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California dairies house approximately 1.8 million lactating and 1.5 million dry cows and heifers. State air regulatory agencies view these dairies as a major air pollutant source, but emissions data are sparse, particularly for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The objective of this work was to determine V0C emissions from lactating and dry dairy cows and their waste using an environmental chamber. Carbon dioxide and methane were measured to provide context for the V0Cs. VOCs were measured by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). The compounds with highest fluxes when cows plus waste were present were methanol, acetone + propanal, dimethylsulfide, and m/z 109 (likely 4-methyl-phenol). The compounds with highest fluxes from fresh waste (urine and feces) were methanol, m/z 109, and m/z 60 (likely trimethylamine). Ethanol fluxes are reported qualitatively, and several VOCs that were likely emitted (formaldehyde, methylamine, dimethylamine) were not detectable by PTR-MS. The sum of reactive VOC fluxes measured when cows were present was a factor of 6–10 less than estimates historically used for regulatory purposes. In addition, ozone formation potentials of the dominant VOCs were ∼10% those of typical combustion or biogenic VOCs. Thus dairy cattle have a comparatively small impact on ozone formation per VOC mass emitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study conducted in Berkeley, California regarding the resolving of radial composition gradients in polarized confocal raman spectra of individual nanowires. The authors discuss the importance of silicon carbide nanowires for nanoelectromechanical sensors. Moreover, they talk about the prevention of nanostructured carbon layer transformation.

The article presents information on a system that tracks moving nanoparticles in three dimensions. The system also provides spectroscopic measurements. The apparatus has been described by the researchers led by Haw Yang at the University of California, Berkeley, California and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The researchers demonstrated the system by monitoring an individual gold nanoparticle in solution. They used a green laser beam to collect the spectroscopic information. The system is noninvasive and has a spatial resolution of more than 210 nanometer.

Reports on the new vibrational spectroscopy tool developed by researcher Richard Mathies and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, for studying structural changes during ultrafast chemical and biological reactions as of September 2003. Information about the Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy; Commonly used techniques for examining structural changes on femtosecond timescales; Demonstration of the new technique by Mathies and colleagues.

The aqueous photolysis of seven alkyl nitrosamines was studied by irradiation in a solar simulator. Nitrosamines included N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomethylethylamine (NMEA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodi-n-propylamine (NDPA), N-nitrosodi-n-butylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPip), and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPyr). Direct photolysis at irradiations of 765 W/m2, representing Southern California midsummer, midday sun, resulted in half-lives of 16 min for NDMA and 12-15 min for the other nitrosamines. The quantum yield for NDMA was determined to be phi = 0.41 and phi = 0.43-0.61 for the other nitrosamines. Quantified products of NDMA photolysis included methylamine, dimethylamine, nitrite, nitrate, and formate, with nitrogen and carbon balances exceeding 98 and 79%, respectively. Indirect photolysis of nitrosamines in surface water was not observed; increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) slowed the NDMA photolysis rate because of light screening. Removal of NDMA measured in tertiary treated effluent flowing in a shallow, sunlit engineered channel agreed with photolysis rates predicted based on the measured quantum yield and system parameters. Because biodegradation is relatively slow, aquatic photolysis of NDMA is generally expected to be more significant even at relatively low levels of solar irradiation (t(1/2) = 8-38 h at 244-855 W/m2, 51 degrees N latitude, 1 m depth).

Phytoremediation of selenium-contaminated soils may be influenced by higher trophic levels including insects. We examined how selenium affects the behavior, survival, and development of the wasp parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris, parasitizing its natural host, the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua, feeding on alfalfa, Medicago sativa, irrigated with water containing selenate. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to quantify the selenium chemical forms in each trophic level. Alfalfa partially transformed selenate to organoselenium. S. exigua contained only organoselenium, both directly absorbed from M. sativa and transformed from selenate. C. marginiventris cocoons collected shortly after larval emergence contained only organoselenium derived from the host. The surprising finding of trimethylselenonium-like species in adult parasitoids and the cocoons from which they emerged suggests that adults and pharates can detoxify excess selenium through methylation and volatilization. Adult parasitoids do not discriminate against selenium-containing alfalfa, even though alfalfa generates selenium volatiles. Parasitoids raised on selenium-fed larvae emerged later and pupae weighed less than their selenium-free counterparts. We conclude therefore that C. marginiventris can be used to control S. exigua damage to M. sativa being used to remove selenium from soils. Moreover, the presence of such insects may improve phytoremediation by increasing biotransformation of inorganic selenium and release of volatile selenium species.