001), a significant effect of time was also observed (F2, 25 = 6.4, p = 0.0058). During the game, the players accumulated 11:18 ± 5:04 (minutes:seconds) above 90% of their maximal heart rate (HRmax), but the majority of the time was below 80% of HRmax. The fluctuations in BLC and heart rate demonstrate that the intensity is highly variable during games and challenges both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways. The higher BLC of forwards might indicate that they perform more high-intensity work during games than defensive players

Commentary on cloud modelling and the mass accommodation coefficient of water

International audienceThe mass accommodation coefficient of water is a quantity for which different experimental techniques have yielded conflicting values in the range 0.04-1. From the viewpoint of cloud modelling, this is an unfortunate situation, since the value of the mass accommodation coefficient affects the model results, e.g. the number concentration of activated cloud droplets. In this commentary we note that in cloud modelling, the primary quantity of interest is the droplet growth rate rather than the mass accommodation coefficient, and that experimental investigations of droplet growth rates provide more direct verification of cloud models than do measurements of the mass accommodation coefficient. Furthermore, we argue that the droplet growth rates calculated in cloud model studies are consistent with experimental results obtained so far only if a mass accommodation coefficient of unity is applied

A method for detecting the presence of organic fraction in nucleation mode sized particles

New particle formation and growth has a very important role in many climate processes. However, the overall knowlegde of the chemical composition of atmospheric nucleation mode (particle diameter, d<20 nm) and the lower end of Aitken mode particles (d&#x2264;50 nm) is still insufficient. In this work, we have applied the UFO-TDMA (ultrafine organic tandem differential mobility analyzer) method to shed light on the presence of an organic fraction in the nucleation mode size class in different atmospheric environments. The basic principle of the organic fraction detection is based on our laboratory UFO-TDMA measurements with organic and inorganic compounds. Our laboratory measurements indicate that the usefulness of the UFO-TDMA in the field experiments would arise especially from the fact that atmospherically the most relevant inorganic compounds do not grow in subsaturated ethanol vapor, when particle size is 10 nm in diameter and saturation ratio is about 86% or below it. Furthermore, internally mixed particles composed of ammonium bisulfate and sulfuric acid with sulfuric acid mass fraction &#x2264;33% show no growth at 85% saturation ratio. In contrast, 10 nm particles composed of various oxidized organic compounds of atmospheric relevance are able to grow in those conditions. These discoveries indicate that it is possible to detect the presence of organics in atmospheric nucleation mode sized particles using the UFO-TDMA method. In the future, the UFO-TDMA is expected to be an important aid to describe the composition of atmospheric newly-formed particles

Hygroscopic properties of ultrafine aerosol particles in the boreal forest: diurnal variation, solubility and the influence of sulfuric acid

International audienceThe hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles present in a boreal forest was measured at a relative humidity of 88%. Simultaneously the gas phase concentration of sulfuric acid, a very hygroscopic compound, was monitored. The focus was mainly on days with new particle formation by nucleation. The measured hygroscopic growth factors (GF) correlated positively with the gaseous phase sulfuric acid concentrations. The smaller the particles, the stronger the correlation, with r=0.20 for 50 nm and r=0.50 for 10 nm particles. The increase in GF due to condensing sulfuric acid is expected to be larger for particles with initially smaller masses. During new particle formation, the changes in solubility of the new particles were calculated during their growth to Aitken mode sizes. As the modal diameter increased, the solubility of the particles decreased. This indicated that the initial particle growth was due to more hygroscopic compounds, whereas the later growth during the evening and night was mainly caused by less hygroscopic or even hydrophobic compounds. For all the measured sizes, a diurnal variation in GF was observed both during days with and without particle formation. The GF was lowest at around midnight, with a mean value of 1.12?1.24 depending on particle size and if new particle formation occurred during the day, and increased to 1.25?1.34 around noon. This can be tentatively explained by day- and nighttime gas-phase chemistry; different vapors will be present depending on the time of day, and through condensation these compounds will alter the hygroscopic properties of the particles in different ways

Elevated oxidative stress in pied flycatcher nestlings of eumelanic foster fathers under low rearing temperatures

Striking variation in melanin coloration within natural populations is likely due to the different fitness outcomes of alternative phenotypes in varying environmental conditions. There are two types of melanin: eumelanins yield blackish hues, whereas pheomelanins yield reddish hues. The production of eumelanins requires low levels of glutathione (GSH), which is the most important intracellular antioxidant, whereas the production of pheomelanins requires high levels of GSH. We investigated the oxidative status of male pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) with different degrees of melanin coloration under different temperatures during the nestling period. Moreover, we assessed the oxidative status of offspring in relation to their biological or foster father's melanin coloration and ambient temperature. To separate offspring genotype effects and paternal effects in different temperatures, we used a partial cross-foster design. The temperature differently affected the oxidative status of differently colored male pied flycatchers and their foster offspring. When the weather was relatively cold, black males had higher glutathione S-transferase levels compared with brown males, indicating enhanced stress in black males. Foster offspring of black males had a lower ratio between reduced and oxidized GSH followed by higher total amount of GSH than foster offspring of brown males. Thus, foster offspring of black males seem to suffer from oxidative stress under relatively cold weather compared with those of brown males, and vice versa under relatively warm weather. Although differently colored males experienced changes in their oxidative status under different temperatures, the link between paternal melanin coloration and offspring oxidative stress appears to be environmentally induced.</p

Electronic structure of small GaAs clusters

The electronic structure of small Ga_xAs_y clusters (x+y≤10) are calculated using the local density method. The calculation shows that even‐numbered clusters tend to be singlets, as opposed to odd‐numbered clusters which are open shell systems. This is in agreement with the experimental observations of even/odd alternations of the electron affinity and ionization potential. In the larger clusters, the atoms prefer an alternating bond arrangement; charge transfers are observed from Ga sites to As sites. This observation is also in agreement with recent chemisorption studies of ammonia on GaAs clusters. The close agreement between theoretical calculations and experimental results, together with the rich variation of electronic properties of GaAs clusters with composition makes GaAs clusters an ideal prototype system for the study of how electronic structure influences chemical reactivity