3,049 research outputs found
Development of an integrated model framework for multi-air-pollutant exposure assessments in high-density cities
Exposure models for some criteria of air pollutants have been intensively developed in past research; multi-air-pollutant exposure models, especially for particulate chemical species, have been however overlooked in Asia. Lack of an integrated model framework to calculate multi-air-pollutant exposure has hindered the combined exposure assessment and the corresponding health assessment. This work applied the land-use regression (LUR) approach to develop an integrated model framework to estimate 2017 annual-average exposure of multiple air pollutants in a typical high-rise and high-density Asian city (Hong Kong, China) including four criteria of gaseous air pollutants (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 10 µm (PM10) and 2.5 µm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3)), as well as four major PM10 chemical species. Our integrated multi-air-pollutant exposure model framework is capable of explaining 91 %–97 % of the variability of measured gaseous air pollutant concentration, with the leave-one-out cross-validation R2 values ranging from 0.73 to 0.93. Using the model framework, the spatial distribution of the concentration of various air pollutants at a spatial resolution of 500 m was generated. The LUR model-derived spatial distribution maps revealed weak-to-moderate spatial correlations between the PM10 chemical species and the criteria of air pollutants, which may help to distinguish their independent chronic health effects. In addition, further improvements in the development of air pollution exposure models are discussed. This study proposed an integrated model framework for estimating multi-air-pollutant exposure in high-density and high-rise urban areas, serving an important tool for multi-air-pollutant exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.</p
Editorial: Manipulation of gut microbiota as a key target to intervene on the onset and progression of digestive system diseases
Editorial on the Research Topic
Manipulation of gut microbiota as a key target to intervene on the
onset and progression of digestive system disease
Correlation between the bath composition and nanoporosity of DC-electrodeposited Ni-Fe alloy
The outstanding mechanical strength of as-deposited DC-electrodeposited nanocrystalline (nc) Ni-Fe alloys has been the subject of numerous researches in view of their scientific and practical interest. However, recent studies have reported a dramatic drop in ductility upon annealing above 350°C, associated with a concomitant abnormal rapid grain growth. The inherent cause has been ascribed to the presence of a detrimental product or by product in the bath, which affects either the microstructure or causes defects in the concentration and/or distribution of the as-deposited films. The present work has been inspired by the observed abnormal behaviour of annealed electrodeposited nc Ni-Fe alloy, which has here been addressed by considering the relationship between the composition of the bath (iron-chloride, nickel-sulphate solution, saccharin and ascorbic acid) and deposition defects (e.g. grain boundary pores) in the case of an nc Ni-Fe (Fe 48 wt%) alloy. The current investigations have included X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in both as-deposited and post-annealed conditions (300°C–400°C). XPS depth profiling with Ar ion sputtering showed a significant amount of C and O impurities entrapped in the foils during deposition. As such impurities are often overlooked in common analytical techniques, new scenarios may need to be rationalised to explain the observed drop in tensile ductility of the as-deposited Ni-Fe alloys
correlations from the stopped reaction on He
We have investigated correlations of coincident pairs from the
stopped reaction on He, and clearly observed and
branches of the two-nucleon absorption process in the
invariant mass spectra. In addition, non-mesonic reaction channels, which
indicate possible exotic signals for the formation of strange multibaryon
states, have been identified.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Impact of low-pressure systems on winter heavy air pollution in the northwest Sichuan Basin, China
The cities of Chengdu, Deyang, and
Mianyang in the northwest Sichuan Basin are part of a rapidly developing
urban agglomeration adjoining the eastern slopes of the Tibetan Plateau.
Heavy air pollution events have frequently occurred over these cities in recent
decades, but the effects of meteorological conditions on these pollution
events are unclear. We explored the effects of weather systems on winter
heavy air pollution from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2012 and from
1 January 2014 to 28 February 2017. A total of 10 heavy air pollution events occurred
during the research period and 8 of these took place while the region was
affected by a dry low-pressure system at 700 hPa. When the urban
agglomeration was in front of the low-pressure system and the weather
conditions were controlled by a warm southerly air flow, a strong
temperature inversion appeared above the atmospheric boundary layer acting as
a lid. Forced by this strong inversion layer, the local secondary circulation
was confined to the atmospheric boundary layer, and the horizontal wind
speed in the lower troposphere was low. As a result, vertical mixing and
horizontal dispersion in the atmosphere were poor, favoring the formation of
heavy air pollution events. After the low-pressure system had transited over
the region, the weather conditions in the urban agglomeration were controlled
by a dry and cold air flow from the northwest at 700 hPa. The strong
inversion layer gradually dissipated, the secondary circulation enhanced and
uplifted, and the horizontal wind speed in the lower troposphere also
increased, resulting in a sharp decrease in the concentration of air
pollutants. The strong inversion layer above the atmospheric boundary layer
induced by the low-pressure system at 700 hPa thus played a key role in the
formation of heavy air pollution during the winter months in this urban
agglomeration. This study provides scientific insights for forecasting heavy
air pollution in this region of China.</p
Exclusive Measurement of the Nonmesonic Weak Decay of ^{5}_{\Lambda}He Hypernucleus
We performed a coincidence measurement of two nucleons emitted from the
nonmesonic weak decay (NMWD) of ^{5}_{\Lambda}He formed via the
^{6}Li(\pi^+,K^+) reaction. The energies of two nucleons and the pair number
distributions in the opening angle between them were measured. In both np and
nn pairs, we observed a clean back-to-back correlation coming from the two-body
decay of \Lambda p --> n p and \Lambda n --> n n, respectively. The ratio of
the nucleon pair numbers was N_{nn}/N_{np}=0.45 \pm 0.11(stat)\pm 0.03(syst) in
the kinematic region of cos(theta_{NN}) < -0.8. Since each decay mode was
exclusively detected, the measured ratio should be close to the ratio of
\Gamma(\Lambda p --> np)/\Gamma(\Lambda n --> nn).
The ratio is consistent with recent theoretical calculations based on the
heavy meson/direct quark exchange picture.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. lett., 4 pages, 3 figure
Structure of a model TiO2 photocatalytic interface
The interaction of water with TiO2 is crucial to many of its practical
applications, including photocatalytic water splitting. Following the first
demonstration of this phenomenon 40 years ago there have been numerous studies
of the rutile single-crystal TiO2(110) interface with water. This has provided
an atomic-level understanding of the water-TiO2 interaction. However, nearly
all of the previous studies of water/TiO2 interfaces involve water in the
vapour phase. Here, we explore the interfacial structure between liquid water
and a rutile TiO2(110) surface pre-characterized at the atomic level. Scanning
tunnelling microscopy and surface X-ray diffraction are used to determine the
structure, which is comprised of an ordered array of hydroxyl molecules with
molecular water in the second layer. Static and dynamic density functional
theory calculations suggest that a possible mechanism for formation of the
hydroxyl overlayer involves the mixed adsorption of O2 and H2O on a partially
defected surface. The quantitative structural properties derived here provide a
basis with which to explore the atomistic properties and hence mechanisms
involved in TiO2 photocatalysis
The protein kinase R modifies gut physiology to limit colitis
Here we investigate the function of the innate immune molecule protein kinase R (PKR) in intestinal inflammation. To model a colitogenic role of PKR, we determine the physiological response to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) of wild-type and two transgenic mice strains mutated to express either a kinase-dead PKR or to ablate expression of the kinase. These experiments recognize kinase-dependent and -independent protection from DSS-induced weight loss and inflammation, against a kinase-dependent increase in the susceptibility to DSS-induced injury. We propose these effects arise through PKR-dependent alteration of gut physiology, evidenced as altered goblet cell function and changes to the gut microbiota at homeostasis that suppresses inflammasome activity by controlling autophagy. These findings establish that PKR functions as both a protein kinase and a signaling molecule in instituting immune homeostasis in the gut
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