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The coupling disturbance between the manipulator and the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deteriorates the control performance of system. To get high performance of the aerial manipulator, a robust fractional order fast terminal sliding mode control (FOFTSMC) strategy based on mutable inertia parameters is proposed in this paper. First, the dynamics of aerial manipulator with consideration of the coupling disturbance is derived by utilizing mutable inertia parameters. Then, based on the dynamic model, a robust FOFTSMC algorithm is designed to make the system fly steadily under coupling disturbance. Furthermore, stability analysis is conducted to prove the convergence of tracking errors. Finally, comparative simulation results are given to show the validity and superiority of the proposed scheme., Comment: This paper has been accepted by ICBDAI2022

Yingyi Zhang,1 Libin Ren,1 Min Ren,2 Hua Yang,1 Kunmeng Li,1 Hongliang Cong,1 Zhigang Guo3 1Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Cardiovascular Institute, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cardiac Surgery, Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hongliang CongDepartment of Cardiology, Tianjin Chest Hospital, No. 261 of Taierzhuang South Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13702102871Email chlcong@163.comZhigang GuoDepartment of Cardiac Surgery, Tianjin Chest Hospital, No. 261 of Taierzhuang South Road, Jinnan District, Tianjin, 300222, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13821002900Email zgguohosp@163.comObjective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between triglyceride–glucose index (TyG) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).Methods: A total of 102,061 permanent residents of Tianjin, China, aged 35– 75 years were surveyed. A questionnaire, physical examination, and blood tests for biochemical markers were conducted for all subjects. The risk of CVD was judged based on the results, identifying the population with a high risk of CVD. TyG was calculated for all subjects who were then grouped into TyG quartiles. The correlation between TyG and the detection rate of subjects with a high risk of CVD was analyzed using the chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation analysis. The cut-off points and the magnitude of the predictive effect of TyG in determining a high risk of CVD were identified by calculating the TyG through analysis of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: The surveyed population consisted of 39,598 males (38.8%) and 62,463 females (61.2%). The average age was 55.84 ± 10.27 years. A statistically significant difference in the incidence of a high CVD risk between subjects in the four groups divided by the TyG levels was identified (p

Service function chaining (SFC) is promising to implement flexible and scalable virtual network infrastructure for the Internet of Things (IoT). Edge computing is envisioned to be an effective solution to process huge amount of IoT application data. In order to uniformly provide services to IoT applications among the distributed edge computing nodes (ECNs), we present a unified SFC orchestration framework based on the coordination of SDN and NFV, which provides a synergic edge cloud platform by exploiting the connectivity of FiWi access networks. In addition, we study the VNF deployment problem under our synergic framework, and we formulate it as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem jointly considering the load balancing of networking and computing for chaining VNFs. We also propose two approximation optimal deployment algorithms named Greedy-Bisection Multi-Path (GBMP) and KSP MultiPath (KSMP) taking advantage of the multi-instance virtual network functions (VNFs) deployed in ECNs and the multipath capacity in FiWi access networks. Extensive simulations are conducted in two types of IoT application scenarios in the EC over FiWi access networks. The numerical results show that our proposed algorithms are superior to single path and ECMP based deployment algorithms in terms of load balancing, service acceptance ratio, and network utilization in both two typical scenarios.

The DNA lesions caused by oxidative damage are principally repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathway. 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1) initiates BER through recognizing and cleaving the oxidatively damaged nucleobase 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG). How the BER machinery detects and accesses lesions within the context of chromatin is largely unknown. Here, we found that the symmetrical dimethylarginine of histone H4 (producing H4R3me2s) serves as a bridge between DNA damage and subsequent repair. Intracellular H4R3me2s was significantly increased after treatment with the DNA oxidant reagent H2O2, and this increase was regulated by OGG1, which could directly interact with the specific arginine methyltransferase, PRMT5. Arginine-methylated H4R3 could associate with flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) and enhance its nuclease activity and BER efficiency. Furthermore, cells with a decreased level of H4R3me2s were more susceptible to DNA-damaging agents and accumulated more DNA damage lesions in their genome. Taken together, these results demonstrate that H4R3me2s can be recognized as a reader protein that senses DNA damage and a writer protein that promotes DNA repair.

Hao Zhou, Dan Xi, Jichen Liu, Jinjin Zhao, Si Chen, Zhigang Guo Division of Cardiology, Huiqiao Medical Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China Background: Fibrosis results in excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins, collagen component alteration, and abnormalities in structure and is partly derived from a process called the endothelial–mesenchymal transition involving transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). We investigated whether spironolactone, an aldosterone receptor blocker, attenuated isoprenaline (Iso)-induced heart failure in rats and also studied the mechanism for the same.Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected with Iso to induce heart failure, which promoted renal fibrosis; rats with spironolactone treatment were given a gavage of spironolactone (30 or 60 mg/kg/d, for 21 days). Cardiac function and fibrosis indices were measured. Pathological alterations and expression of Type I and III collagen, α-smooth muscle actin, cluster of differentiation-31, and TGF-β were examined.Results: In Iso-induced heart failure in rats, spironolactone significantly improved cardiac function and decreased myocardial fibrosis, reduced collagen fibrous proliferation in kidney, reduced expression of Type I and III collagen, increased the expression of cluster of differentiation-31, and decreased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin and TGF-β.Conclusion: Spironolactone may prevent renal fibrosis by inhibiting the endothelial–mesenchymal transition. Keywords: spironolactone, heart failure, renal fibrosis, endothelial–mesenchymal transition

We propose a novel framework for fast and robust video anomaly detection and localization in complicated crowd scenes. Images of each video are split into cells for extracting local motion features represented by optical flow. In the train videos, most background cells are subtracted by ViBe model. Feature vectors are extracted from each cell by integrating the value of optical flow in 8 different direction intervals. Then we apply Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to transform the feature vectors. The normal activity patterns in the train videos are learnt by constructing a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) upon the feature vectors. For any new feature vector extracted from the test video clips, we use the learnt model to calculate a probability value to represent normal level of each cell. Considering the continuity of the motion, we also use abnormal information obtained from previous frames as a supplementary for anomaly prediction in the current frame. At last, we determine whether an activity pattern of a cell is normal or abnormal by using mean shift to cluster the probability values of the frame. Qualitative experiments on reallife surveillance videos, the recently published UCSD anomaly detection datasets, validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2013 IEEE.

We propose a novel framework for fast and robust video anomaly detection and localization in complicated crowd scenes. Images of each video are split into cells for extracting local motion features represented by optical flow. In the train videos, most background cells are subtracted by ViBe model. Feature vectors are extracted from each cell by integrating the value of optical flow in 8 different direction intervals. Then we apply Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to transform the feature vectors. The normal activity patterns in the train videos are learnt by constructing a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) upon the feature vectors. For any new feature vector extracted from the test video clips, we use the learnt model to calculate a probability value to represent normal level of each cell. Considering the continuity of the motion, we also use abnormal information obtained from previous frames as a supplementary for anomaly prediction in the current frame. At last, we determine whether an activity pattern of a cell is normal or abnormal by using mean shift to cluster the probability values of the frame. Qualitative experiments on reallife surveillance videos, the recently published UCSD anomaly detection datasets, validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2013 IEEE.

We propose a novel framework for fast and robust video anomaly detection and localization in complicated crowd scenes. Images of each video are split into cells for extracting local motion features represented by optical flow. In the train videos, most background cells are subtracted by ViBe model. Feature vectors are extracted from each cell by integrating the value of optical flow in 8 different direction intervals. Then we apply Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to transform the feature vectors. The normal activity patterns in the train videos are learnt by constructing a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) upon the feature vectors. For any new feature vector extracted from the test video clips, we use the learnt model to calculate a probability value to represent normal level of each cell. Considering the continuity of the motion, we also use abnormal information obtained from previous frames as a supplementary for anomaly prediction in the current frame. At last, we determine whether an activity pattern of a cell is normal or abnormal by using mean shift to cluster the probability values of the frame. Qualitative experiments on reallife surveillance videos, the recently published UCSD anomaly detection datasets, validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2013 IEEE.

Fifty-five 48-hPM2.5 samples were collected from March 2003 to January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island in Bohai Sea/Yellow Sea in Northern China. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium accounted for 54 9% of the PM2.5 mass concentration (annual average 47g m-3) while organic matter and K+ contributed to 27 7% and 7 7% of the total mass, respectively. The ratios of SO42- to NO3- mass concentrations could be divided into two regimes and demarcated at nitrate concentration of 5g m-3. In the low NO3- regime, NO3-, SO42- and EC were well correlated to K+, and the estimated contributions of NO 3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 50 27%, 38 24% and 47 27%, respectively. These correlations substantially decreased in the high NO3- regime reflecting fossil fuel combustion and formation of ammonium nitrate and the estimated contributions of NO3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 16 12%, 28 18% and 27 16%, respectively. In most samples, the equivalent ratios of total anion to total cation concentrations were greater than unity, suggesting that the aerosols were acidic. When [H +] > 0, a moderately good linear correlation of the estimated aerosol acidity [H+] with the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was observed with R2 = 0.70 and an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m-3 would increase 1.2g m-3 WSOC in PM2.5. When [H+] > 0, an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m -3 would increase 1.4g m-3 of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in PM2.5. Moreover, the correlation analysis result suggested that 60% of the estimated SOC (on average) in PM2.5 were water-soluble. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.

Fifty-five 48-hPM2.5 samples were collected from March 2003 to January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island in Bohai Sea/Yellow Sea in Northern China. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium accounted for 54 9% of the PM2.5 mass concentration (annual average 47g m-3) while organic matter and K+ contributed to 27 7% and 7 7% of the total mass, respectively. The ratios of SO42- to NO3- mass concentrations could be divided into two regimes and demarcated at nitrate concentration of 5g m-3. In the low NO3- regime, NO3-, SO42- and EC were well correlated to K+, and the estimated contributions of NO 3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 50 27%, 38 24% and 47 27%, respectively. These correlations substantially decreased in the high NO3- regime reflecting fossil fuel combustion and formation of ammonium nitrate and the estimated contributions of NO3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 16 12%, 28 18% and 27 16%, respectively. In most samples, the equivalent ratios of total anion to total cation concentrations were greater than unity, suggesting that the aerosols were acidic. When [H +] > 0, a moderately good linear correlation of the estimated aerosol acidity [H+] with the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was observed with R2 = 0.70 and an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m-3 would increase 1.2g m-3 WSOC in PM2.5. When [H+] > 0, an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m -3 would increase 1.4g m-3 of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in PM2.5. Moreover, the correlation analysis result suggested that 60% of the estimated SOC (on average) in PM2.5 were water-soluble. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.

Fifty-five 48-hPM2.5 samples were collected from March 2003 to January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island in Bohai Sea/Yellow Sea in Northern China. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium accounted for 54 9% of the PM2.5 mass concentration (annual average 47g m-3) while organic matter and K+ contributed to 27 7% and 7 7% of the total mass, respectively. The ratios of SO42- to NO3- mass concentrations could be divided into two regimes and demarcated at nitrate concentration of 5g m-3. In the low NO3- regime, NO3-, SO42- and EC were well correlated to K+, and the estimated contributions of NO 3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 50 27%, 38 24% and 47 27%, respectively. These correlations substantially decreased in the high NO3- regime reflecting fossil fuel combustion and formation of ammonium nitrate and the estimated contributions of NO3-, SO42- and EC from biomass burning were 16 12%, 28 18% and 27 16%, respectively. In most samples, the equivalent ratios of total anion to total cation concentrations were greater than unity, suggesting that the aerosols were acidic. When [H +] > 0, a moderately good linear correlation of the estimated aerosol acidity [H+] with the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was observed with R2 = 0.70 and an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m-3 would increase 1.2g m-3 WSOC in PM2.5. When [H+] > 0, an increase of [H+] by 100 neq m -3 would increase 1.4g m-3 of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in PM2.5. Moreover, the correlation analysis result suggested that 60% of the estimated SOC (on average) in PM2.5 were water-soluble. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.

Surface sediment samples from a matrix of fifty-five sites covering virtually the entire Bohai Sea (Bohai), China were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), n-alkanes, unresolved complex mixture (UCM). biomarkers and stable carbon isotopic composition (delta C-13), and principal component analysis was performed for source identification of organic matter (OM). The distribution of organic carbon correlated well with sediment grain size with the finest sediments having the highest concentration, suggesting the influence of hydrodynamics on the accumulation of sedimentary organic matter (SOM). The corrected TOC/ON (organic nitrogen) ratios and delta C-13 indicated mixed marine and terrestrial sources of SOM. Results suggested that delta C-13 could be used as a potential indicator to observe the dispersion of Huanghe-derived sediments in Bohai. Total n-alkane concentrations varied over 10-fold from 0.39 to 4.94 mu g g(-1) (dry weight) with the maximum terrigenous/aquatic alkane ratio observed at the Huanghe River Estuary (HRE) due to more higher plant OM from riverine inputs. C-12-C-22 n-alkanes with even-to-odd predominance were observed in several central-eastern Bohai sites. The HRE and its adjacent area is the main sink for the Huanghe river-derived OC. The ubiquitous presence of UCM, biomarkers (hopanes and steranes) and PCA results indicated the presence of petroleum contamination in Bohai, mainly from offshore oil exploration, discharge of pollutants from rivers, shipping activities and atmospheric deposition. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface sediment samples from a matrix of fifty-five sites covering virtually the entire Bohai Sea (Bohai), China were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), n-alkanes, unresolved complex mixture (UCM). biomarkers and stable carbon isotopic composition (delta C-13), and principal component analysis was performed for source identification of organic matter (OM). The distribution of organic carbon correlated well with sediment grain size with the finest sediments having the highest concentration, suggesting the influence of hydrodynamics on the accumulation of sedimentary organic matter (SOM). The corrected TOC/ON (organic nitrogen) ratios and delta C-13 indicated mixed marine and terrestrial sources of SOM. Results suggested that delta C-13 could be used as a potential indicator to observe the dispersion of Huanghe-derived sediments in Bohai. Total n-alkane concentrations varied over 10-fold from 0.39 to 4.94 mu g g(-1) (dry weight) with the maximum terrigenous/aquatic alkane ratio observed at the Huanghe River Estuary (HRE) due to more higher plant OM from riverine inputs. C-12-C-22 n-alkanes with even-to-odd predominance were observed in several central-eastern Bohai sites. The HRE and its adjacent area is the main sink for the Huanghe river-derived OC. The ubiquitous presence of UCM, biomarkers (hopanes and steranes) and PCA results indicated the presence of petroleum contamination in Bohai, mainly from offshore oil exploration, discharge of pollutants from rivers, shipping activities and atmospheric deposition. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface sediment samples from a matrix of fifty-five sites covering virtually the entire Bohai Sea (Bohai), China were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), n-alkanes, unresolved complex mixture (UCM). biomarkers and stable carbon isotopic composition (delta C-13), and principal component analysis was performed for source identification of organic matter (OM). The distribution of organic carbon correlated well with sediment grain size with the finest sediments having the highest concentration, suggesting the influence of hydrodynamics on the accumulation of sedimentary organic matter (SOM). The corrected TOC/ON (organic nitrogen) ratios and delta C-13 indicated mixed marine and terrestrial sources of SOM. Results suggested that delta C-13 could be used as a potential indicator to observe the dispersion of Huanghe-derived sediments in Bohai. Total n-alkane concentrations varied over 10-fold from 0.39 to 4.94 mu g g(-1) (dry weight) with the maximum terrigenous/aquatic alkane ratio observed at the Huanghe River Estuary (HRE) due to more higher plant OM from riverine inputs. C-12-C-22 n-alkanes with even-to-odd predominance were observed in several central-eastern Bohai sites. The HRE and its adjacent area is the main sink for the Huanghe river-derived OC. The ubiquitous presence of UCM, biomarkers (hopanes and steranes) and PCA results indicated the presence of petroleum contamination in Bohai, mainly from offshore oil exploration, discharge of pollutants from rivers, shipping activities and atmospheric deposition. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The rapid economic development in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China in the last three decades has had a significant impact on the environment of the East China Sea (ECS). Lead isotopic compositions of a Pb-210 dated sediment core collected from the coastal ECS adjacent to the Yangtze River Estuary were analyzed to track the Pb pollution in the region. The baseline Pb concentration in the coastal ECS sediments before the industrialization in China was 32 mu g g(-1), and the corresponding Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio was 1.195. The high-resolution profiles of Pb flux and Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios had close relationships with the economic development and the history of the use of leaded gasoline in China, and they were clearly different from those of most European countries and United States. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organic compounds including alkanes, fatty acids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace and major elements in four size fractions (< 0.49 mu m, 0.49-0.95 mu m, 0.95-2.5 mu m, and 2.5-10 mu m) collected from June 1998 to January 1999 in Hong Kong were physically and chemically characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study their size distributions, seasonal variations, and sources. SEM micrographs show that abundances and shapes of particles in each size fraction exhibit distinct difference between wet and dry seasons. Solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) investigated in this study were significantly enriched in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) since 97\% of PAH, 88\% of alkane, and 69\% of fatty acids in PM10 were actually from PM2.5. The pollution elements and SEOC showed a change from a maxima in the finest fraction (< 0.49 mm) in the wet season, to an obvious increase in the 0.49-2.5 mu m fraction in September and October, and to a maxima in the finest fraction again in November and December. This corresponds to a change from a strong local emission from pollution sources, to possibly aged materials in the transition period of Asian monsoon, and to the pollution emissions dominated by those transported from the continent. The distinct difference of particle size distributions between wet and dry seasons suggests that the health effects of particles in Hong Kong may be different in those seasons.

Organic compounds including alkanes, fatty acids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace and major elements in four size fractions (< 0.49 mu m, 0.49-0.95 mu m, 0.95-2.5 mu m, and 2.5-10 mu m) collected from June 1998 to January 1999 in Hong Kong were physically and chemically characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study their size distributions, seasonal variations, and sources. SEM micrographs show that abundances and shapes of particles in each size fraction exhibit distinct difference between wet and dry seasons. Solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) investigated in this study were significantly enriched in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) since 97\% of PAH, 88\% of alkane, and 69\% of fatty acids in PM10 were actually from PM2.5. The pollution elements and SEOC showed a change from a maxima in the finest fraction (< 0.49 mm) in the wet season, to an obvious increase in the 0.49-2.5 mu m fraction in September and October, and to a maxima in the finest fraction again in November and December. This corresponds to a change from a strong local emission from pollution sources, to possibly aged materials in the transition period of Asian monsoon, and to the pollution emissions dominated by those transported from the continent. The distinct difference of particle size distributions between wet and dry seasons suggests that the health effects of particles in Hong Kong may be different in those seasons.

The rapid economic development in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China in the last three decades has had a significant impact on the environment of the East China Sea (ECS). Lead isotopic compositions of a Pb-210 dated sediment core collected from the coastal ECS adjacent to the Yangtze River Estuary were analyzed to track the Pb pollution in the region. The baseline Pb concentration in the coastal ECS sediments before the industrialization in China was 32 mu g g(-1), and the corresponding Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio was 1.195. The high-resolution profiles of Pb flux and Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios had close relationships with the economic development and the history of the use of leaded gasoline in China, and they were clearly different from those of most European countries and United States. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The rapid economic development in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China in the last three decades has had a significant impact on the environment of the East China Sea (ECS). Lead isotopic compositions of a Pb-210 dated sediment core collected from the coastal ECS adjacent to the Yangtze River Estuary were analyzed to track the Pb pollution in the region. The baseline Pb concentration in the coastal ECS sediments before the industrialization in China was 32 mu g g(-1), and the corresponding Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio was 1.195. The high-resolution profiles of Pb flux and Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios had close relationships with the economic development and the history of the use of leaded gasoline in China, and they were clearly different from those of most European countries and United States. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organic compounds including alkanes, fatty acids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace and major elements in four size fractions (< 0.49 mu m, 0.49-0.95 mu m, 0.95-2.5 mu m, and 2.5-10 mu m) collected from June 1998 to January 1999 in Hong Kong were physically and chemically characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to study their size distributions, seasonal variations, and sources. SEM micrographs show that abundances and shapes of particles in each size fraction exhibit distinct difference between wet and dry seasons. Solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) investigated in this study were significantly enriched in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) since 97\% of PAH, 88\% of alkane, and 69\% of fatty acids in PM10 were actually from PM2.5. The pollution elements and SEOC showed a change from a maxima in the finest fraction (< 0.49 mm) in the wet season, to an obvious increase in the 0.49-2.5 mu m fraction in September and October, and to a maxima in the finest fraction again in November and December. This corresponds to a change from a strong local emission from pollution sources, to possibly aged materials in the transition period of Asian monsoon, and to the pollution emissions dominated by those transported from the continent. The distinct difference of particle size distributions between wet and dry seasons suggests that the health effects of particles in Hong Kong may be different in those seasons.

Seasonal variations and sources of various elements in the atmospheric aerosols of the North China coast were investigated by analyzing aerosol samples collected in Qingdao, China. 23 total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected from June 2001 to May 2002, including three samples gathered during Asian dust episodes (20 March and 7-8 April 2002). The concentrations of ten elements including iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), manganese (Mn), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and sulfur (S) were measured by 3000 ICP-OES. All elements measured in the aerosols of Qingdao displayed a strong seasonal variation: the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd were the lowest in summer, and the highest in winter. During the Asian dust episodes, the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu increased remarkably. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, S also increased greatly during the Asian dust episodes, but they were still lower than those in winter. The enrichment factors (EFs) of all elements (with reference to crustal Fe) indicate that Ti and Mn are mainly from soil sources. V in the Qingdao aerosols is mainly derived from the soil, with a minor contribution from ship emissions. The anthropogenic sources have a relatively higher contribution to Ni and Cu compared with Fe, Ti, and Mn. The S, Pb, Zn and Cd are mainly from anthropogenic sources even during Asian dust episodes. Principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) indicated that the natural sources contributed about 60\% to the sum of measured elements in all samples and anthropogenic sources contributed about 30\%, and these elements can be classified into three categories as follow: Fe, Ti, Mn, V, and Ni represent the soil source factor; Cu represents the factor of mixed sources of soil and pollution; and Pb, Zn, Cd and S represents the pollution factor. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two Pb-210 dated sediment cores from the coastal East China Sea, strongly influenced by the discharge from the Yangtze River, were determined to help to reconstruct the economic development over the past century in East China. The variations in PAH concentrations and fluxes in the sediment cores were primarily due to energy structure change, severe floods and dam construction activities. The impact on PAHs by the river discharge overwhelmed the atmospheric depositions. The profiles of PAH fluxes and concentrations as well as compositions in the cores revealed the transformation from an agricultural economy to an industrial one especially after the 1990s' in the region. PAHs in the study area were dominated by pyrolytic sources. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fifty-five seasonal PM2.5 samples were collected March 2003-January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island located at the demarcation line between Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea in Northern China. Changdao is in the transport path of the continental aerosols heading toward the Pacific Ocean in winter and spring due to the East Asia Monsoon. Solvent-extractable organic compounds (SEOC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were analyzed for source identification based on molecular markers. This data set provides useful information for the downstream site researchers of the Asian continental outflow. Total carbon (TC, OC + EC) was similar to 18 mu g m(-3) in winter, similar to 9 mu g m(-3) in spring and autumn and a large part of the TC was WSOC (33 \% in winter, > 45 \% in the other seasons). Winter and spring were the high SEOC seasons with n-fatty acids the highest at -290 and similar to 170 ng m(-3), respectively, followed by n-alkanes at similar to 210 and similar to 90ng m(-3), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also at high at similar to 120 and similar to 30ng m(-3). High WSOC/TC, low C-18.1/C-18 of fatty acids, and low concentrations of labile PAHs such as benzo(a)pyrene, together with back trajectory analysis suggested that the aerosols were aged and transported. PAHs, triterpane and sterane distributions provided evidence that coal burning was the main source of the continental outflow. The detection of levoglucosan and fl-sitosterol in nearly all the samples showed the impact of biomass burning. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Fifty-five seasonal PM2.5 samples were collected March 2003-January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island located at the demarcation line between Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea in Northern China. Changdao is in the transport path of the continental aerosols heading toward the Pacific Ocean in winter and spring due to the East Asia Monsoon. Solvent-extractable organic compounds (SEOC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were analyzed for source identification based on molecular markers. This data set provides useful information for the downstream site researchers of the Asian continental outflow. Total carbon (TC, OC + EC) was similar to 18 mu g m(-3) in winter, similar to 9 mu g m(-3) in spring and autumn and a large part of the TC was WSOC (33 \% in winter, > 45 \% in the other seasons). Winter and spring were the high SEOC seasons with n-fatty acids the highest at -290 and similar to 170 ng m(-3), respectively, followed by n-alkanes at similar to 210 and similar to 90ng m(-3), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also at high at similar to 120 and similar to 30ng m(-3). High WSOC/TC, low C-18.1/C-18 of fatty acids, and low concentrations of labile PAHs such as benzo(a)pyrene, together with back trajectory analysis suggested that the aerosols were aged and transported. PAHs, triterpane and sterane distributions provided evidence that coal burning was the main source of the continental outflow. The detection of levoglucosan and fl-sitosterol in nearly all the samples showed the impact of biomass burning. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The organic and inorganic species in total suspended particulates (TSP) collected from June to December in 1998 in Hong Kong were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to investigate the sources of Hong Kong aerosols and the mechanisms that control the chemical compositions and variations in the atmosphere. These samples were classified according to the climate: wet, dry under the influence of southerly winds from the sea (Dry-S) and dry under the influence of northerly winds from the continent (Dry-N). There were significant increases of materials from crustal, biogenic and pollution sources in the Dry-N period by a factor of 5, 4, and 2, respectively. Since the crustal tracers (e.g., Al, Fe) could be from coal flyash, the estimate of crustal material in the Dry-N period may include some materials from pollution source. Therefore, a positive correlation between crustal and pollution elements was observed. From the analysis of solvent-extractable organics (SEOC), microbial and meat cooking sources showed slight increase (1.2-fold). Higher levels of plant wax materials in the Dry-N period were probably due to the higher wind speed during the winter monsoon. The percentage of crustal material in TSP was 47\% in the Dry-N period, and only 22\% in the wet season and the Dry-S period. Plant wax materials (biogenic source) had a higher percentage in the Dry-N period (39\% of SEOC) while microbial and meat cooking sources accounted for 49\% of SEOC in the wet season. This study revealed that wind direction and precipitation had a significant influence not only on the concentrations but also on the chemical compositions and sources of Hong Kong aerosols. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Seasonal variations and sources of various elements in the atmospheric aerosols of the North China coast were investigated by analyzing aerosol samples collected in Qingdao, China. 23 total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected from June 2001 to May 2002, including three samples gathered during Asian dust episodes (20 March and 7-8 April 2002). The concentrations of ten elements including iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), manganese (Mn), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and sulfur (S) were measured by 3000 ICP-OES. All elements measured in the aerosols of Qingdao displayed a strong seasonal variation: the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd were the lowest in summer, and the highest in winter. During the Asian dust episodes, the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu increased remarkably. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, S also increased greatly during the Asian dust episodes, but they were still lower than those in winter. The enrichment factors (EFs) of all elements (with reference to crustal Fe) indicate that Ti and Mn are mainly from soil sources. V in the Qingdao aerosols is mainly derived from the soil, with a minor contribution from ship emissions. The anthropogenic sources have a relatively higher contribution to Ni and Cu compared with Fe, Ti, and Mn. The S, Pb, Zn and Cd are mainly from anthropogenic sources even during Asian dust episodes. Principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) indicated that the natural sources contributed about 60\% to the sum of measured elements in all samples and anthropogenic sources contributed about 30\%, and these elements can be classified into three categories as follow: Fe, Ti, Mn, V, and Ni represent the soil source factor; Cu represents the factor of mixed sources of soil and pollution; and Pb, Zn, Cd and S represents the pollution factor. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two Pb-210 dated sediment cores from the coastal East China Sea, strongly influenced by the discharge from the Yangtze River, were determined to help to reconstruct the economic development over the past century in East China. The variations in PAH concentrations and fluxes in the sediment cores were primarily due to energy structure change, severe floods and dam construction activities. The impact on PAHs by the river discharge overwhelmed the atmospheric depositions. The profiles of PAH fluxes and concentrations as well as compositions in the cores revealed the transformation from an agricultural economy to an industrial one especially after the 1990s' in the region. PAHs in the study area were dominated by pyrolytic sources. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fifty-five seasonal PM2.5 samples were collected March 2003-January 2004 at Changdao, a resort island located at the demarcation line between Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea in Northern China. Changdao is in the transport path of the continental aerosols heading toward the Pacific Ocean in winter and spring due to the East Asia Monsoon. Solvent-extractable organic compounds (SEOC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were analyzed for source identification based on molecular markers. This data set provides useful information for the downstream site researchers of the Asian continental outflow. Total carbon (TC, OC + EC) was similar to 18 mu g m(-3) in winter, similar to 9 mu g m(-3) in spring and autumn and a large part of the TC was WSOC (33 \% in winter, > 45 \% in the other seasons). Winter and spring were the high SEOC seasons with n-fatty acids the highest at -290 and similar to 170 ng m(-3), respectively, followed by n-alkanes at similar to 210 and similar to 90ng m(-3), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also at high at similar to 120 and similar to 30ng m(-3). High WSOC/TC, low C-18.1/C-18 of fatty acids, and low concentrations of labile PAHs such as benzo(a)pyrene, together with back trajectory analysis suggested that the aerosols were aged and transported. PAHs, triterpane and sterane distributions provided evidence that coal burning was the main source of the continental outflow. The detection of levoglucosan and fl-sitosterol in nearly all the samples showed the impact of biomass burning. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Seasonal variations and sources of various elements in the atmospheric aerosols of the North China coast were investigated by analyzing aerosol samples collected in Qingdao, China. 23 total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected from June 2001 to May 2002, including three samples gathered during Asian dust episodes (20 March and 7-8 April 2002). The concentrations of ten elements including iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), manganese (Mn), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and sulfur (S) were measured by 3000 ICP-OES. All elements measured in the aerosols of Qingdao displayed a strong seasonal variation: the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd were the lowest in summer, and the highest in winter. During the Asian dust episodes, the concentrations of Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Ni, Cu increased remarkably. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, S also increased greatly during the Asian dust episodes, but they were still lower than those in winter. The enrichment factors (EFs) of all elements (with reference to crustal Fe) indicate that Ti and Mn are mainly from soil sources. V in the Qingdao aerosols is mainly derived from the soil, with a minor contribution from ship emissions. The anthropogenic sources have a relatively higher contribution to Ni and Cu compared with Fe, Ti, and Mn. The S, Pb, Zn and Cd are mainly from anthropogenic sources even during Asian dust episodes. Principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA) indicated that the natural sources contributed about 60\% to the sum of measured elements in all samples and anthropogenic sources contributed about 30\%, and these elements can be classified into three categories as follow: Fe, Ti, Mn, V, and Ni represent the soil source factor; Cu represents the factor of mixed sources of soil and pollution; and Pb, Zn, Cd and S represents the pollution factor. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in two Pb-210 dated sediment cores from the coastal East China Sea, strongly influenced by the discharge from the Yangtze River, were determined to help to reconstruct the economic development over the past century in East China. The variations in PAH concentrations and fluxes in the sediment cores were primarily due to energy structure change, severe floods and dam construction activities. The impact on PAHs by the river discharge overwhelmed the atmospheric depositions. The profiles of PAH fluxes and concentrations as well as compositions in the cores revealed the transformation from an agricultural economy to an industrial one especially after the 1990s' in the region. PAHs in the study area were dominated by pyrolytic sources. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The organic and inorganic species in total suspended particulates (TSP) collected from June to December in 1998 in Hong Kong were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to investigate the sources of Hong Kong aerosols and the mechanisms that control the chemical compositions and variations in the atmosphere. These samples were classified according to the climate: wet, dry under the influence of southerly winds from the sea (Dry-S) and dry under the influence of northerly winds from the continent (Dry-N). There were significant increases of materials from crustal, biogenic and pollution sources in the Dry-N period by a factor of 5, 4, and 2, respectively. Since the crustal tracers (e.g., Al, Fe) could be from coal flyash, the estimate of crustal material in the Dry-N period may include some materials from pollution source. Therefore, a positive correlation between crustal and pollution elements was observed. From the analysis of solvent-extractable organics (SEOC), microbial and meat cooking sources showed slight increase (1.2-fold). Higher levels of plant wax materials in the Dry-N period were probably due to the higher wind speed during the winter monsoon. The percentage of crustal material in TSP was 47\% in the Dry-N period, and only 22\% in the wet season and the Dry-S period. Plant wax materials (biogenic source) had a higher percentage in the Dry-N period (39\% of SEOC) while microbial and meat cooking sources accounted for 49\% of SEOC in the wet season. This study revealed that wind direction and precipitation had a significant influence not only on the concentrations but also on the chemical compositions and sources of Hong Kong aerosols. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

A well-placed Pb-210-dated sediment core extracted from the distal mud in the central continental shelf of the East China Sea is used to reconstruct the high-resolution atmospheric depositional record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), believed to be transported mainly from China in the past 200 years due to the East Asian Monsoon. Total PAHs (TPAHs), based on the 16 USEPA priority PAHs, range from 27 in 1788 to 132 ng g(-1) in 2001. TPAH variation in the core reflects energy usage changes and follows closely the historical economic development in China. PAHs in the core are dominantly pyrogenic in source, i.e., they are mainly from the incomplete combustion of coal and biomass burning. Several individual PAHs suggest that contribution from incomplete petroleum combustion has increased during recent years. Analysis of the 2 + 3 ring and the 5 + 6 ring PAHs and principle component analysis provide more evidence in the change in the energy structure, especially after 1978 when China embarked on the "Reform and Open" Policy, indicating the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy of China. The historical profile of PAH distribution in the study area is obviously different from the United States and Europe due to their difference in energy structure and economic development stages.

A well-placed Pb-210-dated sediment core extracted from the distal mud in the central continental shelf of the East China Sea is used to reconstruct the high-resolution atmospheric depositional record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), believed to be transported mainly from China in the past 200 years due to the East Asian Monsoon. Total PAHs (TPAHs), based on the 16 USEPA priority PAHs, range from 27 in 1788 to 132 ng g(-1) in 2001. TPAH variation in the core reflects energy usage changes and follows closely the historical economic development in China. PAHs in the core are dominantly pyrogenic in source, i.e., they are mainly from the incomplete combustion of coal and biomass burning. Several individual PAHs suggest that contribution from incomplete petroleum combustion has increased during recent years. Analysis of the 2 + 3 ring and the 5 + 6 ring PAHs and principle component analysis provide more evidence in the change in the energy structure, especially after 1978 when China embarked on the "Reform and Open" Policy, indicating the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy of China. The historical profile of PAH distribution in the study area is obviously different from the United States and Europe due to their difference in energy structure and economic development stages.

A well-placed Pb-210-dated sediment core extracted from the distal mud in the central continental shelf of the East China Sea is used to reconstruct the high-resolution atmospheric depositional record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), believed to be transported mainly from China in the past 200 years due to the East Asian Monsoon. Total PAHs (TPAHs), based on the 16 USEPA priority PAHs, range from 27 in 1788 to 132 ng g(-1) in 2001. TPAH variation in the core reflects energy usage changes and follows closely the historical economic development in China. PAHs in the core are dominantly pyrogenic in source, i.e., they are mainly from the incomplete combustion of coal and biomass burning. Several individual PAHs suggest that contribution from incomplete petroleum combustion has increased during recent years. Analysis of the 2 + 3 ring and the 5 + 6 ring PAHs and principle component analysis provide more evidence in the change in the energy structure, especially after 1978 when China embarked on the "Reform and Open" Policy, indicating the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy of China. The historical profile of PAH distribution in the study area is obviously different from the United States and Europe due to their difference in energy structure and economic development stages.

Seven sets of samples that were taken from sites upwind and downwind of Hong Kong during the summer and winter seasons were analyzed. The solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) were separated into four major fractions (n-alkanes, fatty acids, alkanols and (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) and identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Five different wind directions were detected during the two seasons: southwest, southeast, east, east-northeast and northeast. At one extreme, the southwest wind brought clean aerosols from the South China Sea to Hong Kong, diluting the urban aerosols, and the anthropogenic contribution was found to be fresh and local. At the other extreme, when the northeast wind prevailed, there was a significant increase (10-14 times) in the total SEOC yield and the characteristics of the aerosols indicated a greater impact from outside Hong Kong (i.e., more PAHs, plant wax contribution, and lower C sub(18:1)/C sub(18:0) ratios), suggesting the presence of aged aerosols. In the samples taken during prevailing east-northeast winds in November, the loading was low and bore resemblance to the summer samples. In addition, there were changes in the characteristics of the aerosols, such as an increased plant wax contribution in the fatty acid and alkanol fractions, signifying a change in season. The characteristics and loading of the PM2.5 at the downwind site were found to be significantly influenced by the accumulation of locally emitted air pollutants due to no wind conditions and the transport of long-distance (from surrounding regions) and short-distance (within Hong Kong) plumes.

Seven sets of samples that were taken from sites upwind and downwind of Hong Kong during the summer and winter seasons were analyzed. The solvent extractable organic compounds (SEOC) were separated into four major fractions (n-alkanes, fatty acids, alkanols and (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) and identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Five different wind directions were detected during the two seasons: southwest, southeast, east, east-northeast and northeast. At one extreme, the southwest wind brought clean aerosols from the South China Sea to Hong Kong, diluting the urban aerosols, and the anthropogenic contribution was found to be fresh and local. At the other extreme, when the northeast wind prevailed, there was a significant increase (10-14 times) in the total SEOC yield and the characteristics of the aerosols indicated a greater impact from outside Hong Kong (i.e., more PAHs, plant wax contribution, and lower C sub(18:1)/C sub(18:0) ratios), suggesting the presence of aged aerosols. In the samples taken during prevailing east-northeast winds in November, the loading was low and bore resemblance to the summer samples. In addition, there were changes in the characteristics of the aerosols, such as an increased plant wax contribution in the fatty acid and alkanol fractions, signifying a change in season. The characteristics and loading of the PM2.5 at the downwind site were found to be significantly influenced by the accumulation of locally emitted air pollutants due to no wind conditions and the transport of long-distance (from surrounding regions) and short-distance (within Hong Kong) plumes.

In this letter, the performance of multirate direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems is considered. We compare two multirate schemes: variable spreading length (VSL-CDMA) and multicode (MC-CDMA). The performance in terms of asymptotic multiuser efficiency (AME) and near-far resistance (NFR) for various detectors are evaluated. Analytical and numerical results will demonstrate that in multirate systems, MC-CDMA has a similar performance as that of VSL-CDMA employing low-rate detection in terms of multirate AME (MAME) and multirate NFR (MNFR). A lower bound for the optimal MNFR is also obtained and is shown to be that of the linear decorrelator in multirate systems. Thus, this implies that the decorrelator is no longer optimal in the sense of MNFR.

In this letter, the performance of multirate direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems is considered. We compare two multirate schemes: variable spreading length (VSL-CDMA) and multicode (MC-CDMA). The performance in terms of asymptotic multiuser efficiency (AME) and near-far resistance (NFR) for various detectors are evaluated. Analytical and numerical results will demonstrate that in multirate systems, MC-CDMA has a similar performance as that of VSL-CDMA employing low-rate detection in terms of multirate AME (MAME) and multirate NFR (MNFR). A lower bound for the optimal MNFR is also obtained and is shown to be that of the linear decorrelator in multirate systems. Thus, this implies that the decorrelator is no longer optimal in the sense of MNFR.

In this letter, the performance of multirate direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems is considered. We compare two multirate schemes: variable spreading length (VSL-CDMA) and multicode (MC-CDMA). The performance in terms of asymptotic multiuser efficiency (AME) and near-far resistance (NFR) for various detectors are evaluated. Analytical and numerical results will demonstrate that in multirate systems, MC-CDMA has a similar performance as that of VSL-CDMA employing low-rate detection in terms of multirate AME (MAME) and multirate NFR (MNFR). A lower bound for the optimal MNFR is also obtained and is shown to be that of the linear decorrelator in multirate systems. Thus, this implies that the decorrelator is no longer optimal in the sense of MNFR.