Impacts of emission reduction and meteorological conditions on air quality improvement from 2016 to 2020 in the Northeast Plain, China.

The Northeast Plain in China ranks among the top five regions that have been significantly impacted by haze pollution. To effectively control pollution, it is crucial to accurately assess the effects of emission reduction measures. In this study, we analyzed surveillance data and found substantial decreases (ranging from 19.

Ambient volatile organic compounds in a typical industrial city in southern China: Impacts of aromatic hydrocarbons from new industry.

New industrial parks, including fine chemical, medical manufacturers, etc., are emerging in modern cities in China, whereas their emissions and impacts have not been fully illuminated. In this study, ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Huizhou were measured in three functional zones, namely new industrial, roadside, and residential zones.

Nitroaromatic compounds in six major Chinese cities: Influence of different formation mechanisms on light absorption properties.

Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are important nitrogen organics in aerosol with strong light-absorbing and chemically reactive properties. In this study, NACs in six Chinese megacities, including Harbin (HB), Beijing (BJ), Xi'an (XA), Wuhan (WH), Chengdu (CD), and Guangzhou (GZ), were investigated for understanding their sources, gas-particle partitioning, and impact on BrC absorption properties. The concentrations of ΣNACs in PM in the six cities ranged from 9.

Personal exposure monitoring of fine and coarse particulate matter using exposure assessment models for elderly residents in Hong Kong.

This study investigated the determinants of personal exposures (PE) to coarse (PM) and fine particulate matter (PM) for elderly communities in Hong Kong. The mean PE PM and PM were 23.6 ± 10.

Optical properties and radiative forcing of carbonaceous aerosols in a valley city under persistent high temperature.

Carbonaceous aerosols were collected in the valley city of Baoji city in Northern China in August 2022. The light absorption characteristics and influencing factors of black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) were analyzed, and their radiative forcing was estimated. The results showed that the light absorption of secondary brown carbon [Abs (370)] was 7.

Toxicity source apportionment of fugitive dust PM-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using multilayer perceptron neural network analysis in Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration, China.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban fugitive dust, known for their toxicity and ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), are a major public health concern. This study assessed the spatial distribution and health risks of 15 PAHs in construction dust (CD) and road dust (RD) samples collected from June to November 2021 over the cities of Tongchuan (TC), Baoji (BJ), Xianyang (XY), and Xi'an (XA) in the Guanzhong Plain, China. The average concentration of ΣPAHs in RD was 39.

Elaborations of the influencing factors on the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols in a heavily polluted urban area of China.

In this study, online water-soluble inorganic ions were detected to deduce the formation mechanism of secondary inorganic aerosol in Xianyang, China during wintertime. The dominant inorganic ions of sulfate (SO), nitrate (NO), and ammonium (NH) (the sum of those is abbreviated as SNA) accounted for 17%, 21%, and 12% of PM mass, respectively. While the air quality deteriorated from excellent to poor grades, the precursor gas sulfur dioxide (SO) of SO increased and then decreased with a fluctuation, while nitrogen dioxide (NO) and ammonia (NH), precursors of NO and NH, and SNA show increasing trends.

Comprehensive observations of carbonyls of Mt. Hua in Central China: Vertical distribution and effects on ozone formation.

Oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) play important roles in tropospheric chemistry, regulating the oxidation capacity and ozone (O) formation potential of the atmosphere. However, the evolution of OVOCs composition during vertical transport from the near surface to the upper atmosphere layer and the roles of OVOCs in the alpine atmospheric O formation are still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the carbonyl compounds, the most important chemical group of OVOCs, and other gaseous pollutants simultaneously collected at the top (2060 m a.

Insight into personal exposure characteristics and health effects of PM and PM-bound PAHs and their derivatives with different heating ways in the Fenwei Plain, China.

Personal exposure (PE) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives in particulate matter with two aerodynamic sizes of 2.5 and 0.25 μm (PM and PM) from rural housewives was studied in the Fenwei Plain, China.

Contributions of non-tailpipe emissions to near-road PM and PM: A chemical mass balance study.

As the importance of non-tailpipe particles (NTP) over tailpipe emissions from urban traffic has been increasing, there is a need to evaluate NTP contributions to ambient particulate matter (PM) using representative source profiles. The Brake and Tire Wear Study conducted in Los Angeles, California in the winter of 2020 collected 64 PM and 64 PM samples from 32 pairs of downwind-upwind measurements at two near-road locations (I-5 in Anaheim and I-710 in Long Beach). These samples were characterized for inorganic and organic markers and, along with locally-developed brake wear, tire wear, and road dust source profiles, subject to source apportionment using the effective-variance chemical mass balance (EV-CMB) model.

Utilization of a cell-penetrating peptide-adaptor for delivery of human papillomavirus protein E2 into cervical cancer cells to arrest cell growth and promote cell death.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent of nearly all forms of cervical cancer, which can arise upon viral integration into the host genome and concurrent loss of viral regulatory gene E2. Gene-based delivery approaches show that E2 reintroduction reduces proliferative capacity and promotes apoptosis in vitro.

Aims: This work explored if our calcium-dependent protein-based delivery system, TAT-CaM, could deliver functional E2 protein directly into cervical cancer cells to limit proliferative capacity and induce cell death.

Heterogeneous characteristics and absorption enhancement of refractory black carbon in an urban city of China.

In this study, field measurement was conducted using an integrated online monitoring system to characterize heterogeneous properties and light absorption of refractory black carbon (rBC). rBC particles are mainly from the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuels. With the data collected from a single particle soot photometer, thickly coated (BC) and thinly coated (BC) particles are characterized with their lag times.

Molecular Composition, Seasonal Variation, and Size Distribution of n-Alkanes, PAHs, and Saccharides in a Medium-Sized City of Guanzhong Plain, Northwest China: Evaluation of Control Measures Executed in the Past Decade.

Baoji is a medium-sized city in the Guanzhong Plain of northwest China. The compositions of three important organic groups, namely n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and saccharides in atmospheric aerosol with different aerodynamic diameters in power were determined. Both seasonal and daily trends of the target organic chemical groups were demonstrated.

Insights into the nitroaromatic compounds, formation, and light absorption contributing emissions from various geological maturity coals.

Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are essential components of atmospheric organic aerosols. Coal combustion is a key source of atmospheric NACs. In this study, a triple-quadrupole liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system was used to identify ten individual NAC emitted in combustions of chunk coal and its briquette at different maturity levels.

Volatile organic compounds at a roadside site in Hong Kong: Characteristics, chemical reactivity, and health risk assessment.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and are recognized as the major pollutants in roadside microenvironments of metropolitan Hong Kong, China. In this study, the ambient VOCs and OVOCs were intensively monitored at a roadside site in Hong Kong for one month during morning and evening rush hours. The emission characterizations, as well as ozone formation potentials (OFP) and hydroxyl radical (OH) loss rates (L) were determined.

Evidence of non-tailpipe emission contributions to PM and PM near southern California highways.

Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations near highways are influenced by vehicle tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions, other emission sources, and urban background aerosols. This study collected PM and PM filter samples near two southern California highways (I-5 and I-710) over two weeks in winter 2020. Samples were analyzed for chemical source markers.

Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Personal PM-Bound Phthalates Exposure for Adults in Hong Kong.

We performed personal PM monitoring involving 56 adult residents in Hong Kong. Additionally, paired personal and residential indoor fine particle (PM) samples were collected from 26 homes and from 3 fixed monitoring locations (i.e.