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Large quantities of mineral dust particles are frequently ejected into the atmosphere through the action of wind. The surface of dust particles acts as a sink for many gases, such as sulfur dioxide. It is well known that under most conditions, sulfur dioxide reacts on dust particle surfaces, leading to the production of sulfate ions. In this report, for specific atmospheric conditions, we provide evidence for an alternate pathway in which a series of reactions under solar UV light produces first gaseous sulfuric acid as an intermediate product before surface-bound sulfate. Metal oxides present in mineral dust act as atmospheric photocatalysts promoting the formation of gaseous OH radicals, which initiate the conversion of SO 2 to H 2 SO 4 in the vicinity of dust particles. Under low dust conditions, this process may lead to nucleation events in the atmosphere. The laboratory findings are supported by recent field observations near Beijing, China, and Lyon, France.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) plays a central role in air pollution and climate. However, the description of the sources and mechanisms leading to SOA is elusive despite decades of research. While stable isotope analysis is increasingly used to constrain sources of ambient aerosol, in many cases it is difficult to apply because neither the isotopic composition of aerosol precursors nor the fractionation of aerosol forming processes is well characterised. In this paper, SOA formation from ozonolysis of α-pinene – an important precursor and perhaps the best-known model system used in laboratory studies – was investigated using position-dependent and average determinations of 13C in α-pinene and advanced analysis of reaction products using thermal-desorption proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). The total carbon (TC) isotopic composition δ13C of the initial α-pinene was measured, and the δ13C of the specific carbon atom sites was determined using position-specific isotope analysis (PSIA). The PSIA analysis showed variations at individual positions from −6.9 to +10. 5 ‰ relative to the bulk composition. SOA was formed from α-pinene and ozone in a constant-flow chamber under dark, dry, and low-NOx conditions, with OH scavengers and in the absence of seed particles. The excess of ozone and long residence time in the flow chamber ensured that virtually all α-pinene had reacted. Product SOA was collected on two sequential quartz filters. The filters were analysed offline by heating them stepwise from 100 to 400 °C to desorb organic compounds that were (i) detected using PTR-MS for chemical analysis and to determine the O : C ratio, and (ii) converted to CO2 for 13C analysis. More than 400 ions in the mass range 39–800 Da were detected from the desorbed material and quantified using a PTR-MS. The largest amount desorbed at 150 °C. The O : C ratio of material from the front filter increased from 0.18 to 0.25 as the desorption temperature was raised from 100 to 250 °C. At temperatures above 250 °C, the O : C ratio of thermally desorbed material, presumably from oligomeric precursors, was constant. The observation of a number of components that occurred across the full range of desorption temperatures suggests that they are generated by thermal decomposition of oligomers. The isotopic composition of SOA was more or less independent of desorption temperature above 100 °C. TC analysis showed that SOA was enriched in 13C by 0.6–1.2 ‰ relative to the initial α-pinene. According to mass balance, gas-phase products will be depleted relative to the initial α-pinene. Accordingly, organic material on the back filters, which contain adsorbed gas-phase compounds, is depleted in 13C in TC by 0.7 ‰ relative to the initial α-pinene, and by 1.3 ‰ compared to SOA collected on the front filter. The observed difference in 13C between the gas and particle phases may arise from isotope-dependent changes in the branching ratios in the α-pinene + O3 reaction. Alternatively, some gas-phase products involve carbon atoms from highly enriched and depleted sites, as shown in the PSIA analysis, giving a non-kinetic origin to the observed fractionations. In either case, the present study suggests that the site-specific distribution of 13C in the source material itself governs the abundance of 13C in SOA.

Large quantities of mineral dust particles are frequently ejected into the atmosphere through the action of wind. The surface of dust particles acts as a sink for many gases, such as sulfur dioxide. It is well known that under most conditions, sulfur dioxide reacts on dust particle surfaces, leading to the production of sulfate ions. In this report, for specific atmospheric conditions, we provide evidence for an alternate pathway in which a series of reactions under solar UV light produces first gaseous sulfuric acid as an intermediate product before surface-bound sulfate. Metal oxides present in mineral dust act as atmospheric photocatalysts promoting the formation of gaseous OH radicals, which initiate the conversion of SO ₂ to H ₂SO ₄ in the vicinity of dust particles. Under low dust conditions, this process may lead to nucleation events in the atmosphere. The laboratory findings are supported by recent field observations near Beijing, China, and Lyon, France.

Large quantities of mineral dust particles are frequently ejected into the atmosphere through the action of wind. The surface of dust particles acts as a sink for many gases, such as sulfur dioxide. It is well known that under most conditions, sulfur dioxide reacts on dust particle surfaces, leading to the production of sulfate ions. In this report, for specific atmospheric conditions, we provide evidence for an alternate pathway in which a series of reactions under solar UV light produces first gaseous sulfuric acid as an intermediate product before surface-bound sulfate. Metal oxides present in mineral dust act as atmospheric photocatalysts promoting the formation of gaseous OH radicals, which initiate the conversion of SO 2 to H 2 SO 4 in the vicinity of dust particles. Under low dust conditions, this process may lead to nucleation events in the atmosphere. The laboratory findings are supported by recent field observations near Beijing, China, and Lyon, France.

Large quantities of mineral dust particles are frequently ejected into the atmosphere through the action of wind. The surface of dust particles acts as a sink for many gases, such as sulfur dioxide. It is well known that under most conditions, sulfur dioxide reacts on dust particle surfaces, leading to the production of sulfate ions. In this report, for specific atmospheric conditions, we provide evidence for an alternate pathway in which a series of reactions under solar UV light produces first gaseous sulfuric acid as an intermediate product before surface-bound sulfate. Metal oxides present in mineral dust act as atmospheric photocatalysts promoting the formation of gaseous OH radicals, which initiate the conversion of SO... to H...SO... in the vicinity of dust particles. Under low dust conditions, this process may lead to nucleation events in the atmosphere. The laboratory findings are supported by recent field observations near Beijing, China, and Lyon, France. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)

Large quantities of mineral dust particles are frequently ejected into the atmosphere through the action of wind. The surface of dust particles acts as a sink for many gases, such as sulfur dioxide. It is well known that under most conditions, sulfur dioxide reacts on dust particle surfaces, leading to the production of sulfate ions. In this report, for specific atmospheric conditions, we provide evidence for an alternate pathway in which a series of reactions under solar UV light produces first gaseous sulfuric acid as an intermediate product before surface-bound sulfate. Metal oxides present in mineral dust act as atmospheric photocatalysts promoting the formation of gaseous OH radicals, which initiate the conversion of SO2 to H2SO4 in the vicinity of dust particles. Under low dust conditions, this process may lead to nucleation events in the atmosphere. The laboratory findings are supported by recent field observations near Beijing, China, and Lyon, France.

The cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) properties of mixed particles composed of sulfate and organic material condensed during the hydroxyl-radical-initiated photooxidation of isoprene were investigated in the continuous-flow Harvard Environmental Chamber. CCN activation curves were measured for organic particle mass loadings of 0.3 to 7.2 µg m-3, NOx concentrations from below detection limit up to 38 ppbv, particle diameters from 70 to 150 nm, and thermodenuder temperatures from 25 to 100 °C. At 25 °C, a two-component Köhler model, based on a sulfate seed internally mixed with a condensed secondary organic component and using a single set of physicochemical parameters for the organic component, was successful in describing the observed CCN activation curves. Even though the CCN properties did not change, the particle mass spectra showed that element ratios of the organic component varied across 0.53 < O:C < 0.59, 1.54 < H:C < 1.62, and 0.00 < N:C < 0.02 for isoprene-to-NO¬x concentration ratios covering 200:0 to 50:17 ppb, showing the presence of organonitrate species. We compared changes in the CCN activity following elevated temperatures in a thermodenuder relative to changes expected for effects of size alone and found that the CCN activity decreased relative to this standard, with the decrease being more pronounced in the absence of NOx. These findings suggest an important potential coupling between anthropogenic NOx pollution and CCN properties of atmospheric particles.

In animal communication research, vocal labeling refers to incidents in which an animal consistently uses a specific acoustic signal when presented with a specific object or class of objects. Labeling with learned signals is a foundation of human language but is notably rare in nonhuman communication systems. In natural animal systems, labeling often occurs with signals that are not influenced by learning, such as in alarm and food calling. There is a suggestion, however, that some species use learned signals to label conspecific individuals in their own communication system when mimicking individually distinctive calls. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are a promising animal for exploration in this area because they are capable of vocal production learning and can learn to use arbitrary signals to report the presence or absence of objects. Bottlenose dolphins develop their own unique identity signal, the signature whistle. This whistle encodes individual identity independently of voice features. The copying of signature whistles may therefore allow animals to label or address one another. Here, we show that wild bottlenose dolphins respond to hearing a copy of their own signature whistle by calling back. Animals did not respond to whistles that were not their own signature. This study provides compelling evidence that a dolphin’s learned identity signal is used as a label when addressing conspecifics. Bottlenose dolphins therefore appear to be unique as nonhuman mammals to use learned signals as individually specific labels for different social companions in their own natural communication system.

Heterotaxy, a birth defect involving left-right patterning defects, and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a sinopulmonary disease with dyskinetic/immotile cilia in the airway are seemingly disparate diseases. However, they have an overlapping genetic etiology involving mutations in cilia genes, a reflection of the common requirement for motile cilia in left-right patterning and airway clearance. While PCD is a monogenic recessive disorder, heterotaxy has a more complex, largely non-monogenic etiology. In this study, we show mutations in the novel dynein gene DNAH6 can cause heterotaxy and ciliary dysfunction similar to PCD. We provide the first evidence that trans-heterozygous interactions between DNAH6 and other PCD genes potentially can cause heterotaxy. DNAH6 was initially identified as a candidate heterotaxy/PCD gene by filtering exome-sequencing data from 25 heterotaxy patients stratified by whether they have airway motile cilia defects. dnah6 morpholino knockdown in zebrafish disrupted motile cilia in Kupffer's vesicle required for left-right patterning and caused heterotaxy with abnormal cardiac/gut looping. Similarly DNAH6 shRNA knockdown disrupted motile cilia in human and mouse respiratory epithelia. Notably a heterotaxy patient harboring heterozygous DNAH6 mutation was identified to also carry a rare heterozygous PCD-causing DNAI1 mutation, suggesting a DNAH6/DNAI1 trans-heterozygous interaction. Furthermore, sequencing of 149 additional heterotaxy patients showed 5 of 6 patients with heterozygous DNAH6 mutations also had heterozygous mutations in DNAH5 or other PCD genes. We functionally assayed for DNAH6/DNAH5 and DNAH6/DNAI1 trans-heterozygous interactions using subthreshold double-morpholino knockdown in zebrafish and showed this caused heterotaxy. Similarly, subthreshold siRNA knockdown of Dnah6 in heterozygous Dnah5 or Dnai1 mutant mouse respiratory epithelia disrupted motile cilia function. Together, these findings support an oligogenic disease model with broad relevance for further interrogating the genetic etiology of human ciliopathies.

NK cells, lymphocytes of the innate immune system, are important for defense against infectious pathogens and cancer. Classically, the CD56dim NK cell subset is thought to mediate antitumor responses, whereas the CD56bright subset is involved in immunomodulation. Here, we challenge this paradigm by demonstrating that brief priming with IL-15 markedly enhanced the antitumor response of CD56bright NK cells. Priming improved multiple CD56bright cell functions: degranulation, cytotoxicity, and cytokine production. Primed CD56bright cells from leukemia patients demonstrated enhanced responses to autologous blasts in vitro, and primed CD56bright cells controlled leukemia cells in vivo in a murine xenograft model. Primed CD56bright cells from multiple myeloma (MM) patients displayed superior responses to autologous myeloma targets, and furthermore, CD56bright NK cells from MM patients primed with the IL-15 receptor agonist ALT-803 in vivo displayed enhanced ex vivo functional responses to MM targets. Effector mechanisms contributing to IL-15-based priming included improved cytotoxic protein expression, target cell conjugation, and LFA-1-, CD2-, and NKG2D-dependent activation of NK cells. Finally, IL-15 robustly stimulated the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MEK/ERK pathways in CD56bright compared with CD56dim NK cells, and blockade of these pathways attenuated antitumor responses. These findings identify CD56bright NK cells as potent antitumor effectors that warrant further investigation as a cancer immunotherapy.