Portable,Ambient PM2.5 Sensor for Human and/or Animal Exposure Studies

A field-portable device for logging PM_2.5 mass concentration data has been developed. The device combines the Arduino microprocessor with an SD card, a Sharp DN7C3CA006 optical dust monitor, and 10,000-mAh battery. The dust sensor uses a virtual impactor to size select particles <2.5 microns prior to illuminating the selected fraction with an LED. The LED is triggered by a circuit controlled with the Arduino. Nephelometric detection at 120° referenced to incidence is used. The voltage signal reported by the dust sensor is converted to PM_2.5 mass through calibration onboard the Arduino. Data points can be saved to the SD card as rapidly as 0.3?s, although averaging signals over 60?s produced more optimal detection limits. For a 60?s average, the PM_2.5 mass limit of detection was 9?µg?m^?3, indicating that the sensor will be useful for monitoring human exposure to fine particles. Portable exposure monitoring has been demonstrated with the sensing platform as several individuals carried the device with them during daily activities in Lubbock, TX and Atlanta, GA. For this group of test subjects, values of PM_2.5 exposure varied from 0 to 1000?µg?m^?3 during the sampling periods. It was observed that, by far, the highest levels of PM_2.5 occur during periods of cooking, or being near cooking operations. Other periods of high PM_2.5 occurred during ground transportation, use of personal care products, vacuuming, and visiting restrooms. When hourly personal exposure data were correlated with hourly average PM_2.5 for outdoor air for the Atlanta data set, a very weak correlation was found (R²?=?0.026). Only two out of eight sampling periods did the personal monitoring estimate of exposure agree with that predicted by outdoor monitoring to within 15%. Personal exposure was often affected by circumstantial, short-term, high exposure events that are difficult to model or predict effectively. The short-term exposure events generally cause true exposure to be higher than that predicted by using outdoor ambient PM_2.5 to generate estimates. This finding complicates interpretation of epidemiological studies that find links between ambient outdoor PM_2.5 levels and human health, while it buttresses the case for using personal ambient monitors.     

Plutonium concentration and <Superscript>240</Superscript>Pu/<Superscript>239</Superscript>Pu isotopic ratio in the surface soils from the Jiuquan region in northwestern China

Surface soil samples collected in the Jiuquan region in the downwind area of the Chinese nuclear test site (CNTs) were analyzed for Pu isotopes. The ^239+240Pu activities ranged from 0.025 ± 0.009 to 0.89 ± 0.16 mBq g^?1, varying significantly with different sampling sites. The Dunhuang city that is located in the southwestern part of the Jiuquan region received the heaviest Pu deposition (^239+240Pu activities, 0.23–0.89 mBq g^?1). Most of the ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu isotopic ratios were similar with that of the global fallout. However, the low values (0.080–0.147) observed in three sampling sites further supported the finding of Pu originated from CNTs in that region.     

POSS-modified PEG adhesives for wound closure

PEG-related adhesives are limited in clinical use because they are easy to swell and cannot support the cell growth.In this study,we produced a series of POSS-modified PEG adhesives with high adhesive strength.Introduction of inorganic hydrophobic POSS units decreased the swelling of the adhesives and enhanced cell adhesion and growth.The in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo inflammatory response experiments clearly demonstrated that the adhesives were nontoxic and possessed excellent biocompatibility.Compared with the sutured wounds,the adhesive-treated wounds showed an accelerated healing process in wounded skin model of the Bama miniature pig,demonstrating that the POSS-modified PEG adhesive is a promising candidate for wound closure.     

Simple and rapid surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy assay for safranine T and its application in highly sensitive determination of mercury (Ⅱ)

A simple and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the detection of safranine T (ST) and Hg²⁺ using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as substrate was developed. ST can absorb on the surface of AgNPs through electrostatic interaction, the electromagnetic effect combined with chemical adsorption effect give a notable Raman enhancement for ST. The presence of Hg²⁺ well decreased the absorbed ST molecules on AgNPs, leading to a significant decrease of SERS signals thus enabling to detect Hg²⁺. The determination conditions for SERS, including the amount of AgNPs, the concentration of NaCl, the concentration of HCl, the concentration of ST and the reaction time, were optimised. Under the optimised experimental conditions, good linear responses were obtained for ST and Hg²⁺ in the concentration ranges of 0.01–4.0 μmol L^?1 (3.5–1403.4 ng mL^?1) and 0.01–2.0 μmol L^?1 (2.0–401.2 ng mL^?1), the limit of detection were 3.0 nmol L^?1 (1.1 ng mL^?1) and 2.0 nmol L^?1 (0.4 ng mL^?1), respectively. The present method was subsequently applied to the determination of ST in tomato sauces and Hg²⁺ in environmental waters, the recoveries of ST and Hg²⁺ in spiked samples are 95.5–107.8% and 91.4–110.8 %, respectively.     

厚薄板通用三角形位移元

本文构造出了一种具有九个自由度的厚薄板通用三角形位移单元，并给出了单元刚度矩阵显式。这种单元以其简洁的常规位移元列式可在相当宽的板厚变化范围内（包括板厚为零）获得很高的计算精度，其结果可与相应的矩形单元相比。而且不会出现剪切自锁。     

New three-dimensional porous metal organic framework with tetrazole functionalized aromatic carboxylic Acid: synthesis, structure, and gas adsorption properties

5-(1H-Tetrazol-1-yl)isophthalic acid (H(2)L) reacts with Cu(II) ion forming a new metal-organic framework {[CuL]·DMF·H(2)O}(∞) (1) (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), with a rutile-related type net topology. Compound 1 possesses a 3D structure with 1D channels that can be desolvated to yield a microporous material. Adsorption properties (N(2), H(2), O(2), CO(2), and CH(4)) of the desolvated solid [CuL] (1a) have been studied, and the results exhibit that 1a possesses fairly good capability of gas sorption for N(2), H(2), O(2), and CO(2) gases, with high selectivity ratios for O(2) over H(2) at 77 K and CO(2) over CH(4) at 195, 273, and 298 K. Furthermore, 1a has excellent O(2) uptake at 77 K and a remarkably high quantity of adsorption for CO(2) at room temperature (298 K) and atmospheric pressure, suggesting its potential applications in gas separation or purification.     

Picture change error correction of radon atom electron density

The importance of the picture change error (PCE) correction in the quasirelativistic electron density of radon atom is presented. PCE correction is considered for the infinite order two-component (IOTC) and second order Douglas-Kroll-Hess (DKH2) wave functions. Implementation details of PCE correction of electron density are outlined. The result section presents the radial distributions of electron density ρ(r) and the 4πr(2)ρ(r) function of the radon atom in the nuclear region. The PCE corrected and contaminated DKH2, IOTC electron densities are presented and compared with the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian and nonrelativistic electron densities. Besides, some additional effects in electron density and SCF energy are considered, such as spin-orbit coupling, the inclusion of the Gaunt term, and the finite nucleus model effects. The effects of p(2)Vp(2) and p(2)ρ(r)p(2) analytic integral classes within IOTC Hamiltonian and PCE correction of IOTC electron density are considered.     

Direct electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide at a glassy carbon electrode modified with polypyrrole nanowires and platinum hollow nanospheres

A nonenzymatic sensor for hydrogen peroxide has been fabricated by dispersing platinum hollow nanospheres onto polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires to form a PPy-Pt hollow sphere nanocomposite on a glassy carbon electrode. The materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The process and the sensor were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and chrono-amperometry and revealed that the electrode has a large electroactive surface area and small resistance to electron transfer. The linear range for the determination of hydrogen peroxide is from 3.5 µM to 9.9 mM, the detection limit is 1.2 µM (S/N?=?3), and the response time is 3 s. The electrode exhibited good stability and excellent repeatability.     

Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of two new azido-Co(II) coordination architectures: from ferromagnetic coupling to single-chain-magnets

Two new azido-Co(II) complexes with pyrazine carboxylato ligands, [Co(N(3))(L)·H(2)O](n) (L = pyrazine-2-carboxylato) (1) and [CoNa(N(3))(2)(L)](n) (2), have been obtained by carefully tuning the Co(II):N(3)(-) ratio. Here we present the structural and magnetic characterization of these new species. Modulation of the coordination environment of Co(II) leads to a variation of the magnetic properties of the obtained compounds. Complex 1 exhibits ferromagnetically coupled [Co(2)] units that form the rungs of the ladder with a nearly negligible coupling between these units, while complex 2 is a 2D arrangement of 1D Co(II) single-chain magnets.