scholarly journals Sulfur isotope analysis for representative regional background atmospheric aerosols collected at Mt. Lulin, Taiwan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuan-Hsiung Chung ◽  
Chen-Feng You ◽  
Shih-Chieh Hsu ◽  
Mao-Chang Liang
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Background Level ◽  
P Value ◽  
Sulfate Concentration ◽  
Fossil Fuel Burning ◽  
Regional Background ◽  
Report Analysis ◽  
Regional Background Level

AbstractAir pollution resulted from fossil fuel burning has been an environmental issue in developing countries in Asia. Sulfur-bearing compounds, in particular, are species that are regulated and monitored routinely. To assess how the species affect at local and global scales, regional background level has to be defined. Here, we report analysis of sulfur isotopes in atmospheric sulfate, the oxidation end product of sulfur species, in particulate phase collected at the Lulin observatory located at 2862 m above mean sea level in 2010. The averaged sulfate concentration for 44 selected samples is 2.7 ± 2.3 (1-σ standard deviation) μg m−3, and the averaged δ34S is 2.2 ± 1.6‰, with respect to the international standard Vienna Canyon Diablo Troilite. Regardless of the origins of air masses, no noticeable difference between the low-altitude Pacific and high-altitude free troposphere sulfate aerosols is observed. Also, no identifiable seasonal cycle in seen. Correlation analysis with respect to coal burning tracers such as lead and oil industry tracers such as vanadium shows sulfate concentration is in better correlation with vanadium (R2 = 0.86, p-value < 0.001) than with lead (R2 = 0.45, p-value < 0.001) but no statistically significant correlation is found in δ34S with any of physical quantities measured. We suggest the sulfate collected at Lulin can best represent the regional background level in the Western Pacific, a quantity that is needed in order to quantitatively assess the budget of sulfur in local to country scales.

scholarly journals Spatial Variation in Cadmium and Mercury and Factors Influencing Their Potential Ecological Risks in Farmland Soil in Poyang Lake Plain, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyi Huang ◽  
Huimin Yu ◽  
Xiaomin Zhao ◽  
Xi Guo ◽  
Yingcong Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Poyang Lake ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Potential Ecological Risk ◽  
Ecological Risk Index ◽  
Potential Ecological Risk Index ◽  
Regional Background ◽  
Farmland Soil ◽  
Regional Background Level

Due to the irreversibility of heavy metal pollution, the presence of heavy metals in farmland soil is associated with severe ecological risks that endanger both the environment and human health. Cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are two toxic heavy metals found widely in polluted soil. Cd is not readily fixed in the soil and is therefore easily accumulated by plants, while Hg has a wide range of pollution sources. The aims of this study were to explore the spatial variation in Cd and Hg concentrations in farmland soil in Poyang Lake Plain, China, and to assess their potential ecological risks as influenced by natural and human factors. A total of 283 soil samples were obtained from Fengcheng city, central Jiangxi Province. Data were then analyzed using geostatistics, the potential ecological risk index, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and Geodetector. The results showed moderate variation in soil Cd and Hg concentrations, with a remarkable difference in their spatial distribution. Cd concentrations in the northwest and northeast of Fengcheng were below the regional background level in Jiangxi; in most remaining areas, Cd concentrations were between the regional background level and national risk screening value. Areas with Hg concentrations lower than the regional background level were largely concentrated in the south, east and north of Fengcheng, and gradually increased towards the central, where they exceeded the regional background level but were below the national risk screening value. Overall, the potential ecological risk level of Cd was predominantly low, while that of Hg was moderate. The comprehensive potential ecological risk was low in most areas for both Cd and Hg, with some scattered areas of moderate risk. Moreover, the comprehensive potential ecological risk index of both Cd and Hg was significantly correlated with soil pH, total phosphorous, elevation, distance from a river (p &lt; 0.01), and distance from a road (p &lt; 0.05). The most significant factor influencing the comprehensive potential ecological risk index of these two heavy metals was soil pH of 5.2–5.6, followed by total p ≤ 0.52 mg kg−1. In conclusion, moderate pollution of Cd and Hg occurred in farmland soil in Poyang Lake Plain where their comprehensive potential ecological risk level was generally low and mainly influenced by soil pH and total phosphorous.

scholarly journals Gut microbiome is affected by inter-sexual and inter-seasonal variation in diet for thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Góngora ◽  
Kyle H. Elliott ◽  
Lyle Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequencing ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Uria Lomvia ◽  
Fecal Microbiome ◽  
Prey Specialization ◽  
Rrna Gene Sequencing

AbstractThe role of the gut microbiome is increasingly being recognized by health scientists and veterinarians, yet its role in wild animals remains understudied. Variations in the gut microbiome could be the result of differential diets among individuals, such as variation between sexes, across seasons, or across reproductive stages. We evaluated the hypothesis that diet alters the avian gut microbiome using stable isotope analysis (SIA) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We present the first description of the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) fecal microbiome. The murre microbiome was dominated by bacteria from the genus Catellicoccus, ubiquitous in the guts of many seabirds. Microbiome variation was explained by murre diet in terms of proportion of littoral carbon, trophic position, and sulfur isotopes, especially for the classes Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria. We also observed differences in the abundance of bacterial genera such as Catellicoccus and Cetobacterium between sexes and reproductive stages. These results are in accordance with behavioural observations of changes in diet between sexes and across the reproductive season. We concluded that the observed variation in the gut microbiome may be caused by individual prey specialization and may also be reinforced by sexual and reproductive stage differences in diet.

scholarly journals Exploiting stagnant conditions to derive robust emission ratio estimates for CO<sub>2</sub>, CO and volatile organic compounds in Paris

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 15653-15664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamia Ammoura ◽  
Irène Xueref-Remy ◽  
Felix Vogel ◽  
Valérie Gros ◽  
Alexia Baudic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Values ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Low Wind Speed ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Regional Background Level ◽  
Autumn And Winter ◽  
The City ◽  
Emission Ratios

Abstract. We propose an approach to estimate urban emission ratios that takes advantage of the enhanced local urban signal in the atmosphere at low wind speed. We apply it to estimate monthly ratios between CO2, CO and some VOCs from several atmospheric concentration measurement datasets acquired in the centre of Paris between 2010 and 2014. We find that this approach is not very sensitive to the regional background level definition and that, in the case of Paris, it samples all days (weekdays and weekends) and all hours of the day evenly. A large seasonal variability of the ΔCO ∕ ΔCO2 ratio in Paris is shown, with a difference of around 60 % between the extreme values and a strong anti-correlation (r2 = 0.75) with atmospheric temperature. The comparison of the ratios obtained for two short measurement campaigns conducted in two different districts and two different periods (autumn and winter) shows differences ranging from −120 to +63 %. A comparison with a highly resolved regional emission inventory suggests some spatial variations of the ratio within the city.

scholarly journals Environmental contamination with metals as a risk factor causing developing autoimmune thyroiditis in children in zones influenced by emissions from metallurgic enterprises

2021 ◽  
pp. 58-64
Author(s):  
I.Е. Shtina ◽  
◽  
S.L. Valina ◽  
К.P. Luzhetskiy ◽  
М.Т. Zenina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Gland ◽  
Autoimmune Thyroiditis ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Free T4 ◽  
Humoral Immune ◽  
Regional Background Level

Chemical environmental factors trophic for the endocrine system and its organs produce negative influence on it that becomes apparent through growing incidence and pathomorphism of endocrine diseases. Our test group was made up of 102 children with diagnosed autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) who were chronically exposed to metals (lead, manganese, nickel, chromium, and zinc) being components in emissions from metallurgic enterprises in Perm region. Our reference group included 46 children with AIT who lived beyond zones influenced by the aforementioned enterprises in areas with the sanitary-hygienic situation being relatively favorable. We comparatively analyzed the results of clinical and ultrasound examinations that focused on evaluating children’s thyroidal and immune state. A growth in incidence with thyroiditis amounted to 63.6 % on the test territory over 10 years and it was 1.6 times higher than on average in the region (40.8 %); there was no growth in the indicator detected on the reference territory. Concentrations of chromium, nickel, lead, zinc, and manganese higher than regional background level were 1.7–5.5 times more frequently detected in blood of children from the test group against the reference one. A number of AIT cases was higher among exposed boys (by 2.0 times, p = 0.070); exposed children also had higher Ig A, M, and G contents in blood serum (by up to 2.9 times, p = 0.015–0.056), higher TSH levels (by 2.0 times, p = 0.096), and lower free T4 contents (by 5.4 times, p = 0.057). Diffuse damage to the thyroid gland was by 1.3 times more frequent under exposure to adverse factors created by metallurgic production; AIT combined with other diseases was also more frequent (p = 0.041). Rates and growth in incidence of thyroid gland diseases and thyroiditis are by 1.3–2.3 times higher among children and teenagers living on territories where metallurgic enterprises are located against the same indicators on territories where sanitary-hygienic situation is relatively favorable. We detected less apparent gender-related differences in AIT frequency, a greater number of improper thyroidal state, elevated risks of diffuse changes in the thyroid gland and activation of humoral immune response that was by 2.2–3.4 times more frequent together with concomitant damage to other systems under elevated contents of metals in blood.

Compound Specific Stable Sulfur Isotope Analysis (δ34S and δ33S) of Organic Compounds Using Gas Chromatography Hyphenated with Multiple Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (GC-MC-ICPMS)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kümmel Steffen ◽  
Gelman Faina ◽  
Horst Axel ◽  
Strauß Harald ◽  
Gehre Matthias
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Sulfur Isotope ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Plasma Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Stable Sulfur Isotope

&lt;p&gt;Stable sulfur isotope analysis is potentially applicable in various fields in forensics and environmental analytics to investigate the sources and degradation of organic compounds, many of them being priority pollutants in groundwater and the atmosphere. A broader use of sulfur isotopes of organic compounds in environmental studies is still hampered by the availability of precise and easy-to-use techniques. Here we present a method for the determination of stable sulfur isotope ratios using gas chromatography coupled with multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-MC-ICPMS) which can be used for both &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S and &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;S analysis. The method was evaluated using the reference materials IAEA-S-1, IAEA-S-2 and IAEA-S-3 which were converted offline to SF&lt;sub&gt;6&lt;/sub&gt; prior to analysis. Standardization was carried out by using a two-point calibration approach. The &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S values obtained by our method are in good agreement (within analytical uncertainty) with the results obtained by the conventional dual inlet method. Additionally, the impact of the used mass resolution (low and medium), the influence of auto-protonation of sulfur isotopes and the effect of isobaric interferences of O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;+&lt;/sup&gt; on the obtained isotopic ratios was investigated. The analytical precision (1&amp;#963;) for &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;S and &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;S values was usually better than &amp;#177;0.1 &amp;#8240; for analytes containing &gt;0.1 nmol S. Thus, the presented compound-specific online method should be sufficiently precise to address a wide variety of research questions involving mass independent isotope effects of sulfur-containing organic compounds to discriminate sources or biological and chemical reactions in the environment.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals A new method for estimating emission ratios in the urban atmosphere: examples of ratios to CO<sub>2</sub>, CO and volatile organic compounds in Paris

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (17) ◽  
pp. 23587-23612 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ammoura ◽  
I. Xueref-Remy ◽  
F. Vogel ◽  
V. Gros ◽  
A. Baudic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variability ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Urban Atmosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Low Wind Speed ◽  
Regional Background Level ◽  
The City ◽  
Emission Ratios

Abstract. We propose a new approach to estimate urban emission ratios that takes advantage of the enhanced local urban signal in the atmosphere at low wind speed. We apply it to estimate monthly ratios between CO2, CO and some VOCs from several atmospheric concentration measurement datasets acquired in the centre of Paris between 2010 and 2014. We find that this approach is little sensitive to the regional background level definition and that, in the case of Paris, it samples all days (weekdays and weekends) and all hours of the day evenly. A large seasonal variability of the ΔCO/ΔCO2 ratio in Paris is shown, with a difference of around 60 % between the extreme values and a strong anti-correlation (r2 = 0.75) with atmospheric temperature. The comparison of the ratios obtained for two short measurement campaigns conducted in two different districts and two different periods (fall and winter) shows differences ranging from −120 to +63 %. A comparison with a highly resolved regional emission inventory suggests some spatial variations of the ratio within the city, although most of these differences seem to be rather driven by the seasonal variability.

scholarly journals Sulfur isotopes as a proxy for human diet and mobility from the preclassic through colonial periods in the Eastern Maya lowlands

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0254992
Author(s):  
Claire E. Ebert ◽  
Asta J. Rand ◽  
Kirsten Green-Mink ◽  
Julie A. Hoggarth ◽  
Carolyn Freiwald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Human Bone ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
And Migration ◽  
S Isotope

Maya archaeologists have long been interested in understanding ancient diets because they provide information about broad-scale economic and societal transformations. Though paleodietary studies have primarily relied on stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic analyses of human bone collagen to document the types of food people consumed, stable sulfur (δ34S) isotope analysis can potentially provide valuable data to identify terrestrial, freshwater, or marine/coastal food sources, as well as determine human mobility and migration patterns. Here we assess applications of δ34S for investigating Maya diet and migration through stable isotope analyses of human bone collagen (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) from 114 individuals from 12 sites in the Eastern Maya lowlands, temporally spanning from the Late Preclassic (300 BCE—300 CE) through Colonial periods (1520–1800 CE). Results document a diet dominated by maize and other terrestrial resources, consistent with expectations for this inland region. Because δ34S values reflect local geology, our analyses also identified recent migrants to the Eastern lowlands who had non-local δ34S signatures. When combined with other indicators of mobility (e.g., strontium isotopes), sulfur isotopic data provide a powerful tool to investigate movement across a person’s lifespan. This study represents the largest examination of archaeological human δ34S isotope values for the Maya lowlands and provides a foundation for novel insights into both subsistence practices and migration.

The trace metal signature of atmospheric aerosols sampled at a European regional background site (puy de Dôme, France)

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Vlastelic ◽  
Krzysztof Suchorski ◽  
Karine Sellegri ◽  
Aurélie Colomb ◽  
François Nauret ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metal ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Background Site ◽  
Regional Background ◽  
European Regional

Atmospheric aerosols at a regional background Himalayan site—Mukteshwar, India

2012 ◽  
Vol 185 (6) ◽  
pp. 4753-4764 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Panwar ◽  
Rakesh K. Hooda ◽  
H. Lihavainen ◽  
A. P. Hyvarinen ◽  
V. P Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Regional Background

BIOM-37. ELUCIDATION OF THE TRANSCRIPTOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF KLF4 AND TRAF7 MUTATIONS IN SECRETORY MENINGIOMAS

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi19-vi19
Author(s):  
Signe Michaelsen ◽  
Paul Cloos ◽  
Helle Broholm ◽  
Jens Johansen ◽  
Ulvi Ahmedov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Background Level ◽  
P Value ◽  
Surgical Removal ◽  
Gene Expressions ◽  
Tert Promoter ◽  
Pan Cancer

Abstract Secretory meningioma (SM) is a benign histological meningioma subtype frequently located in the central skull-base, complicating surgical removal, highlighting the need of gentle targeting treatment alternatives. SM tumors arise from the arachnoid layer in the meninges and are associated with a hotspot p.K409Q mutation in KLF4 combined with different mutations in TRAF7. The objective of this study was to identify how KLF4 and TRAF7 mutations alter signaling in SM tumors. The study includes 16 FFPE samples from SM tumors and three arachnoid cysts as normal-tissue reference. All tissues were histologically confirmed, followed by genomic sequencing of KLF4, TRAF7, NF2 and TERT-promoter (C220T/C228T) using a customized NGS panel. Gene expression profiles were analyzed using NanoString Pan-cancer Progression and Pan-cancer Pathways panels, which resulted in measurement of 1,202 unique transcripts over background level. All 16 SM tumors presented the KLF4p.K409Q mutation, of which 12 had mutation in TRAF7 (four being p.N520S), while no cysts had mutations in these genes. Neither tumors nor cysts had NF2 or TERT-promoter mutations. PCA analysis showed different RNA expression profiles for SM tumors and cysts, while TRAF7 mutation was without influence on the overall gene expression patterns in the tumors. Sub-analysis found increased KLF4 expression in TRAF7-mutated SM tumors versus non-mutated tumors and cysts at the RNA level, while TRAF7 expression was stable in all samples. In total 98 genes were found differentially expressed (54 up- and 44 downregulated) with a log2-fold change over 1 and an adjusted p-value under 0.05 in tumors versus cysts. Further analyses are planned to explore and validate these results. In conclusion, we find that the KLF4p.K409Q mutation correlates more strongly with SM histology, than the TRAF7 mutation, and that SM tumors have gene expressions profiles that are distinct from normal arachnoid tissue for a number of disease relevant genes.

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