ALBERT

Description: Abstract Aerosol pH is a useful diagnostic of aerosol chemistry for formation of secondary aerosol and has been hypothesized to be a key factor in specific chemical reaction routes producing sulfate and nitrate (Yue et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2012; Hu et al., 2014). In this study, we measured hourly concentrations of water soluble ions (WS‐ions) in PM2.5, along with gaseous pollutants in Tianjin, China, from 4th January to 31st January 2015. The following source contributions to WS ions were estimated by PMF (Positive Matrix Factorization): secondary sulfate (13%), secondary nitrate (44%), coal (14%), vehicle (16%), and dust (13%). ISORROPIA‐II was used to investigate the complex relationships among aerosol pH, ammonia, and secondary aerosol formation. The estimated hourly aerosol pH varied from ‐0.3 to 7.7, with an average of 4.9 (±0.78); the median value was 4.89, and the interquartile range (IQR) was 0.72. During less polluted conditions, aerosol pH ranged from less than 0 to about 7; during heavily polluted conditions, pH was close to 5 (3.9‐7.9) despite large amounts of sulfate. Sufficient ammonia/ammonium were present to balance high sulfate and nitrate formation. NH4+/NH3 (g) helped stabilize pH while nonvolatile cations contributed less to decreasing aerosol acidity. High acidy (pH〈3), light pollution (Total water soluble ions (TWI)〈30 μg m‐3), and low water content (less than 5μg m‐3) were more correlated with higher rates of sulfate formation than nitrate formation in the winter.

Description: Spatial heterogeneity of soil has great impacts on dynamic processes of the hydrological systems. However, it is challenging and expensive to obtain spatial distribution of soil hydraulic properties, which often requires extensive soil sampling and observations and intensive laboratory analyses, especially in high elevation, hard to access mountainous areas. This study evaluates the impacts of soil heterogeneity on hydrological process in a high elevation, topographically complex watershed in Northwest China. Two approaches were used to derive the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties in the study watershed: 1) The spatial clustering method, Full-Order-CLK was used to determine five soil heterogeneous clusters (Configurations 97, 80, 65, 40, and 20) through large number of soil sampling and in situ observations; and 2) The average values of soil hydraulic properties for each soil type were derived from the coarse provincial soil datasets (Gansu Soil Handbook at 1:1, 000, 000 scale). Subsequently, SWAT model was used to quantify the impact of the spatial heterogeneity of soil hydraulic properties on hydrological process in the study watershed. Results show the simulations by SWAT with the spatially clustered soil hydraulic information from the field sampling data had much better representation of the soil heterogeneity and more accurate performance than the model using the average soil property values for each soil type derived from the coarse soil datasets. Thus, incorporating detailed field sampling soil heterogeneity data greatly improves performance in hydrological modeling. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: A chiral helical coordination polymer [Ag(pmta)] n ( 1 ) was prepared by the reaction of the asymmetric organic spacer 2-pyrimidylthioacetic acid (Hpmta) with silver(I) acetate. Complex 1 has a hetero-chiral coaxial helical structure, which is further extended into a 2D network structure by various supramolecular interactions. Furthermore, complex 1 exhibits strong fluorescence emission in the solid state and modest power second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiency at room temperature.

Description: ABSTRACT Bombyx mori is an important economic animal for silk production. However, it is liable to be infected by organophosphorus pesticide that can contaminate its food and growing environment. It has been known that organophosphorus pesticide including phoxim exposure may damage the digestive systems, produce oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in silkworm B. mori , whereas cerium treatment has been demonstrated to relieve phoxim-induced toxicity in B. mori . However, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms of midgut injury due to phoxim exposure and B. mori protection after cerium pretreatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the midgut damage and its molecular mechanisms, and the protective role of cerium in B. mori following exposure to phoxim. The results showed that phoxim exposure led to severe midgut damages and oxidative stress; whereas cerium relieved midgut damage and oxidative stress caused by phoxim in B. mori . Furthermore, digital gene expression suggested that phoxim exposure led to significant up-regulation of 94 genes and down-regulation of 52 genes. Of these genes, 52 genes were related with digestion and absorption, specifically, the significant alterations of esterase, lysozyme, amylase 48, and lipase expressions. Cerium pretreatment resulted in up-regulation of 116 genes, and down-regulation of 29 genes, importantly, esterase 48, lipase, lysozyme, and α-amylase were up-regulated. Treatment with Phoxim + CeCl 3 resulted in 66 genes up-regulation and 39 genes down-regulation; specifically, levels of esterase 48 , lipase , lysozyme , and α- amylase expression in the midgut of silkworms were significantly increased. Therefore, esterase 48 , lipase , lysozyme , and α- amylase may be potential biomarkers of midgut toxicity caused by phoxim exposure. These findings may expand the application of rare earths in sericulture. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2013.

Description: A chiral helical coordination polymer [Ag(pmta)] n ( 1 ) was prepared by the reaction of the asymmetric organic spacer 2-pyrimidylthioacetic acid (Hpmta) with silver(I) acetate. Complex 1 has a hetero-chiral coaxial helical structure, which is further extended into a 2D network structure by various supramolecular interactions. Furthermore, complex 1 exhibits strong fluorescence emission in the solid state and modest power second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiency at room temperature.

Description: The objective of this research work is to provide a systematic method to perform test and evaluation on the nonlinear optical properties of Al-doped ZnO nano thin film structure for designing a high-performance optical-electronic structure. Some different kinds of samples can be manufactured for testing. The samples are designed by changing technical parameters such as sputtering power of Al and ZnO, pressure and sputtering time and each parameter has three levels. The test results show that the main factor is the sputtering power of Al, which means the doping density of Al. In the meantime, the Maxwell–Garnett theory is used to investigate the optical prosperities of Al-doped ZnO nano thin films in the visible range. The optical band gap of Al-doped ZnO nano thin films increases with the increasing of Al doping density, but it becomes slowly when the doping density is more than 16.0%. The results and the investigation method are useful for designing and manufacturing for nano thin films.

Description: [1]  Despite the importance of the Pamir range in controlling Asian paleoenvironments and land-sea paleogeography, its tectonic evolution remains poorly constrained in time and space hindering its potential for understanding deep to surface processes. We provide here new constraints on vertical-axis tectonic rotations from the southwest Tarim Basin along the eastern flank of the Pamir arcuate range based on paleomagnetic results. Two well-dated Eocene to Oligocene sections, previously analyzed using bio- and magnetostratigraphy, yield consistently clockwise rotations of 21.6 ± 4.2° in 41 to 36 Ma strata then 17.1 ± 6.5° in 33 to 28 Ma strata at the Aertashi section and 14.2 ± 11.5° in 41 to 40 Ma strata at the Kezi section. Combined with a regional review of existing paleomagnetic studies, these results indicate that most of the clockwise rotations along the eastern Pamir occurred during Oligocene times and did not extend systematically and regionally into the Tarim Basin. In contrast, on the western flank of the Pamir tectonic rotations in Cretaceous to Neogene strata are regionally extensive and systematically counterclockwise throughout the Afghan-Tajik Basin. This timing and pattern of rotations is consistent with paleogeographic reconstructions of the regional sea retreat out of Central Asia and supports a two stage kinematic model: (1) symmetric rotations of either flanks of the Pamir arcuate range until Oligocene times followed by (2) continued rotations on its western flank associated with radial thrusting and, along the eastern flank, no further rotations due to decoupled transfer slip starting in the early Miocene.

Description: ABSTRACT Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia worldwide and is an emerging global epidemic. Active and passive immune therapies targeting beta amyloid (Aβ) have shown very limited evidence in human studies of clinical benefits from these approaches. Epidemiological studies have shown that subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at higher risk of developing AD. However, whether and how these two conditions are causally linked is unknown. With the purpose of confirming the relationship between T2D and AD, this study specifically focused on effects of insulin in an in vitro model of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) and on potential mechanisms of action in the treatment of AD. By using a series of assays to establish a BBB model, we demonstrated that insulin treatment alone could induce the increase of brain endothelial barrier properties. The transcriptional response of hCMEC/D3 cells to activation with different concentrations of insulin was determined by RT-PCR, and expression levels of genes involved in the control of barrier permeability, including inter-brain endothelial junctions, integrin-focal adhesions complexes and transporter system, were found to be altered by the treatment. Notably, the influence of insulin on expression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter which contributes to the clearance of Aβ was investigated. Insulin up-regulated adherens junction and tight junction transmembrane proteins, as well as the ABC transporter. By treatment with insulin, the models have major advantages: it is fast, it has low cost, it is fit for considerable samples, and its conditions are under control. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity and the Pacific Walker Circulation are controlled by the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient between the western and Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) and the corresponding barometric difference. Variations in the zonal SST gradient since the early Pleistocene have primarily been triggered by changes in the SST in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific. However, the response of the ENSO-like long-term state to the cooling of the EEP and its coupling role with tropical Pacific climate changes are still not well established. Here we present a high-resolution grain-size record spanning the last 2.36 Myr, obtained from marine core sediment located in the West Philippine Sea in order to decipher the tropical pacific climate changes and reveal its controlling mechanism. By combining our data with other long-term climatic records from the Equatorial Pacific, we demonstrate that the cooling of SST and enhanced upwelling in the EEP resulted in the development of the Walker Circulation and increased monsoon precipitation in Luzon from 2.2 to 1.6 Myr, from 1.2 to 0.8 Myr and since 0.2 Myr ago. The progressive cooling of the high-latitudes in the Quaternary may be responsible for our observation here. A newly identified 100-kyr dominant period between 2.2 and 1.6 Myr in the ENSO-like modulated Pacific climate records indicates that the ENSO-like system may play a key role in facilitating or responding to the global climate changes.