Composition of negative air ions as a function of ion age and selected trace gases: Mass- and mobility distribution

In order to explore an additional window to look into the mechanisms behind atmospheric ion and particle formation, an advanced method, which combines the study of ageing of air ions by both mobility and mass spectrometry is developed and examined. The technique behind this method can produce new air ions and trace their evolution within the age interval from a few tenths of a second up to about 20 s. We measure the mobility spectra from 2.37 down to 0.0013 cm² V^?1 s^?1 and the mass spectra of these ions up to m/z 2000. The results demonstrate the ability of the method to trace the temporal evolution of the ions. The composition of negative air ions at an age of about 1 s is clearly different from that at about 20 s, contrarily to certain former results according to which the small ion evolution should mainly terminate within about a second. We investigate how variations in humidity and the elevated concentrations of iodine and diethylamine (DEA) modify the composition of the negative air ions. The concentrations of DEA and iodine are above their common values in the air, but also in these cases the observed trends should be applicable to the atmosphere. All the vapours investigated in this study modify the ion composition in quite a specific way. Most prominent transformations are induced by iodine, which transforms the mass spectrum of cluster ions into few dominant peaks at m/z 381 and 635. In mobility spectrum, it generates a large number of new heavy ions with the sizes of 4?40 nm, the heavy ions in turn decrease the concentration of cluster ions due to ion–aerosol attachment. The peaks at m/z 381 and 635 can be assigned to ions I^?(I₂) and I^?(I₂)₂, respectively. At an enhanced concentration of diethylamine vapour (DEA), the new ions NO₃^?(HNO₃)(DEA) seem very plausible to explain the appearance of the peak at m/z 198 in the mass-spectrum. DEA evokes a multimodal mobility spectrum with modes at about 1.75, 10 and 20 nm. Both the DEA and iodine generate the changes in the size distribution of aerosol particles, which can be associated with a new particle formation. The experiments with enhanced water vapour concentrations revealed a new peak at m/z 250, which could be assigned to HCO₃^?(HNO₃)₃ ions.     

Bias dependent NO2 sensitivity of SnO2 thin films at room temperature

Amorphous granular SnO₂ thin films were investigated from a standpoint of an NO₂ gas sensor working at room temperature. The films were deposited using pulsed laser deposition method with substrate at room temperature and ～90 nm thick SnO₂ films with amorphous structure were obtained as a result. SnO₂ films deposited on Pt electrode substrates formed a sensor structure that showed response I_air/I_gas to 4 ppm NO₂ up to ～8000. I–V characteristics of the sensor structure were described by the power law dependence, whereas the power indexes were different for measurements in pure air and in the presence of NO₂. As a result, the sensor response was highly dependent on bias voltage between the sensor electrodes. It was demonstrated that the nonlinear electrical characteristics and bias dependent gas sensitivity were the inherent properties of thin films and the contacts were ohmic.     

Human TRMT112-Methyltransferase Network Consists of Seven Partners Interacting with a Common Co-Factor

Methylation is an essential epigenetic modification mainly catalysed by S-Adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferases (MTases). Several MTases require a cofactor for their metabolic stability and enzymatic activity. TRMT112 is a small evolutionary conserved protein that acts as a co-factor and activator for different MTases involved in rRNA, tRNA and protein methylation. Using a SILAC screen, we pulled down seven methyltransferases—N6AMT1, WBSCR22, METTL5, ALKBH8, THUMPD2, THUMPD3 and TRMT11—as interaction partners of TRMT112. We showed that TRMT112 stabilises all seven MTases in cells. TRMT112 and MTases exhibit a strong mutual feedback loop when expressed together in cells. TRMT112 interacts with its partners in a similar way; however, single amino acid mutations on the surface of TRMT112 reveal several differences as well. In summary, mammalian TRMT112 can be considered as a central “hub” protein that regulates the activity of at least seven methyltransferases.     

Evaluation of head response to ballistic helmet impacts using the finite element method

Injuries to the head caused by ballistic impacts are not well understood. Ballistic helmets provide good protection, but still, injuries to both the skull and brain occur. Today there is a lack of relevant test procedure to evaluate the efficiency of a ballistic helmet. The purpose of this project was (1) to study how different helmet shell stiffness affects the load levels in the human head during an impact, and (2) to study how different impact angles affects the load levels in the human head. A detailed finite element (FE) model of the human head, in combination with an FE model of a ballistic helmet (the US Personal Armour System Ground Troops’ (PASGT) geometry) was used. The head model has previously been validated against several impact tests on cadavers. The helmet model was validated against data from shooting tests. Focus was aimed on getting a realistic response of the coupling between the helmet and the head and not on modeling the helmet in detail. The studied data from the FE simulations were stress in the cranial bone, strain in the brain tissue, pressure in the brain, change in rotational velocity and translational and rotational acceleration. A parametric study was performed to see the influence of a variation in helmet shell stiffness on the outputs from the model. The effect of different impact angles was also studied. Dynamic helmet shell deflections larger than the initial distance between the shell and the skull should be avoided in order to protect the head from the most injurious threat levels. It is more likely that a fracture of the skull bone occurs if the inside of the helmet shell strikes the skull. Oblique ballistic impacts may in some cases cause higher strains in the brain tissue than pure radial ones.