Chapman University 2016 Environmental Audit: Residence Life Dining Services Equipment

Chapman University accommodates over 1700 student meal plans per day through the on-campus dining services provided by Sodexo Restaurant Services. The commercial-grade kitchens found in the Randall Dining Commons (RDC) of Sandhu Conference Center are frequently used to prepare food for students for every meal, seven days a week. The RDC kitchen facility has staff working around the clock and high consumption electrical, water, and gas appliances constantly running to parallel the high demand. The frequent use of commercial kitchen appliances results in an enormous consumption of energy and water resources leading to comparably high utility bills. Measuring the energy and water usage is a crucial component for this audit and for future audits to take into consideration, in terms of the responsible and sustainable use of finite resources. This portion of the 2016 Environmental Audit quantifies areas of mechanical and operational inefficiencies and provides recommendations for mitigation of wasted energy and water resources from the RDC commercial kitchen. kWh meters, water volume meters, and thermal meters were placed on refrigeration, heating, and sanitation equipment to understand the resource consumption patterns and were further analyzed for operational improvements, retrofits, and environmentally friendly upgrades. Recommendations on new appliance purchases include Simple-Payback and Return on Investment financial calculations to examine the cost deferred through lowered utility bills and acquired rebates. Additionally, 2016 Environmental Audit survey data was collected from kitchen staff to provide insight on behavioral practices and future educational opportunities to aid in improving sustainable workplace habits

Delineation of geological problems for use in urban planning

Activities of the University of Alabama in support of state and local planning commissions are reported. Demonstrations were given of the various types of remotely sensed images available from U-2, Skylab, and LANDSAT; and their uses and limitations were discussed. Techniques to be used in determining flood prone areas were provided for environmental studies. A rapid, inexpensive method for study was developed by which imagery is copied on 35 mm film and projected on existing topographic maps for measuring delta volume and growth

Iodine monoxide at a clean marine coastal site: observations of high frequency variations and inhomogeneous distributions

The first in situ point observations of iodine monoxide (IO) at a clean marine site were made using a laser-induced fluorescence instrument deployed at Mace Head, Ireland in August 2007. IO mixing ratios of up to 49.8 pptv (equivalent to pmol mol<sup>−1</sup>; 1 s average) were observed at day-time low tide, well in excess of previous observed spatially-averaged maxima. A strong anti-correlation of IO mixing ratios with tide height was evident and the high time resolution of the observations showed IO peaked in the hour after low tide. The temporal delay in peak IO compared to low tide has not been observed previously but coincides with the time of peak aerosol number previously observed at Mace Head. <br><br> A long path-differential optical absorption spectroscopy instrument (with a 2 × 6.8 km folded path across Roundstone Bay) was also based at the site for 3 days during the point measurement observation period. Both instruments show similar temporal trends but the point measurements of IO are a factor of ~6–10 times greater than the spatially averaged IO mixing ratios, providing direct empirical evidence of the presence of inhomogeneities in the IO mixing ratio near the intertidal region

Design of and initial results from a highly instrumented reactor for atmospheric chemistry (HIRAC)

International audienceThe design of a Highly Instrumented Reactor for Atmospheric Chemistry (HIRAC) is described and initial results obtained from HIRAC are presented. The ability of HIRAC to perform in-situ laser-induced fluorescence detection of OH and HO2 radicals with the Fluorescence Assay by Gas Expansion (FAGE) technique establishes it as internationally unique for a chamber of its size and pressure/temperature variable capabilities. In addition to the FAGE technique, HIRAC features a suite of analytical instrumentation, including: a multipass FTIR system; a conventional gas chromatography (GC) instrument and a GC instrument for formaldehyde detection; and NO/NO2, CO, O3, and H2O vapour analysers. Ray tracing simulations and measurements of the blacklamp flux have been utilized to develop a detailed model of the radiation field within HIRAC. Comparisons between the analysers and the FTIR coupled to HIRAC have been performed, and HIRAC has also been used to investigate pressure dependent kinetics of the chlorine atom reaction with ethene and the reaction of O3 and t-2-butene. The results obtained are in good agreement with literature recommendations and Master Chemical Mechanism predictions. HIRAC thereby offers a highly instrumented platform with the potential for: (1) high precision kinetics investigations over a range of atmospheric conditions; (2) detailed mechanism development, significantly enhanced according to its capability for measuring radicals; and (3) field instrument intercomparison, calibration, development, and investigations of instrument response under a range of atmospheric conditions

Measurements of photo-oxidation products from the reaction of a series of alkyl-benzenes with hydroxyl radicals during EXACT using comprehensive gas chromatography

Photo-oxidation products from the reaction of a series of alkyl-benzenes, (benzene, toluene, <i>p</i>-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethyl-benzene) with hydroxyl radicals in the presence of NO_x have been investigated using comprehensive gas chromatography (GCxGC). A GCxGC system has been developed which utilises valve modulation and independent separations as a function of both volatility and polarity. A number of carbonyl-type compounds were identified during a series of reactions carried out at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE), a large volume outdoor reaction chamber in Valencia, Spain. Experiments were carried as part of the EXACT project (<b>E</b>ffects of the o<b>X</b>idation of <b>A</b>romatic <b>C</b>ompounds in the <b>T</b>roposphere). Two litre chamber air samples were cryo-focused, with a sampling frequency of 30 minutes, allowing the evolution of species to be followed over oxidation periods of 3-6 hours. To facilitate product identification, several carbonyl compounds, which were possible products of the photo-oxidation, were synthesised and used as reference standards.<br> <br> For toluene reactions, observed oxygenated intermediates found included the co-eluting pair <font face='Symbol'>a</font>-angelicalactone/4-oxo-2-pentenal, maleic anhydride, citraconic anhydride, benzaldehyde and <i>p</i>-methyl benzoquinone. In the <i>p</i>-xylene experiment, the products identified were E/Z-hex-3-en-2,5-dione and citraconic anhydride. For 1,3,5-TMB reactions, the products identified were 3,5-dimethylbenzaldehyde, 3,5-dimethyl-3H-furan-2-one and 3-methyl-5-methylene-5H-furan-2-one. Preliminary quantification was carried out on identified compounds using liquid standards. Comparison of FTIR and GCxGC for the measurement of the parent aromatics generally showed good agreement. Comparison of the concentrations observed by GCxGC to concentration-time profiles simulated using the Master Chemical Mechanism, MCMv3, demonstrates that this mechanism significantly over-predicts the concentrations of many product compounds and highlights the uncertainties which exist in our understanding of the atmospheric oxidation of aromatics

On the Futility of Screening for Genes That Make You Fat

J. Lennert Veerman discusses the implications for genetic screening of findings showing that physical activity substantially attenuates the effects of genetic variants which predispose towards obesity

The atmospheric impacts of monoterpene ozonolysis on global stabilised Criegee intermediate budgets and SO2 oxidation : experiment, theory and modelling

The gas-phase reaction of alkenes with ozone is known to produce stabilised Criegee intermediates (SCIs). These biradical/zwitterionic species have the potential to act as atmospheric oxidants for trace pollutants such as SO₂, enhancing the formation of sulfate aerosol with impacts on air quality and health, radiative transfer and climate. However, the importance of this chemistry is uncertain as a consequence of limited understanding of the abundance and atmospheric fate of SCIs. In this work we apply experimental, theoretical and numerical modelling methods to quantify the atmospheric impacts, abundance and fate of the structurally diverse SCIs derived from the ozonolysis of monoterpenes, the second most abundant group of unsaturated hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. We have investigated the removal of SO₂ by SCIs formed from the ozonolysis of three atmospherically important monoterpenes (<i>α</i>-pinene, <i>β</i>-pinene and limonene) in the presence of varying amounts of water vapour in large-scale simulation chamber experiments that are representative of boundary layer conditions. The SO₂ removal displays a clear dependence on water vapour concentration, but this dependence is not linear across the range of [H₂O] explored. At low [H₂O] a strong dependence of SO₂ removal on [H₂O] is observed, while at higher [H₂O] this dependence becomes much weaker. This is interpreted as being caused by the production of a variety of structurally (and hence chemically) different SCIs in each of the systems studied, which displayed different rates of reaction with water and of unimolecular rearrangement or decomposition. The determined rate constants, <i>k</i>(SCI+H₂O), for those SCIs that react primarily with H₂O range from 4 to 310  ×  10⁻¹⁵ cm³ s⁻¹. For those SCIs that predominantly react unimolecularly, determined rates range from 130 to 240 s⁻¹. These values are in line with previous results for the (analogous) stereo-specific SCI system of <i>syn</i>-/<i>anti</i>-CH₃CHOO. The experimental results are interpreted through theoretical studies of the SCI unimolecular reactions and bimolecular reactions with H₂O, characterised for <i>α</i>-pinene and <i>β</i>-pinene at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The theoretically derived rates agree with the experimental results within the uncertainties. A global modelling study, applying the experimental results within the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, suggests that &gt; 97 % of the total monoterpene-derived global SCI burden is comprised of SCIs with a structure that determines that they react slowly with water and that their atmospheric fate is dominated by unimolecular reactions. Seasonally averaged boundary layer concentrations of monoterpene-derived SCIs reach up to 1.4  ×  10⁴ cm⁻³ in regions of elevated monoterpene emissions in the tropics. Reactions of monoterpene-derived SCIs with SO₂ account for &lt; 1 % globally but may account for up to 60 % of the gas-phase SO₂ removal over areas of tropical forests, with significant localised impacts on the formation of sulfate aerosol and hence the lifetime and distribution of SO₂

Schizophrenia-risk variant rs6994992 in the neuregulin-1 gene on brain developmental trajectories in typically developing children

The neuregulin-1 (NRG1) gene is one of the best-validated risk genes for schizophrenia, and psychotic and bipolar disorders. The rs6994992 variant in the NRG1 promoter (SNP8NRG243177) is associated with altered frontal and temporal brain macrostructures and/or altered white matter density and integrity in schizophrenic adults, as well as healthy adults and neonates. However, the ages when these changes begin and whether neuroimaging phenotypes are associated with cognitive performance are not fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the association of the rs6994992 variant on developmental trajectories of brain macro- and microstructures, and their relationship with cognitive performance. A total of 972 healthy children aged 3–20 years had the genotype available for the NRG1-rs6994992 variant, and were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological tests. Age-by-NRG1-rs6994992 interactions and genotype effects were assessed using a general additive model regression methodology, covaried for scanner type, socioeconomic status, sex and genetic ancestry factors. Compared with the C-carriers, children with the TT-risk-alleles had subtle microscopic and macroscopic changes in brain development that emerge or reverse during adolescence, a period when many psychiatric disorders are manifested. TT-children at late adolescence showed a lower age-dependent forniceal volume and lower fractional anisotropy; however, both measures were associated with better episodic memory performance. To our knowledge, we provide the first multimodal imaging evidence that genetic variation in NRG1 is associated with age-related changes on brain development during typical childhood and adolescence, and delineated the altered patterns of development in multiple brain regions in children with the T-risk allele(s)