Measurements of volatile organic compound (VOC) emission fluxes, meteorological parameters, solar global radiation and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were carried out in a temperate forest, Changbai Moutain, China during the summer season in 2010. VOC flux measurements were made by using relaxed eddy accumulation (REA) technique on an above canopy tower. It was found that the dominate monoterpenes emitted from this mixed forest were α-pinene, β-pinene, camphene, sabinene, myrcene, carene, limonen, ocimene, terpinene, cymene, terpinolene, and tricyclene. VOC emission and air temperature were correlated and there were evident diurnal variations, i.e., lower emissions in the morning and late evening, and the highest emissions around the noon. During the summer of 2010, the mean monoterpene emission flux was 0.242 mg·m -2·h -1, and ranged from 0.005 to 1.668 mg·m -2·h -1. The average and maximum of emission fluxes (mg·m -2·h -1) were 0.072 and 0.234 for α-pinene, 0.028 and 0.356 for camphene, 0.027 and 0.433 for myrcene, 0.023 and 0.173 for camphene, 0.037 and 0.197 for limonene, 0.016 and 0.168 for ocimene, 0.053 and 0.320 for terpinolene, and 0.067 and 0.755 for cymene, respectively.

In order to analyze biogenic volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, an automated gas chromatography is developed and employed at the laboratory of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) during January to July, 2000. A small refrigerator was used so as to remove water in the air sample from gas line, and get accurate concentrations of volatile organic compounds. At 5°C, good water removing efficiency can be obtained at controlled flow rate. Air samples were collected around the building of Mesa Lab. of NCAR and analyzed by this gas chromatography system. This paper reports this gas chromatography system and results of air samples. The experimental results show that this gas chromatography system has a good reproducibility and stability, and main interesting volatile organic compounds such as isoprene, monoterpenes have an evident diurnal variation.

Isoprene, monoterpene, and other volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from grasslands, shrublands, forests, and peatlands in China were characterized to estimate their regional magnitudes and to compare these emissions with those from landscapes of North America, Europe, and Africa. Ecological and VOC emission sampling was conducted at 52 sites centered in and around major research stations located in seven different regions of China: Inner Mongolia (temperate), Changbai Mountain (boreal-temperate), Beijing Mountain (temperate), Dinghu Mountain (subtropical), Ailao Mountain (subtropical), Kunming (subtropical), and Xishuangbanna (tropical). Transects were used to sample plant species and growth form composition, leafy (green) biomass, and leaf area in forests representing nearly all the major forest types of China. Leafy biomass was determined using generic algorithms based on tree diameter, canopy structure, and absolute coyer. Measurements of VOC emissions were made on 386 of the 541 recorded species using a portable photo-ionization detector method. For 105 species, VOC emissions were also measured using a flow-through leaf cuvette sampling/gas chromatography analysis method. Results indicate that isoprene and monoterpene emissions, as well as leafy biomass, vary systematically along gradients of ecological succession in the same manner found in previous studies in the United States, Canada, and Africa. Applying these results to a regional VOC emissions model, we arrive at a value of 21 Tg C for total annual biogenic VOC emissions from China, compared to 5 Tg C of VOCs released annually from anthropogenic sources there. The isoprene and monoterpene emissions are nearly the same as those reported for Europe, which is comparable in size to China. Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union.

This study investigated the impacts of seasonal and regional variability in biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) on surface ozone over the Pearl River delta (PRD) region in southern China in 2010 with the WRF-Chem/MEGAN (Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry/Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) modeling system. Compared to observations in the literature and this study, MEGAN tends to predict reasonable BVOC emissions in summer, but may overestimate isoprene emissions in autumn, even when the local high-resolution land-cover data and observed emission factors of BVOCs from local plant species are combined to constrain the MEGAN BVOC emissions model. With the standard MEGAN output, it is shown that the impact of BVOC emissions on the surface ozone peak is ∼3 ppb on average with a maximum of 24.8 ppb over the PRD region in autumn, while the impact is ∼10 ppb on average, with a maximum value of 34.0 ppb in summer. The areas where surface ozone is sensitive to BVOC emissions are different in autumn and in summer, which is primarily due to the change of prevailing wind over the PRD; nevertheless, in both autumn and summer, the surface ozone is most sensitive to the BVOC emissions in the urban area because the area is usually VOC-limited. Three additional experiments concerning the sensitivity of surface ozone to MEGAN input variables were also performed to assess the sensitivity of surface ozone to MEGAN drivers, and the results reveal that land cover and emission factors of BVOCs are the most important drivers and have large impacts on the predicted surface ozone. © 2013 Author(s).

Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab in recurrent/persistent and metastatic cervical cancer using recently reported updated survival and toxicology data. Methods A Markov decision tree based on the Gynecologic Oncology Group 240 randomized trial was created. The 2013 MediCare Services Drug Payment Table and Physician Fee Schedule provided costs. In the 5-year model subjects transitioned through the following states: response, progression, minor complications, severe complications, and death. Patients experiencing a health utility per month according to treatment effectiveness were calculated. Because cervical cancer survival is measured in months rather than years, results were reported in both quality adjusted cervical cancer life months and years (QALmonth, QALY), adjusted from a baseline of having advanced cervical cancer during a month. Results The estimated total cost of therapy with bevacizumab is approximately 13.2 times that for chemotherapy alone, adding $73,791 per 3.5 months (0.29 year) of life gained, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $21.083 per month of added life. The ICER increased to $5775 per month of added life and $24,597/QALmonth ($295,164/QALY) due to the smaller difference in QALmonths. With 75% bevacizumab cost reduction, the ICER is $6737/QALmonth ($80,844/QALY), which translates to $23,580 for the 3.5 month (0.29 year) gain in OS. Conclusions Increased costs are primarily related to the cost of drug and not the management of bevacizumab-induced complications. Cost reductions in bevacizumab result in dramatic declines in the ICER, suggesting that cost reconciliation in advanced cervical cancer may be possible through the availability of biosimilars, and/or less expensive, equally efficacious anti-angiogenesis agents.

The nature of the metal-insulator transition in thin films and superlattices of LaNiO₃ only a few unit cells in thickness remains elusive despite tremendous effort. Quantum confinement and epitaxial strain have been evoked as the mechanisms, although other factors such as growth-induced disorder, cation non-stoichiometry, oxygen vacancies, and substrate-film interface quality may also affect the observable properties of ultrathin films. Here we report results obtained for near-ideal LaNiO₃ films with different thicknesses and terminations grown by atomic layer-by-layer laser molecular beam epitaxy on LaAlO₃ substrates. We find that the room-temperature metallic behavior persists until the film thickness is reduced to an unprecedentedly small 1.5 unit cells (NiO₂ termination). Electronic structure measurements using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and first-principles calculation suggest that oxygen vacancies existing in the films also contribute to the metal-insulator transition.

BCOR is a component of a variant Polycomb group repressive complex 1 (PRC1). Recently, we and others reported recurrent somatic BCOR loss-of-function mutations in myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the role of BCOR in normal hematopoiesis is largely unknown. Here, we explored the function of BCOR in myeloid cells using myeloid murine models with Bcor conditional loss-of-function or overexpression alleles. Bcor mutant bone marrow cells showed significantly higher proliferation and differentiation rates with upregulated expression of Hox genes. Mutation of Bcor reduced protein levels of RING1B, an H2A ubiquitin ligase subunit of PRC1 family complexes and reduced H2AK119ub upstream of upregulated HoxA genes. Global RNA expression profiling in murine cells and AML patient samples with BCOR loss-of-function mutation suggested that loss of BCOR expression is associated with enhanced cell proliferation and myeloid differentiation. Our results strongly suggest that BCOR plays an indispensable role in hematopoiesis by inhibiting myeloid cell proliferation and differentiation and offer a mechanistic explanation for how BCOR regulates gene expression such as Hox genes.

We investigate the prompt emission and the afterglow properties of short-duration gamma-ray burst (sGRB) 130603B and another eight sGRB events during 2012-2015, observed by several multiwavelength facilities including the Gran Canarias Telescope 10.4 m telescope. Prompt emission high energy data of the events were obtained by INTEGRAL-SPI-ACS, Swift-BAT, and Fermi-GBM satellites. The prompt emission data by INTEGRAL in the energy range of 0.1-10 MeV for sGRB 130603B, sGRB 140606A, sGRB 140930B, sGRB 141212A, and sGRB 151228A do not show any signature of the extended emission or precursor activity and their spectral and temporal properties are similar to those seen in case of other short bursts. For sGRB 130603B, our new afterglow photometric data constrain the pre-jet-break temporal decay due to denser temporal coverage. For sGRB 130603B, the afterglow light curve, containing both our new and previously published photometric data is broadly consistent with the ISM afterglow model. Modeling of the host galaxies of sGRB 130603B and sGRB 141212A using the LePHARE software supports a scenario in which the environment of the burst is undergoing moderate star formation activity. From the inclusion of our late-time data for eight other sGRBs we are able to: place tight constraints on the non-detection of the afterglow, host galaxy, or any underlying 'kilonova' emission. Our late-time afterglow observations of the sGRB 170817A/GW170817 are also discussed and compared with the sub-set of sGRBs.

Earth- and space-based observations provide synergistic information for space mission encounters by providing data over longer timescales, at different wavelengths and using techniques that are impossible with an in situ flyby. We report here such observations in support of the EPOXI spacecraft flyby of comet 103P/Hartley 2. The nucleus is small and dark, and exhibited a very rapidly changing rotation period. Prior to the onset of activity, the period was 16.4hr. Starting in 2010 August the period changed from 16.6hr to near 19hr in December. With respect to dust composition, most volatiles and carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, the comet is similar to other Jupiter-family comets. What is unusual is the dominance of CO 2 -driven activity near perihelion, which likely persists out to aphelion. Near perihelion the comet nucleus was surrounded by a large halo of water-ice grains that contributed significantly to the total water production. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..