Intermediate-volatility organic compounds: a large source of secondary organic aerosol.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a major component of atmospheric fine particle mass. Intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) have been proposed to be an important source of SOA. We present a comprehensive analysis of atmospheric IVOC concentrations and their SOA production using measurements made in Pasadena, California during the California at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) study.

Source signature of volatile organic compounds from oil and natural gas operations in northeastern Colorado.

An extensive set of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was measured at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) in winter 2011 in order to investigate the composition and influence of VOC emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) operations in northeastern Colorado. BAO is 30 km north of Denver and is in the southwestern section of Wattenberg Field, one of Colorado's most productive O&NG fields. We compare VOC concentrations at BAO to those of other U.

Vertically resolved measurements of nighttime radical reservoirs in Los Angeles and their contribution to the urban radical budget.

Photolabile nighttime radical reservoirs, such as nitrous acid (HONO) and nitryl chloride (ClNO(2)), contribute to the oxidizing potential of the atmosphere, particularly in early morning. We present the first vertically resolved measurements of ClNO(2), together with vertically resolved measurements of HONO. These measurements were acquired during the California Nexus (CalNex) campaign in the Los Angeles basin in spring 2010.

Organosulfates as tracers for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) in the atmosphere.

2-Methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) is an important biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emitted by pine trees and a potential precursor of atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in forested regions. In the present study, hydroxyl radical (OH)-initiated oxidation of MBO was examined in smog chambers under varied initial nitric oxide (NO) and aerosol acidity levels. Results indicate measurable SOA from MBO under low-NO conditions.

Isocyanic acid in the atmosphere and its possible link to smoke-related health effects.

We measured isocyanic acid (HNCO) in laboratory biomass fires at levels up to 600 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), demonstrating that it has a significant source from pyrolysis/combustion of biomass. We also measured HNCO at mixing ratios up to 200 pptv (parts-per-trillion by volume) in ambient air in urban Los Angeles, CA, and in Boulder, CO, during the recent 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire. Further, our measurements of aqueous solubility show that HNCO is highly soluble, as it dissociates at physiological pH.

Source identification of reactive hydrocarbons and oxygenated VOCs in the summertime in Beijing.

It is important to identify the sources of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Beijing for effective ground-level ozone abatement. In this paper, semihourly measurements of hydrocarbons and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) were taken at an urban site in Beijing in August2005. C2-C5 alkenes, isoprene, and C1-C3 aldehydes were determined as "key reactive species" by their OH loss rates.

Comparison of receptor models for source apportionment of volatile organic compounds in Beijing, China.

Identifying the sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is key to reducing ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). Several receptor models have been developed to apportion sources, but an intercomparison of these models had not been performed for VOCs in China. In the present study, we compared VOC sources based on chemical mass balance (CMB), UNMIX, and positive matrix factorization (PMF) models.

Source apportionment of ambient volatile organic compounds in Beijing.

The ambient air quality standard for ozone is frequently exceeded in Beijing in summer and autumn. Source apportionments of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are precursors of ground-level ozone formation, can be helpful to the further study of tropospheric ozone formation. In this study, ambient concentrations of VOCs were continuously measured with a time resolution of 30 min in August 2005 in Beijing.

Diagnosis-related frequency of compulsory measures in 10 German psychiatric hospitals and correlates with hospital characteristics.

Objective: To investigate the incidence of coercive measures in standard psychiatric care in different psychiatric hospitals.

Methods: We developed a common documentation of mechanical restraint, seclusion, and medication by coercion, and introduced it in 10 participating hospitals. We developed software able to process the data and to calculate four key indicators for routine clinical use.

[Incidence of coercive measures as an indicator of quality in psychiatric hospitals. Problems of data recording and processing, preliminary results of a benchmarking study].

Objective: The clinical practice concerning the use of coercive measures in psychiatry should be compared.

Method: A common documentation of physical restraint, seclusion, and medication by coercion was introduced among 10 hospitals.

Results: 8.

Comparison of ultraviolet absorbance, chemiluminescence, and DOAS instruments for ambient ozone monitoring.

This paper evaluates the accuracy of ozone measurements made by monitors that determine ozone concentrations in ambient air by UV absorption. These monitors are typically used to measure ozone for the purpose of establishing local compliance to air-quality standards. The study was predicated by the concern that commercially available UV absorbance O3 monitors may be subject to interference from volatile organic carbon (VOC) species that absorb light at 254 nm.

Bathing suit ichthyosis is caused by transglutaminase-1 deficiency: evidence for a temperature-sensitive phenotype.

Bathing suit ichthyosis (BSI) is a striking and unique clinical form of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis characterized by pronounced scaling on the bathing suit areas but sparing of the extremities and the central face. Here we report on a series of 10 BSI patients. Our genetic, ultrastructural and biochemical investigations show that BSI is caused by transglutaminase-1 (TGase-1) deficiency.

Novel and recurrent mutations in keratin KRT5 and KRT14 genes in epidermolysis bullosa simplex: implications for disease phenotype and keratin filament assembly.

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is a group of autosomal dominant genetic skin disorders caused by mutations of the keratin genes KRT5 and KRT14. It is characterised by lysis of basal keratinocytes leading to the development of intraepidermal blisters upon minor mechanical trauma. We investigated 27 EBS patients and families of mainly German origin by sequence analysis of the entire coding sequences of KRT5 and KRT14 and identified 12 novel and seven previously reported mutations within the KRT5 and KRT14 genes.

Neurotological and neuroanatomical changes in the connexin-26-related HID/KID syndrome.

The phenotype of the HID (hystrix-like ichthyosis, deafness)/KID (keratitis, ichthyosis, deafness) syndrome is primarily characterized by skin changes. However, the connexin 26 (Cx 26) autosomal dominant mutation underlying this syndrome is of special neurotological interest. In the present paper, the clinical pattern, audiovestibular and neuroimaging findings and the detailed genetic analysis of 4 patients with identical HID/KID-associated mutation D50N of Cx 26 are reported.

Evidence for susceptibility determinant(s) to psoriasis vulgaris in or near PTPN22 in German patients.

Introduction: Variant R620W of protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22) has consistently been reported as a susceptibility factor for several autoimmune diseases. We investigated its role in susceptibility to psoriasis, the relevance of possibly other disease-causing variants, and interdependency of the major risk factor for psoriasis at PSORS1.

Methods: R620W was tested in a case-control study initially with 375 German patients and then with an enlarged sample of an additional 418 patients.

Systematic linkage disequilibrium analysis of SLC12A8 at PSORS5 confirms a role in susceptibility to psoriasis vulgaris.

The gene for solute carrier family 12 member A8 has recently been proposed as a candidate gene for psoriasis susceptibility (PSORS5) on chromosome 3q based on association of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in Swedish patients. To investigate whether this locus is relevant for German psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) patients, we analyzed a group of 210 trios and a case-control group including 375 patients. Based on our investigation of the linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure of SLC12A8, we assayed 35 haplotype tag SNP and grouped them into nine LD-blocks.

Mutation spectrum and functional analysis of epidermis-type lipoxygenases in patients with autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis.

Autosomal-recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of severe hereditary keratinization disorders characterized by intense scaling of the whole integument, and differences in color and shape. It is often associated with erythema. To date, six loci for ARCI have been mapped.

Online volatile organic compound measurements using a newly developed proton-transfer ion-trap mass spectrometry instrument during New England Air Quality Study--Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2004: performance, intercomparison, and compound identification.

We have used a newly developed proton-transfer ion-trap mass spectrometry (PIT-MS) instrument for online trace gas analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the 2004 New England Air Quality Study-Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation study. The PIT-MS instrument uses proton-transfer reactions with H3O+ ions to ionize VOCs, similarto a PTR-MS (proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry) instrument but uses an ion trap mass spectrometer to analyze the product ions. The advantages of an ion trap are the improved identification of VOCs and a near 100% duty cycle.

Inter-comparison of laser photoacoustic spectroscopy and gas chromatography techniques for measurements of ethene in the atmosphere.

Laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS) is highly suitable for the detection of ethene in air due to the overlap between its strongest absorption lines and the wavelengths accessible by high-powered CO2 lasers. Here, we test the ability of LPAS to measure ethene in ambient air by comparing the measurements in urban air with those from a gas chromatography flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) instrument. Over the course of several days, we obtained quantitative agreement between the two measurements.

Temporal changes in U.S. benzene emissions inferred from atmospheric measurements.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to enact stricter regulations aimed at reducing benzene emissions.

Lack of evidence for genetic association to RUNX1 binding site at PSORS2 in different German psoriasis cohorts.

A DNA variant, rs734232, altering a RUNX1 binding site was recently reported as susceptibility allele at PSORS2 (17q25) in cohorts of psoriasis patients from the US. A testing of this variant in psoriasis patients from Germany did not confirm this association in 300 trios nor in two case-control studies with 281 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 375 patients with psoriatic arthritis, respectively. These results fail to support rs734232 as a psoriasis susceptibility factor in German psoriasis patients.

Lack of genetic association of the three more common polymorphisms of CARD15 with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis in a German cohort.

Objective: To determine whether the three common independent sequence variants of the putative pleiotropic non-MHC autoimmune gene CARD15 influence disease susceptibility in large German cohorts of patients with psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis vulgaris, before and after stratification to HLA-C.

Methods: DNA was obtained from 375 patients with psoriatic arthritis, 281 patients with psoriasis vulgaris without joint involvement, and 376 controls. The three variants of the CARD15 gene (R702W, G908R, leu1007fsinsC), and two single nucleotide polymorphisms of the HCR gene (HCR-325, HCR-2327) for HLA-C stratification were genotyped using allelic discrimination Taqman assays.