DETECTION OF KNOWN PHOTOCHEMICAL DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS OF PAH IN PARTICULATE MATTER FROM POLLUTION EPISODES IN SEOUL,KOREA

Over the past two decades, significant efforts have been expended to identify the photochemical decomposition products of the OH radical reactions of various polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), such as naphthalene, methylnaphthalenes, acenaphthene and phenanthrene (1 Lane, D. A. and Tang, H. 1994. Photochemical degradation of polycyclic aromatic compounds. I. Naphthalene.. Polycycl. Aromat. Comp, 5(1): 131–138. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 2 Bunce, N. J., Liu, L., Zhu, J. and Lane, D.A. 1997. Reaction of naphthalene and its derivatives with hydroxyl radicals in the gas phase.. Environ. Sci. Technol, 31(8): 2252–2259.  [Google Scholar], 3 Sasaki, J., Aschmann, S.M., Kwok, E.S.C., Atkinson, R. and Arey, J. 1997. Products of the gas-phase OH and NO3 radical-initiated reactions of naphthalene.. Environ. Sci. Technol, 31(11): 3173–3179.  [Google Scholar], 4 Sauret-Szczepanski, N. and Lane, D.A. 2004. Smog chamber study of acenaphthene: Gas/particle partition measurements of the products formed by reaction with the OH radical.. Polycycl. Aromat. Comp, 24(3): 161–172. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 5 Banceu, C. E., Mihele, C.M., Lane, D.A. and Bunce, N.J. 2001. Reactions of methylated naphthalenes with hydroxyl radicals under simulated atmospheric conditions.. Polycycl. Aromat. Comp, 18(4): 415–426. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 6 Wang, L., Atkinson, R. and Arey, J. 2007. Dicarbonyl products of the OH radical-initiated reactions of naphthalene and the C1- and C2-alkylnaphthalenes.. Environ. Sci. Technol, 41(8): 2803–2810.  [Google Scholar], 7 Lee, J. Y. and Lane, D.A. 2009. Unique products from the reaction of naphthalene with the hydroxyl radical. Atmos. Environ., 43: 4886–4893. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Although these parent PAC are predominantly found in the gas phase, many of their oxidation products have been found largely in the particle phase (4 Sauret-Szczepanski, N. and Lane, D.A. 2004. Smog chamber study of acenaphthene: Gas/particle partition measurements of the products formed by reaction with the OH radical.. Polycycl. Aromat. Comp, 24(3): 161–172. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 7 Lee, J. Y. and Lane, D.A. 2009. Unique products from the reaction of naphthalene with the hydroxyl radical. Atmos. Environ., 43: 4886–4893. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 8 Mihele, C. M., Wiebe, H.A. and Lane, D.A. 2002. Particle formation and gas/particle partition measurements of the products of the naphthalene-OH radical reaction in a smog chamber. Polycycl. Aromat. Comp., 22: 729–736. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). These products include diones, hydroxy-, and nitrated products as well as many products resulting from ring-opening steps. It is, or should be, the goal of every laboratory study on atmospheric processes to apply the laboratory results to real world samples. To this end, we have obtained particulate matter air samples, as well as some smog episode samples, from Seoul Korea and have searched for the known decomposition products of the above mentioned PAC. To eliminate the use of chlorinated solvents used in the extraction and analysis of particulate matter samples, we have been utilizing the direct thermal desorption of small (4 mm diameter) punches of filters followed by Multidimensional Gas Chromatography-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (TD-GCxGC-TOFMS) for the analysis of the desorbed compounds. So far, we have detected 14 of the known decomposition products of naphthalene, acenaphthene and phenanthrene in the Seoul pollution episode samples. These include: 1-hydroxynaphthalene, (E) 2-formylcinnamaldehyde, phthalic anhydride, phthalide, 1,2-naphthalic anhydride, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene and dibenzopyrone.     

The inspection of anisotropic single-crystal components using a 2-D ultrasonic array

Single-crystal metal alloys are used extensively in the manufacture of jet engine components for their excellent mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. The inspection of these components using 2-D ultrasonic arrays potentially allows the detection of subsurface defects in threedimensions from one inspection location. Such methods are not currently suitable for the inspection of single-crystal components because the high elastic anisotropy of single-crystal materials causes directional variation in ultrasonic waves. In this paper, a model of wave propagation in anisotropic material is used to correct an ultrasonic imaging algorithm and is applied to a single-crystal test specimen. For this correctedalgorithm, the orientation of the crystal in a specimen must be known before the inspection. Using the same ultrasonic array to measure the orientation and perform the defect inspection offers the most practical solution. Therefore, potential crystallographic orientation methods using 2-D ultrasonic arrays are also developed and evaluated.     

The Effects of Physical Environment on Engineering Team Performance: A Case Study

The effects of physical environment on the performance of student teams were evaluated in a timed case study. Six teams worked on an intensive three‐hour problem‐solving event as part of their term project. Successful completion of the project depended on using engineering skills to solve an open‐ended technical problem and produce a one‐page memo defining the solution. The skills needed for this exercise included searching electronic databases for relevant information, analyzing journal publications, developing a kinetic model, applying the model to the problem, making team decisions, and communicating the results in a written product. Three teams performed the exercise in a technology‐training classroom (treatment group), newly constructed and flexibly furnished to accommodate interaction and electronic communication. The remaining three teams (control group) were to find any available space within the Engineering complex. The technology classroom featured flexible, team‐friendly furnishing, and laptop computers with wireless Ethernet connections, giving the students access to Internet database resources and nearby printers. None of the teams selecting their own space chose to work in a traditional classroom. Rather, they all migrated to space that could be used for group discussion, and left these areas to get access to other resources. All groups performed well as teams, probably due to the team training that had been provided to the class prior to the exercise. The three treatment teams in the technology classroom scored significantly better on technical content and communicating their work product in memo form than the control group.     

Cystine/Glutamate Antiporter in Schizophrenia: From Molecular Mechanism to Novel Biomarker and Treatment

Glutamate, a crucial excitatory neurotransmitter, plays a major role in the modulation of schizophrenia’s pathogenesis. New drug developments for schizophrenia have been prompted by the hypoglutamatergic hypothesis of schizophrenia. The cystine/glutamate antiporter system x_c⁻ is related to glutamate-release regulation. Patients with schizophrenia were recently discovered to exhibit downregulation of x_c⁻ subunits—the solute carrier (SLC) family 3 member 2 and the SLC family 7 member 11. We searched for relevant studies from 1980, when Bannai and Kitamura first identified the protein subunit system x_c⁻ in lung fibroblasts, with the aim of compiling the biological, functional, and pharmacological characteristics of antiporter x_c⁻, which consists of several subunits. Some of them can significantly stimulate the human brain through the glutamate pathway. Initially, extracellular cysteine activates neuronal x_c⁻, causing glutamate efflux. Next, excitatory amino acid transporters enhance the unidirectional transportation of glutamate and sodium. These two biochemical pathways are also crucial to the production of glutathione, a protective agent for neural and glial cells and astrocytes. Investigation of the expression of system x_c⁻ genes in the peripheral white blood cells of patients with schizophrenia can facilitate better understanding of the mental disorder and future development of novel biomarkers and treatments for schizophrenia. In addition, the findings further support the hypoglutamatergic hypothesis of schizophrenia.     

In vitro displacement by rat serum of adsorbed radiolabeled poloxamer and poloxamine copolymers from model and biodegradable nanospheres

Poloxamer 407 and poloxamine 908 have been used by many research groups to modify the surface of both model latex and biodegradable nanospheres, thereby producing nanospheres that have shown reduced protein adsorption in vitro and extended circulation times in vivo. A potential limitation of such systems is the desorption of the copolymer coating layer. We describe a two-stage process to radiolabel poloxamer 407 and poloxamine 908 that has facilitated an investigation into this potential desorption, in vitro. The first stage of the labeling procedure involved the substitution of the terminal hydroxyl groups in each poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chain of poloxamer 407 and poloxamine 908 with an amino group. The aminated copolymers were then radiolabeled with 125Iodine Bolton-Hunter reagent. The efficiency of labeling was calculated to be approximately 20% for the tetramine poloxamine 908 and approximately 33% for the diamine poloxamer 407. Remaining free amino groups were then either acetylated, using acetic anhydride, or left in the free amino form. Covalent linkage of the radiolabel to the copolymer was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The stability of the link between radiolabel and copolymer to hydrolysis was also confirmed; <4% loss of radiolabel occurred from poloxamine 908 after incubation in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 37 degrees C for 8 days. The radiolabeled copolymers (with the free amino groups acetylated) were then used in experiments that have given the first direct evidence that adsorbed copolymers can be displaced by serum proteins in significant amounts from the surface of model and biodegradable nanospheres. The displacement was highly dependent on copolymer-nanosphere compatibility, with up to 78% of 125I tetramine poloxamine 908 being displaced from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanospheres in 24 h, compared with 20% displacement of 125I tetramine poloxamine 908 in 24 h from polystyrene nanospheres. These results have direct implication for the future design of drug delivery systems based on coated nanospheres.     

Determination of some physicochemical parameters of microcystins (cyanobacterial toxins) and trace level analysis in environmental samples using liquid chromatography

The present study measured how the detection thresholds for two very brief tone or noise bursts depend on the delay between them. The thresholds for the tone burst pairs systematically increase for increasing delays up to a few milliseconds and then reach a constant value. The tone burst thresholds thus reflect a very short-term interaction between the brief signals. Strikingly, the time constant of the interaction appears to scale inversely to the frequency of the tone bursts. The thresholds for the noise burst pairs, on the other hand, remain approximately constant down to the shortest measured delay of less than 1 ms. In contrast to the concept of intensity integration, these results are interpreted in terms of a temporal overlap of the auditory filter responses elicited by two brief, successively presented signals. In a second experiment it was shown that the observed short-term interaction between two brief signals is sensitive to their relative phases, corroborating the conjecture that the interaction takes place at a level prior to the mechanical to neural transduction in the inner ear.