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It is a common practice in developing countries and in some regions of Europe that solid wastes generated in households (e.g. plastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes, fibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured-paper waste) are burned in wood- or coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and volume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because these activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few media reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal waste burning pose a significant hazard to human health due to the combination of excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition, there is scarce information on the specific EFs for PM10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work, controlled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of municipal solid waste, and particulate emissions were measured and collected for chemical analysis. Absolute EFs for PM10 and PAHs as well as the benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first time for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide. It was found that the PM10 emission factors from the combustion of wood-based waste samples were about twice that of firewood, whereas EFs in the range of 11–82 mg g−1 (a factor of 5–40 times higher than that of dry firewood under the same conditions) were obtained for different types of plastic waste. The latter were also found to emit exceptionally high quantities of PAHs, by a factor of 50–750 more than upon the combustion of dry firewood under the same conditions. Since the more toxic 4–6 ring PAHs were predominant in the particulate emission from plastic waste burning, BaP equivalent toxicity was up to 4100 times higher than that from wood combustion.

It is a common practice in the developing countries and in some regions of Europe that solid wastes generated in the households (e.g. plastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes, fibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured paper waste) are burned in wood- or coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and volume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because these activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few media reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal waste burning pose an unprecedented hazard to human health due to the combination of excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition, there is scarce information on the specific emission factors for PM10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work, controlled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of municipal solid waste and particulate emissions were measured and collected for chemical analysis. Absolute emission factors for PM10 and PAHs as well as the benzo(a)pyrene toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first time for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide.

The efficiency of TiO2 based heterogeneous photocatalysis can be enhanced by its combination with other oxidative procedures such as ozonation and by the modification of the catalyst surface with noble metals (such as silver). In this work, degradation of 4-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid (4-HBS, a key intermediate of the decomposition of benzenesulfonic acid) was thoroughly studied by application of the above mentioned procedures individually and also in various combinations. Detailed comparisons of these methods were realized by measurements of degradation and mineralization of 4-HBS as well as determination of characteristic hydroxy intermediates and sulfate ions. The degradation efficiency of combination of Ag-TiO2 based photocatalysis and ozonation was just about the sum of the efficiencies of the individual procedures, while mineralization efficacy of this combination proved to be highly synergic, considerably exceeding this feature of the air- Ag-TiO2 system, due to the increased rate of ozone decay producing ring-opening radicals. Accordingly, total mineralization of 4-HBS was realized under these conditions. Ozonation, however, caused an oxidative dissolution of the deposited silver from the surface of the catalyst. Even so, simultaneous application of Ag-TiO2 based heterogeneous photocatalysis and ozonation led to total mineralization faster than their consecutive combination did.

A vidékfejlesztés szándéka, a turizmus felfutása és az „uniós-pénzek” az egész országban megépülő projekteket, de legalább is terveket generáltak. A megvalósult, illetve erre váró fejlesztések valós eredményessége jelentős szórást mutat. Ennek oka lehet a pénzügyi és marketing tervek változóminősége, a „pozitív jövőkép” néha túlzó elvárásokon alapuló prognosztizálása. De legalább ilyen fontos bizonytalansági faktor a tökéletlen építészeti és tájépítészeti koncepcionális. A beinvesztált javak érdektelen, - saját nyelvhasználatom szerint „szürkén-homogén” - elköltése. A bemutatásra kerülő mintaprojekt példáján meghatározásra kerülnek azon építészeti és környezetépítési stratégiai elvek, melyek betartása jelentősen erősíti a turisztikai vonzerő növelése érdekében létrehozandó vidékfejlesztési munkák hatékonyságát.

Humic-like substances are ubiquitous constituents of atmospheric aerosol worldwide. Their sources, formation processes, physical and chemical properties have been studied thoroughly but hardly any information is available on the ecotoxicity of this complex organic mixture. In this study the ecotoxicity of HULIS isolated from winter rural aerosol was determined using the kinetic version of Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay. The EC50 values of the HULIS fractions varied between 38 and 178 mg L-1 (average: 90 mg L-1, SD: 45 mg L-1) in the aerosol samples which was found to be comparable to the ecotoxicity of terrestrial humic substances (EC50: 45-74 mg L-1). The ecotoxicity of HULIS isolated from winter rural aerosol was lower than that of biomass burning aerosol but higher than that of winter urban aerosol. An aromatic tracer of biomass burning (4-nitrocatechol) and BB SOA tracers were detected in the HULIS fractions. The ecotoxicity of 4-nitrocatechol was measured and found to be 15 times more ecotoxic than the HULIS fractions on average.

Carbonaceous aerosol (total carbon, TCp) was source apportioned at nine European rural background sites, as part of the European Measurement and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) Intensive Measurement Periods in fall 2008 and winter/spring 2009. Five predefined fractions were apportioned based on ambient measurements: elemental and organic carbon, from combustion of biomass (ECbb and OCbb) and from fossil-fuel (ECff and OCff) sources, and remaining non-fossil organic carbon (OCrnf), dominated by natural sources. OCrnf made a larger contribution to TCp than anthropogenic sources (ECbb, OCbb, ECff, and OCff) at four out of nine sites in fall, reflecting the vegetative season, whereas anthropogenic sources dominated at all but one site in winter/spring. Biomass burning (OCbb + ECbb) was the major anthropogenic source at the central European sites in fall, whereas fossil-fuel (OCff + ECff) sources dominated at the southernmost and the two northernmost sites. Residential wood burning emissions explained 30 %–50 % of TCp at most sites in the first week of sampling in fall, showing that this source can be the dominant one, even outside the heating season. In winter/spring, biomass burning was the major anthropogenic source at all but two sites, reflecting increased residential wood burning emissions in the heating season. Fossil-fuel sources dominated EC at all sites in fall, whereas there was a shift towards biomass burning for the southernmost sites in winter/spring. Model calculations based on base-case emissions (mainly officially reported national emissions) strongly underpredicted observational derived levels of OCbb and ECbb outside Scandinavia. Emissions based on a consistent bottom-up inventory for residential wood burning (and including intermediate volatility compounds, IVOCs) improved model results compared to the base-case emissions, but modeled levels were still substantially underestimated compared to observational derived OCbb and ECbb levels at the southernmost sites. Our study shows that natural sources are a major contributor to carbonaceous aerosol in Europe, even in fall and in winter/spring, and that residential wood burning emissions are equally as large as or larger than that of fossil-fuel sources, depending on season and region. The poorly constrained residential wood burning emissions for large parts of Europe show the obvious need to improve emission inventories, with harmonization of emission factors between countries likely being the most important step to improve model calculations for biomass burning emissions, and European PM2.5 concentrations in general.

Visibility is a simple indicator of air quality, and its drastic decrease is often related to poor air quality resulting from an increase in aerosol (particulate matter PM) concentration. Visibility is also related to water vapor due to the hygroscopicity of aerosols. As a result, water vapor may considerably influence PM measurements especially in the case of low-cost PM sensors which typically measure the ambient (wet) size of PM. Several possibilities are available to eliminate the effect of aerosol hygroscopicity on PM10 measurements, and we aimed to discuss and compare three of the methods: gravimetry (mass change of aerosol filters due to RH variation), application of the AIM model (based on aerosol chemical composition) and estimation derived from visibility data. In this work, we discuss how hygroscopic growth factors, obtained from different methods, are related, as well as the relevance of the hygroscopic growth rate derived from visibility observations in PM10 measurements. Moreover, since in PM monitoring – including the low-cost PM sensors – a quasi-real time, appropriate and simple method would be desirable for consideration of aerosol hygroscopicity, we aimed to construct a proxy for this purpose. We found that the visibility-derived mass growth rate could serve as a simple basis for these requirements.

TiO2 based photocatalytic degradation of nitrofurantion (NFT), a widely used drug, and its primary decomposition products, nitrofuraldehyde (NFA) and aminohydantoin (AHD) was investigated and compared to their photolysis in aerobic systems. UV-vis spectrophotometry, pH, IC, and HPLC measurements were applied to follow the changes during the irradiations and subsequently, in the dark. After a fast anti→syn (or trans→cis) photoisomerization of NFT (giving i-NFT), a slower photohydrolysis of both isomers took place upon UV excitation, leading to the formation of NFA and AHD. i-NFT proved to be more reactive than NFT ; it underwent hydrolysis in the dark, too. While photolysis could not totally convert NFT and i-NFT within 120 min, they disappeared within 90 min during the photocatalysis under the same irradiation conditions, along with the degradation of NFA and AHD, and the accumulation of a rather stable intermediate identified as 5- hydroxyfuran- 2- carbaldehyde, formed from NFA. The direct photolysis of NFA also gave this characteristic intermediate along with its several derivatives formed via addition or condensation then redox transformations. They very slowly decomposed in photolysis, while totally disappeared during photocatalysis of NFA, producing polar aliphatic intermediates. Direct irradiation could not convert AHD, while photocatalysis led to its significant degradation in aerobic system. These results indicate that TiO2 based photocatalysis is suitable for the decomposition and mineralization of NFT and their photoderivatives.

Source apportionment (SA) of carbonaceous aerosol was performed as part of the EMEP Intensive Measurement Periods (EIMPs), conducted in fall 2008 and winter/spring 2009. Levels of elemental carbon (EC), particulate organic carbon (OCp), particulate total carbon (TCp), levoglucosan and 14C in PM10, observed at nine European rural background sites, were used as input for the SA, whereas Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) was used to statistically treat the multitude of possible combinations resulting when ambient concentrations were combined with appropriate emission ratios. Five predefined sources/subcategories of carbonaceous aerosol were apportioned: Elemental and organic carbon from combustion of biomass (ECbb and OCbb) and from fossil fuel (ECff and OCff) sources, as well as remaining non-fossil organic carbon (OCrnf), typically dominated by natural sources. The carbonaceous aerosol concentration decreased from South to North, as did the concentration of the apportioned carbonaceous aerosol. OCrnf was more abundant in fall compared to winter/spring, reflecting the vegetative season, and made a larger contribution to TCp than anthropogenic sources (here: ECbb, OCbb, ECff and OCff) at four of the sites, whereas anthropogenic sources dominated at all but one sites in winter/spring. Levels of OCbb and ECbb were typically higher in winter/spring than in fall, due to larger residential wood burning emissions in the heating season, whereas there was no consistent seasonal pattern for fossil fuel emissions. Biomass burning (OCbb + ECbb) was the major anthropogenic source at the Central European sites in fall, whereas fossil fuel sources dominated at the southernmost and the two northernmost sites. In winter/spring, biomass burning was the major anthropogenic source at all but two sites. Addressing EC in particular, fossil fuel sources dominated at all sites in fall, whereas there was as shift towards biomass burning in winter/spring for the southernmost sites. Influence of residential wood burning emissions was substantial already in the first week of sampling in fall, constituting 30–50 % of TCp at most sites, showing that this source can be dominating even at a time of the year when the ambient temperature in Europe is still rather high. Model calculations were made, attempting to reproduce LHS-derived OCbb and ECbb, using two different residential wood burning emission inventories. Both simulations strongly under-predicted the LHS-derived values at most sites outside Scandinavia. Emissions based on a consistent bottom-up inventory for residential combustion (and including intermediate volatility compounds, IVOC) improved model results at most sites compared to the base-case emissions (based mainly on officially reported national emissions), but at the three southernmost sites the modelled OCbb and ECbb concentrations were still much lower than the LHS source apportioned results. The current study shows that natural sources is a major contributor to the carbonaceous aerosol in Europe even in fall and in winter/spring, and that residential wood burning emissions can be equally large or larger than that of fossil fuel sources, depending on season and region. Our results suggest that residential wood burning emissions are still poorly constrained for large parts of Europe. The need to improve emission inventories is obvious, with harmonization of emission factors between countries likely being the most important step to improve model calculations, not only for biomass burning emissions, but for European PM2.5 concentrations in general.

The majority of the building stock of Budapest inner districts was built around the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Although the structural stability of the buildings is not questioned, as the load bearing structures are in sufficient state, the secondary structures are aged, resulting unsatisfactory energetic state. The renovation of these historical buildings requires special methodology and technology: their ornamented facades and custom-made fenestration cannot be insulated or exchanged with conventional solutions without damaging the heritage values. The present paper aims to introduce and systematize the possible technological solutions for heritage respecting energy retrofit in case of a historical residential building stock. Through case study, the possible energy saving potential is also calculated using multiple renovation scenarios., {"references":["White Paper for a Community Strategy and Action Plan. Energy for the future: Renewable sources of energy COM(97)599; 2002/91/EC: Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings.","Hungarian Central Statistical Office Database. Source: https://www.ksh.hu/?lang=en (2018.02.15).","B. Nagy, A település, az épített világ, B+V Lap és Könyvkiadó Kft., 2005.","Á. Szabó, \"A pesti belváros tömbjeinek sűrűsége\", in Budapest 2050, A belvárosi tömbök fennmaradásának esélyei (Budapest 2050, The chances of the subsistence of Budapest Downtown), pp 46-57., 2012.","V. Sugár, A. Talamon, A. Horkai, M. Kita, \"Assessment of Rehabilitation Possibilities in Case of Budapest Jewish Quarter Building Stock\", in World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology 11:(3) pp. 373-379., 2017.","Á. Pattantyús, Épületrehabilitáció - Tartószerkezetek helyreállítása, átépítése és megerősítése (Building Rehabilitation – Reconstruction, Rebuilding and Strenghtening of Load Bearing Structrures). Budapest, TERC Kft., 2013.","Zs. Szalay, Zs. Lőrinczi, L. Szűts, \"Történeti ablakok hőtechnikai tulajdonságai 2. Felújítási lehetőségek\", in Megtérülő épületenergetika III:(3), pp. 28-34., 2016.","G. Becker, Z. Hunyadi, Épületszerkezettan III. 4. szerkesztő gyakorlat óravázlat. Source: www.epszerk.bme.hu/docs.php?n=7232 (2017.11.12)","T. Csoknyai, S. Hrabovszky-Horváth, M. Seprődi-Egeresi, G. Szendrő: A Hazai Lakóépület Állomány Tipológiája (Tabula/Episcope Project, HUN: National Typology of Residential Buildings in Hungary), 2014.\n[10]\thttp://episcope.eu/index.php?id=222 (2018.02.19).\n[11]\tNemzeti Épületenergetikai Stratégia (National Building Energetics Strategy of Hungary), 2014.\n[12]\tNational Decrees: 2001. year LXIV. Decree, and 2014. year CVI. Decree of Hungarian Law. https://epitesijog.hu/fooldal/1300-01-mi-az-a-muemlek (2018.02.03).\n[13]\tNational Decrees in conform with European Union Decree 2010/31: 7/2006. (V. 24.) TNM rendelet: Az épületek energetikai jellemzőinek meghatározásáról, A belügyminiszter 40/2012. (VIII. 13.) BM rendelete az épületek energetikai jellemzőinek meghatározásáról szóló 7/2006. (V. 24.) TNM rendelet módosításáról, 176/2008 (VI.30.) Kormányrendelet: Az épületek energetikai tanúsításáról.\n[14]\tD. Bakonyi, F. Kuntner: Megtartandó homlokzatú épületek utólagos hőszigetelésének lehetőségei, BME Épületszerkezettani Tanszék kutatás 2012).\n[15]\tI. A. Edvi: Budapest műszaki útmutatója 1896 (Technical Guide of Budapest 1896), Budapest, Terc Kft., pp. 56-67. 2005.\n[16]\thttp://ezermester.hu/cikk-7803/Duplo_rendszer (2018. 03. 07).\n[17]\thttp://www.bausoft.hu/ww_epbd.htm (2018. 03. 07)."]}

Language ideologies surrounding the learning of historical minority languages deserve more/closer attention because due to the strong nation state ideology, the relation between majority and minority languages has long been problematic, and native speakers of majority languages do not typically learn the languages of the minorities voluntarily. This article discusses the language ideologies of voluntary learners of Swedish and Hungarian in two contexts where these languages are historical minority languages. Data was collected at evening courses in Oradea, Romania and Jyväskylä, Finland on which a qualitative analysis was conducted. In the analysis, an ethnographic and discourse analysis perspective was adopted, and language ideologies were analyzed in their interactional form, acknowledging the position of the researcher in the co-construction of language ideologies in the interviews. The results show that the two contexts are very different, although there are also similarities in the language ideologies of the learners which seem to be significantly influenced by the prevailing historical discourses in place about the use and role of these languages. In the light of resilient historical metanarratives, I suggest that the challenges related to the learning of historical minority languages lie in the historical construction of modern ethnolinguistic nation-states and the present trajectories of such projects. At the same time, the learning of historical languages in contemporary globalized socio-cultural contexts can build on new post-national ideologies, such as the concept of learning historical languages as commodities.

Although particulate organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) are important constituents of the suspended atmospheric particulate matter (PM), measurements of OC and EC are much less common and more uncertain than measurements of e.g. the ionic components of PM. In the framework of atmospheric research infrastructures supported by the European Union, actions have been undertaken to determine and mitigate sampling artefacts, and assess the comparability of OC and EC data obtained in a network of 10 atmospheric observatories across Europe. Positive sampling artefacts (from 0.4 to 2.8 μg C/m3) and analytical discrepancies (between −50% and +40% for the EC/TC ratio) have been taken into account to generate a robust data set, from which we established the phenomenology of carbonaceous aerosols at regional background sites in Europe. Across the network, TC and EC annual average concentrations range from 0.4 to 9 μg C/m3, and from 0.1 to 2 μg C/m3, respectively. TC/PM10 annual mean ratios range from 0.11 at a Mediterranean site to 0.34 at the most polluted continental site, and TC/PM2.5 ratios are slightly greater at all sites (0.15–0.42). EC/TC annual mean ratios range from 0.10 to 0.22, and do not depend much on PM concentration levels, especially in winter. Seasonal variations in PM and TC concentrations, and in TC/PM and EC/TC ratios, differ across the network, which can be explained by seasonal changes in PM source contributions at some sites. © 2016 The Authors, EUSAAR (FP6/2001-2006, grant agreement no. RII3-GT-2006-026140), ACTRIS (FP7/2007-2013, grant agreement no. 262254), ACTRIS2 (H2020-INFRAIA-2014-2015, grant agreement no. 654109), EPA Ireland is acknowledged for the research support at Mace Head, the Norwegian Environment Agency for the measurements at Birkenes. Appendix A

This article is a contribution to the hitherto scant literature on learning a historical minority language and on language ideologies in the context of a study abroad program in Hungary, Debrecen. I analyse the language ideologies of the decision makers in Hungary and in the Debrecen Summer School in relation to the teaching of Hungarian to the neighboring peoples. Drawing on interactional data of participants from Romania, the perspective of learning Hungarian as a historical minority language is examined. The present article combines a historical approach with language ideologies by focusing on an institution offering language education. Language ideologies are presented as they appear in the larger historical discourses, contemporary documents, and media interviews. I briefly outline the major turning points in the history of the institution which also reflects the changing language ideologies and cultural politics of Hungary. The qualitative discourse analysis of interviews and the conclusion of this ethnographic study demonstrate that language ideological positions in relation to the teaching and learning of Hungarian have been firmly located in historical and cultural contexts. Discourse analysis of various data demonstrates that, on the one hand, the course providers have espoused competing ideologies of who the learners should be as well as how to present the country and the culture, while, on the other hand, showing that the learners have had to negotiate prejudice and stereotype rooted in discourses about the often burdened history.

We characterised surface-active substances (SASs) in aqueous extract of atmospheric aerosols by using phase sensitive alternating current voltammetry. The electrochemical method has mainly been used for the quantification of surfactants in sea water but has not been applied to atmospheric aerosols yet. The advantage of the method is its simplicity and sensitivity that enables direct analysis of aerosol extracts without the need for sample concentration. Aerosol samples were collected at Middle Adriatic Martinska station influenced by different air masses as well as from urban (Zagreb, Croatia) and rural (K-puszta, Hungary) areas from late spring to early autumn in 2010. The highest SAS concentrations, expressed in equivalents of T-X-100, ranging from 0.34 to 0.91 µg m −3 were detected in urban samples. The SAS concentrations obtained for marine, regional and continental samples ranged from 0.14 to 0.31, 0.18 to 0.42 and 0.07 to 0.28 µg m −3 , respectively. The SAS concentrations in K-puszta aerosols ranged from 0.13 to 0.46 µg m −3 . Investigation of humic-like substances isolated from K-puszta samples (2008) confirmed their significant surfactant nature. Different SAS chemistry was noticed for urban and non-urban samples. Investigations at different pH revealed anionic character of SASs in aerosol samples. Keywords: aerosol; surface active substance; WSOC; HULIS; electrochemical methods (Published: 8 May 2012) Citation: Tellus B 2012, 64 , 18490, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v64i0.18490

The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding on the key reaction steps of photocatalytic decomposition of l -phenylalanine. Therefore the reactions of l -phenylalanine occurring over UV excited TiO2 particles were investigated under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Silver ions were used as electron traps and H2O2 molecules were applied as species reacting with conduction band electrons and valence band holes in argon-saturated aqueous suspensions. The photocatalytic performances were followed by measuring the concentration of l -phenylalanine, the formation of NH4+ and the total organic carbon (TOC) content of the reaction mixtures. In addition, UV–vis absorption and luminescence spectra and the pH of the aqueous phase of suspensions were also monitored. The initial rate of the NH4+ formation was found to be the same in the argon saturated ( v 0 , Ar = ( 9.1 ± 0.4 ) × 10 − 7 M min − 1 ) and in the air saturated ( v 0 , air = ( 9.3 ± 0.4 ) × 10 − 7 M min − 1 ) reaction mixtures, while significantly different values were obtained for the rate of disappearance of the phenylalanine ( v 0 , Ar = 18.5 × 10 − 7 M min − 1 and v 0 , air = 65 × 10 − 7 M min − 1 ) and for the rate of TOC decrease ( v 0 , Ar = 17.5 × 10 − 7 M min − 1 and v 0 , air = 142 × 10 − 7 M min − 1 ) in anaerobic and aerobic condition, respectively. Among the key intermediates of the photocatalytic decomposition the l -4-hydroxyphenylalanine ( l -tyrosine) and the l -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ( l -DOPA) were identified by HPLC–MS method. Moreover, other hydroxyphenylalanines (3-hydroxyphenylalanine and 2-hydroxyphenylalanine) and dihydroxyphenylalanine isomers were also assigned by this technique. Ring opening reaction has been observed in conditions where oxygen containing reactive species, such as O2 −, HO2 and singlet oxygen form and can attack the dihydroxyphenylalanines. Mechanisms for the photocatalytic degradation of phenylalanine in anaerobic and aerobic conditions have been proposed.

Atmospheric aerosols absorb and reflect solar radiation causing surface cooling and heating of the atmosphere. The interaction between aerosols and radiation depends on their complex index of refraction, which is related to the particles' chemical composition. The contribution of light absorbing organic compounds, such as HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS) to aerosol scattering and absorption is among the largest uncertainties in assessing the direct effect of aerosols on climate. Using a Cavity Ring Down Aerosol Spectrometer (CRD-AS), the complex index of refraction of aerosols containing HULIS extracted from pollution, smoke, and rural continental aerosols, and molecular weight-fractionated fulvic acid was measured at 390 nm and 532 nm. The imaginary part of the refractive index (absorption) substantially increases towards the UV range with increasing molecular weight and aromaticity. At both wavelengths, HULIS extracted from pollution and smoke particles absorb more than HULIS from the rural aerosol. Sensitivity calculations for a pollution-type aerosol containing ammonium sulfate, organic carbon (HULIS), and soot suggests that accounting for absorption by HULIS leads in most cases to a significant decrease in the single scattering albedo and to a significant increase in aerosol radiative forcing efficiency, towards more atmospheric absorption and heating. This indicates that HULIS in biomass smoke and pollution aerosols, in addition to black carbon, can contribute significantly to light absorption in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions.

Uvod: Patogeneza Dupuytrenove bolesti je nejasna, no mogu se pretpostaviti upalni mehanizmi u njenoj pozadini. Materijali i metode: Mjerili smo udjele različitih podvrsta monocita i lim-focita u perifernoj krvi prema stadiju bolesti kod 39 bolesnika oboljelih od Dupuytrenove bolesti. Rezultate smo usporedili s rezultatima 29 zdravih kontrolnih ispitanika iz iste dobne skupine. Mjerenja su napravljena pomoću protočne citometrije. Rezultati: U aktivnom su stadiju bolesnici imali bitno povišen udio monocita, NK-stanica sličnih T-limfocitima, dok je udio B-limfocita bio značajno snižen, uključujući CD5+ B-limfocite. Udjeli CD4+, CD8+ T-limfocita i B-limfocita nisu se znatno promijenili. U naprednom su stadiju bolesti udjeli monocita i B-limfocita ostali konstantnima, no značajno su se snizili udjeli T-limfocita. U četiri slučaja među bolesnicima koji boluju od Dupuytrenove bolesti pojavile su se limfoidne neoplazme zrelih B- ili T-limfocita. Zaključci: Naši rezultati podupiru prijašnja mišljenja da su limfociti povezani s patogenezom Dupuytrenove bolesti te pojačavaju ulogu monocita, NK-stanica sličnih T-limfocitima i promjenu imunosnog odgovora između stadija bolesti., Background: The pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease is unclear, but inflammatory mechanisms might be supposed in the background. Materials and methods: The ratios of the subsets of monocytes and lymphocytes in the peripheral blood were measured according to the stage of the disease of 39 Dupuytren's patients. They were compared with those of 29 healthy, age-matched controls. The measurements were accomplished by flow-cytometry. Results: In an active stage, the patients had significantly increased ratios of monocytes, NK-like T-cells, whereas significantly decreased ratio of B-lymphocytes, including CD5+ B-cells. The ratios of CD4+, CD8+ T-cells and NK-cells did not change significantly. In the advanced stage, the ratios of monocytes and B-lymphocytes remained constant, but the ratios of T-cells decreased significantly. In four cases among Dupuytren's patients, mature B- or T-cell lymphoid malignancies occurred. Conclusions: Our results support the previous considerations that lymphocytes are involved in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease and enhance the role of monocytes, NK-like T-cells and the alteration of immune response between the stages of the disease.

Recently, atmospheric humic matter or humic-like substances (HULIS) have been found in the water-soluble fraction of atmospheric aerosol sampled at different locations. Most of these locations were continental, non-urban sites. Therefore, in this work HULIS was studied in urban and marine environments. The atmospheric concentration varied over a wide range from 0.40 to 5.44 μ gm −3 , from the clean marine air (Mace Head, Ireland) to the heavily polluted winter urban atmosphere (Christchurch, New Zealand). In terms of carbon, ratio of HULIS was 19–51% of water-soluble organic carbon, and 10–22% of total carbon. Different spectroscopic techniques were applied for the physico-chemical characterisation of HULIS including relative aromaticity and molecular weight. Specific absorbance was observed to be much less variable than specific fluorescence, and consequently UV-VIS spectroscopy at λN330 nm was recommended for rapid, semi-quantitative determination of HULIS in the water extracts of atmospheric aerosol. Application of a dual filter sampling system at one of the sampling sites has revealed a significant positive sampling artefact which calls for further systematic studies on this subject, and also supports the idea of a secondary organic aerosol formation mechanism of HULIS. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We prove the existence of exponentially localised and time-periodic solutions in general nonlinear Hamiltonian lattice systems. Like normal modes, these localised solutions are characterised by collective oscillations at the lattice sites with a uniform time-dependence. The proof of existence uses the comparison principle for differential equations to demonstrate that at each lattice site every half of the fundamental period of oscillations, contributing to localised solutions of the nonlinear lattice, is sandwiched between two oscillatory states of auxiliary linear equations. For soft (hard) on-site potentials the allowed frequencies of the in-phase (out-of-phase) localised periodic solutions lie below (above) the lower (upper) value of the linear spectrum of phonon frequencies. By varying a control parameter the exponential decay of the localised states can be tuned continuously.

This study is focused on the ability of water-soluble organic compounds from wood combustion to act as cloud condensation nuclei. In particular, we have studied glucose, fructose, and mannose (monosaccharides), lactose, maltose, and sucrose (disaccharides) and levoglucosan. Critical supersaturations for dry particle sizes in the range 40–150 nm were measured using a static thermal diffusion cloud condensation nucleus counter. For glucose and sucrose, critical supersaturations were calculated by applying Kohler theory in three different ways: using water activities from literature, using water activity calculated assuming a van’t Hoff factor of 1, and using osmolality-derived water activity values. Critical supersaturations for the other compounds were calculated using water activity calculated assuming a van’t Hoff factor of 1 and with osmolality-derived water activities (except for mannose and Levoglucosan). Calculated critical supersaturations agreed well with experimental data in all cases. For particles of the same size, the disaccharides (lactose, maltose and sucrose) were found to activate at a significantly higher critical supersaturations than the monosaccharides and levoglucosan. This is consistent with Kohler theory and is due to the higher molar mass of the disaccharides.

We present the first measurement at the LHC of exclusive J/ψ photoproduction off protons, in ultraperipheral proton-lead collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV. Events are selected with a dimuon pair produced either in the rapidity interval, in the laboratory frame, 2.5

Organic aerosol constituents can influence the surface tension of nucleating cloud droplets and thereby modify the critical supersaturation necessary to activate aerosol particles. Model calculations, based on experiments carried out with different surrogates, led to contradictory conclusions on the effect of organic components on activation, indicating that the results depend very much on the surrogate selected. In order to reduce this uncertainty surface tension measurements were performed on real atmospheric aerosol components. Humic-like substances (HULIS) that accounted for 60% of the water-soluble organic carbon present in rural aerosol were isolated from 32 samples covering different seasons. The isolated organic matter present in a concentration of about 1 g L−1, decreased the surface tension of the aqueous solutions by 25–42% as compared to pure water. This effect was further enhanced when humic-like substances were mixed with ammonium sulphate. In order to support model calculations Szyskowski functions were fitted to the data to formulate the surface tension effect as a function of concentration. Finally, natural humic substances (fulvic and humic acids) were investigated under the same conditions. The experiments revealed that the surface tension decreasing effect of atmospheric humic-like substances differed from that of the studied terrestrial and aquatic humic substances: the latter substances decreased the surface tension of the aqueous solution to a lesser extent (7–23%) than atmospheric HULIS. This deviation can be explained with the different composition (e.g. the ratio of aromatic to aliphatic moieties) of the substances investigated.

Rural fine aerosol collected in Hungary was analysed with different techniques to estimate the average molecular weight (AMW) of humic-like substances (HULIS). First, ultrafiltration was applied to the total water-soluble organic fraction. Virtually all the water-soluble organic matter passed through the ultrafiltration membrane having a 500 Da nominal molecular weight (MW) cut-off. Then a significant portion (more than half) of the water-soluble organic matter was isolated in pure form and further analysed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. These analyses confirmed that the isolated organic matter was mostly composed of HULIS, which had been suggested on the basis of elemental analysis and different spectroscopic studies earlier. Furthermore, mass spectrometry indicated that the AMW of these substances could be expected in the 200–300 Da range. As detailed in the paper, this estimate may be negatively biased to some extent as a consequence of unwanted processes in the mass spectrometer. In order to reduce uncertainties in the MW estimates another independent technique—vapour pressure osmometry—was also applied and resulted in number AMW estimates in the range of 215–345 Da.

Current climate models seem to underestimate the flux of solar energy absorbed by the global troposphere. All of these models are constrained with the assumption that cloud droplets consist of pure water. Here we demonstrate in a simple laboratory experiment that aromatic hydroxy-acids which are found in continental fine aerosol can react with hydroxyl radicals under typical conditions prevalent in cloud water influenced by biomass burning. The reactions yield colored organic species which do absorb solar radiation. We also suggest that the products of such reactions may be humic-like substances whose presence in continental aerosol has been confirmed but their source mechanisms are still much sought after. We also attempt to give a first order estimate of the enhancement of water absorption at a visible wavelength under atmospheric conditions.

Beddows, D. C. S. ... et. al.-- 22 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, supplementary material related to this article is available online at http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/4327/2014/acp-14-4327-2014-supplement.pdf, Clusteranalysis of particle number size distributions frombackground sites across Europeis presented. This generated a total of nine clusters of particle size distributions which could be further combined into two main groups, namely: a south-to-north category (four clusters) and a west-to-east category (five clusters). The first group was identified as most frequently being detected inside and around northern Germany and neighbouring countries, showing clear evidence of local afternoon nucleation and growth events that could be linked to movement of air masses from south to north arriving ultimately at the Arctic contributing to Arctic haze.The second group of particle size spectra proved to have narrower size distributions and collectively showed a dependence of modal diameter upon the longitude of the site (west to east) at which they were most frequently detected.These clusters indicated regional nucleation (at the coastal sites) growing to larger modes further inland. The apparent growth rate of the modal diameter was around 0.6-0.9 nm h-1. Four specific air mass back-trajectories were successively taken as case studies to examine in real time the evolution of aerosol size distributions across Europe. While aerosol growth processes can be observed as aerosol traverses Europe, the processes are often obscured by the addition of aerosol by emissions en route. This study revealed that some of the 24 stations exhibit more complex behaviour than others, especially when impacted by local sources or a variety of different air masses. Overall, the aerosol size distribution clustering analysis greatly simplifies the complex data set and allows a description of aerosol aging processes, which reflects the longer-term average development of particle number size distributions as air masses advect across Europe. © 2014 Author(s), The National Centre for Atmospheric Science is funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council. This work was also supported by the European Union EUCAARI (Contract Ref. 036833) and EUSAAR (Contract Ref. 026140) research projects

Correlations induced by quantum statistics are sensitive to the spatiotemporal extent as well as dynamics of particle-emitting sources in heavy-ion collisions. In addition, such correlations can be used to search for the presence of a coherent component of pion production. Two- and three-pion correlations of same and mixed charge are measured at low relative momentum to estimate the coherent fraction of charged pions in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider with ALICE. The genuine three-pion quantum statistics correlation is found to be suppressed relative to the two-pion correlation based on the assumption of fully chaotic pion emission. The suppression is observed to decrease with triplet momentum. The observed suppression at low triplet momentum may correspond to a coherent fraction in charged-pion emission of 23%±8%.

The activation method is a widely used technique to measure charged-particle induced cross sections for astrophys-ical applications. This two step technique is used for example to measure alpha-induced cross sections in γ-process related studies. The first step – in which a target is irradiated with a proton/alpha beam – is followed by the determination of the produced activity. Especially in p-process related studies in the heavier mass range, the produced radioactive nuclei decays mainly with electron-capture, resulting intense x-rays. The activity of the reaction products hence can be determine via the counting of these x-rays, and not only by counting the usually much weaker γ-rays. In this paper we compare the minimum detectable activity (MDA) of two High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors used for x- and γ-ray counting in activation experiments.

In this study the chemical nature of the bulk of water soluble organic compounds in fine atmospheric aerosol collected during summer 1998 at the Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (3580 m asl) is characterised. The mass concentration of water soluble organic substances was similar to those of major inorganic ions, and the water soluble organic matter was found to be composed of two main fractions: (i) highly polyconjugated, acidic compounds with a varying degree of hydrophobicity and (ii) slightly polyconjugated, neutral and very hydrophilic compounds. The contribution of both fractions to the total water soluble organic carbon was about 50%. Separation into individual components was impossible either by HPLC or capillary electrophoresis which indicates the presence of a high number of chemically similar but not identical species. Results obtained by ultrafiltration and HPLC-MS have shown that the molecular weights are of the order of several hundreds. Most of the protonation constants for the acidic compounds determined by capillary electrophoresis were in the range 104–107.

In this paper the results of a systematic liquid chromatographic investigation are described to characterise water-soluble organic compounds in fog. A diode array detector is used to record the UV spectrum of the components during separation and a mass spectrometer is applied to obtain information on the ion masses of the constituents. The combination of UV and mass spectra reveal that the organic carbon content of fog water is distributed among a great number of acidic compounds which have polar functional groups and polyconjugated systems absorbing up to 500 nm. Due to the complexity of the organic fraction in fog water an unresolved hump of ions was recorded by the mass spectrometer from m/z=100–600 the most intense peaks being detected around m/z=200–250. Tannin and fulvic acid were also examined under the same conditions. In terms of complexity and ion distribution the mass spectrum of the organic fraction was similar to that of a fulvic acid reference material rather than to that of tannin.

Isolated aquatic humic and fulvic acids were analysed with on-line size exclusion chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (SEC/ESI-MS). An eluent composition which enabled electrospray ionisation was identified. The SEC separation improved interpretability of mass spectra and may open up new possibilities for molecular weight determination of humic substances. A linear dose-response relationship over a factor of 20 was obtained and the limit of detection was 50ng/uL for humic and fulvic acids. Spectral changes due to different ionisation conditions (pH and cone voltage) were investigated. A natural water sample from a Swedish lake was analysed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In capillary electrophoresis, electrokinetic injection is a highly controversial sampling technique. It is a simple mode of sample introduction which is suitable for on-line preconcentration of the analytes, but its precision and accuracy are more strongly affected by experimental conditions compared to hydrodynamic injection. In the first part of this paper the features of electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injections are compared, followed by a detailed discussion on the different biases of electrokinetic injection and on how to reduce them. Finally, applications of the electrokinetic injection are reviewed with special emphasis on the analysis of inorganic compounds.

The size distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aerosol samples collected with a Berner-type nine-stage cascade impactor was determined. Most of the PAHs were found on aerosol particles having aerodynamic diameter between 0.125 and 2 μm. Relationship between meteorological parameters and the size distribution of PAHs as well as the total PAH content of aerosol samples was investigated. Both the overall mass median diameter (MMD) and the total concentration of PAHs increased with decreasing ambient temperature.

In this paper capillary electrophoresis was applied for the analysis of inorganic cations and simultaneous investigation of inorganic anions and organic acids in atmospheric aerosol samples. Each method was developed for the characteristic matrix composition of atmospheric aerosol. Optimization of the composition of the background electrolytes, comparison of constant voltage and constant current separation modes, selection of the best detection wavelengths and investigation of the matrix effect of inorganic anions on the separation of organic acids were carried out. Simultaneous determination of inorganic anions and organic acids was achieved by using chromate as UV absorbing carrier ion in the running buffer. Reliability of the analysis of anions in the extracts of wide concentration range was improved by using constant current separation mode. Precision of the methods for migration time and peak area was found to be better than 0.5% and 2%, respectively. The results obtained by the analytical methods yield useful data for atmospheric physics and chemistry.

The results of the determination of different organic pollutants [organic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), n -alkanes, volatile hydrocarbons] in aerosols, precipitation, atmosphere, and sediment samples collected at Lake Balaton are presented. Different chromatographic methods were used: capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) for organic acids, GC–MS for n -alkanes, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and HPLC for PAHs and thermal desorption–GC for BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m - and p -xylene) compounds. For the determination of the size distribution of organic compounds aerosol was collected by an 8-stage Berner-type low-pressure impactor. Low-molecular mass organic acids were extracted in water in an ultrasonic bath and analysed by CZE. n -Alkanes were extracted by n -hexane, cleaned up on a silica cartridge and analysed by GC–MS. For analysis of PAHs in aerosols, samples were extracted in dichloromethane and acetone, cleaned on a Sep-Pak C 1 8 cartridge and analysed by HPLC–fluorescence detection. Enrichment of PAHs of the precipitation samples was accomplished by SPE on a C 1 8 cartridge. PAHs were eluted with dichloromethane and analysed by HPLC–fluorescence detection. The detection limit was −1 for several PAHs. Well dried and sieved (500-μm sieve) sediment samples were extracted with dichloromethane and acetone. The extracts were cleaned and analysed by HPLC–fluorescence detection. Fourteen PAHs were determined and fluoranthene was found to have the highest concentration at 24 μg kg −1 . BTEX compounds were collected by diffusive sampling on Carbopack adsorbent. Samples were analysed by a GC–thermal desorber method and one magnitude higher concentration of volatile compounds was found among the different locations.

The case study in 16 km2 around the Municipality of Bózsva surveyed attitudes and mapped an area that had been flooded. Further mapping, to plan a potential cycle route, revealed issues with bureaucracy and a need for training in the use of digital technology.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on Sep-Pak C 18 cartridges was studied. Eight 3–6-ring compounds from the 16 EPA priority pollutants were selected for investigation. Factors affecting the recovery of PAHs such as conditioning of the SPE cartridge, addition of organic modifier to the sample, flow-rate of the sample loaded on the cartridge, concentration of PAHs in the sample, drying after sample loading, elution of the analytes from the SPE cartridge with different organic solvents and recovery from spiked rainwater were included. Conditioning time was shortened by omitting the application of a 2-propanol-water mixture. The presence of 25% (v/v) 2-propanol was most appropriate for the enrichment of 3–6-ring aromatic compounds on Sep-Pak C 18 . The flow-rate of the sample influenced the efficiency of sample preparation of compounds with a retention volume close to the sample volume. Recoveries did not change significantly in the 20–2200 ng/l concentration range. Drying of the SPE cartridge after sample loading improved recoveries of all PAHs. Elution with dichloromethane and tetrahydrofuran gave the highest recoveries. The detection limit was found to be less than 1 ng/l for several PAHs. The concentrations of PAHs in rainwater were between 3 and 1000 ng/l.

In this paper a simple experimental method for the rapid determination of capacity factors of phenolic compounds on off-line solid-phase extraction cartridges is described. A model solution of the analytes is brought into equilibrium with the SPE cartridge by recycling in a closed loop. The capacity factors are calculated from the adsorbed amounts which can be determined by a chromotographic method. The method is shown to give comparable results with those of the breakthrough experiments. The simplicity of the experimental methods of the well as the low cost and unattended operation offer a viable alternative to the conventional methods of the determination of capacity factors on SPE cartridges. Practical limitations of the proposed method are also considered.

Recently, a simple method was developed for the determination of capacity factors of phenolic compounds on solid-phase extraction cartridges [ J. Chromatogr. A , 693 (1995) 217]. In the present paper the capacity factors determined by this method are used to predict recoveries of phenolic compounds in solid-phase extraction at three different sample volumes. The values are compared with those of recovery tests from both model solutions and spiked surface water samples. Based on calibration data the minimum sample concentrations which can be determined by the SPE procedure are also calculated from the capacity factors.

Ecotoxicity of four Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii strains (ACT 9502, ACT 9503, ACT 9504, ACT 9505) isolated from Lake Balaton (Hungary) was evaluated in four aquatic bioassays including the Thamnocephalus platyurus acute lethality test; Daphnia magna acute immobilization assay; D. magna feeding inhibition assay and Danio rerio embryo developmental toxicity assay, assisted by chemical screening for known toxins by HPLC-MS. For reference, we analyzed in parallel the toxin content and toxic effects of two previously characterized toxin-producing strains: the Australian cylindrospermopsin producer AQS C. raciborskii and the anatoxins producer Oscillatoria sp. PCC 6506. Bioassays were used to evaluate the overall toxicity of the hydrophilic bioactive metabolites pool synthesized by the selected cyanobacteria. Chemical screening has proven that the ACT C. raciborskii extracts investigated did not contained cylindrospermopsins and anatoxins. The relative toxicity of the ACT C. raciborskii aqueous extracts observed in each bioassay was comparable to the effects recorded for the anatoxins producer PCC 6506 strain while toxicity values (EC50/LC50) calculated for the AQS extract were in general one order of magnitude lower. Concerning sublethal effects of ACT C. raciborskii extracts to the D. rerio embryogenesis, the general morphological abnormality observed was a significant retardation of development. Overall, our results suggest that C. raciborskii populating Lake Balaton produce metabolites with significant bioactive potencies. Therefore, continued investigation of these unknown compounds is required.

Atmospheric aerosol samples from a boreal forest (Hyytiala, April 2007), a rural site in Hungary (K-puszta, summer 2008), a polluted rural area in Italy (San Pietro Capofiume, Po Valley, April 2008), a moderately polluted rural site in Germany located on a meadow (Melpitz, May 2008), a natural park in Spain (Montseny, March 2009) and two urban background locations (Zurich, December 2008, and Barcelona, February/March 2009) were collected. Aliphatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbonyls, sterols, n-alkanols, acids, phenolic compounds and anhydrosugars in aerosols were chemically characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, along with source attribution based on the carbon preference index (CPI), the rations between the unresolved and the chromatographically resolved aliphatics, the contribution of wax n-alkanes, n-alkanols and n-alkanoic acids from plants, diagnostic ratios of individual target compounds and source-specific markers to organic carbon ratios. In spite of transboundary pollution episodes, Hyytiala registered the lowest levels among all locations. CPI values close to 1 for the aliphatic fraction of the Montseny aerosol suggest that the anthropogenic input may be associated with the transport of aged air masses from the surrounding industrial/urban areas, which superimpose the locally originated hydrocarbons with biogenic origin. Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in samples from San Pietro Capofiume reveal that fossil fuel combustion is a major source influencing the diel pattern of concentrations. This source contributed to 25-45% of the ambient organic carbon (OC) at the Po Valley site. Aerosols from the German meadow presented variable contributions from both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. The highest levels of vegetation wax components and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) products were observed at K-puszta, while anthropogenic SOA compounds predominated in Barcelona. The primary vehicular emissions in the Spanish city accounted for around 25-30% of the OC in aerosols. Besides the traffic input (10% of OC), residential wood burning was found to be another dominant emission source contributing to the atmospheric aerosol (up to 38% of OC) at the Swiss urban location. It was estimated that around 10% of the OC mass in the urban sites originates from cooking emissions. Aerosols from the urban area of Zurich presented a much higher PAH content, and benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentrations sometimes exceeding the mandatory limit. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two years of harmonized aerosol number size distribution data from 24 European field monitoring sites have been analysed. The results give a comprehensive overview of the European near surface aerosol particle number concentrations and number size distributions between 30 and 500 nm of dry particle diameter. Spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols in the particle sizes most important for climate applications are presented. We also analyse the annual, weekly and diurnal cycles of the aerosol number concentrations, provide log-normal fitting parameters for median number size distributions, and give guidance notes for data users. Emphasis is placed on the usability of results within the aerosol modelling community. We also show that the aerosol number concentrations of Aitken and accumulation mode particles (with 100 nm dry diameter as a cut-off between modes) are related, although there is significant variation in the ratios of the modal number concentrations. Different aerosol and station types are distinguished from this data and this methodology has potential for further categorization of stations aerosol number size distribution types. The European submicron aerosol was divided into characteristic types: Central European aerosol, characterized by single mode median size distributions, unimodal number concentration histograms and low variability in CCN-sized aerosol number concentrations; Nordic aerosol with low number concentrations, although showing pronounced seasonal variation of especially Aitken mode particles; Mountain sites (altitude over 1000 m a.s.l.) with a strong seasonal cycle in aerosol number concentrations, high variability, and very low median number concentrations. Southern and Western European regions had fewer stations, which decreases the regional coverage of these results. Aerosol number concentrations over the Britain and Ireland had very high variance and there are indications of mixed air masses from several source regions; the Mediterranean aerosol exhibit high seasonality, and a strong accumulation mode in the summer. The greatest concentrations were observed at the Ispra station in Northern Italy with high accumulation mode number concentrations in the winter. The aerosol number concentrations at the Arctic station Zeppelin in Ny-AA lesund in Svalbard have also a strong seasonal cycle, with greater concentrations of accumulation mode particles in winter, and dominating summer Aitken mode indicating more recently formed particles. Observed particles did not show any statistically significant regional work-week or weekday related variation in number concentrations studied. Analysis products are made for open-access to the research community, available in a freely accessible internet site. The results give to the modelling community a reliable, easy-to-use and freely available comparison dataset of aerosol size distributions.

In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes fron nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. These achievements and related studies have substantially improved our understanding and reduced the uncertainties of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies. Main part of the work in this paper has been funded with FP6 project EUCAARI (Contract 34684). This work was performed in the framework of the Research Infrastructure Action under the FP6 “Structuring the European Research Area” Programme, EUSAAR Contract No. RII3-CT-2006-026140. The financial support by the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence program (project No. 1118615) is gratefully acknowledged. CNRS and Métófrance partners acknowledge the financial support of Agence Nationale de la Recherche under the AEROCLOUDS proposal. This research has received funding from ERC Advanced Grant ATMNUCLE No. 227463. published

Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii is becoming a major concern among cyanobacteria, due to its potential ability to produce toxic metabolites. We assessed the cytotoxic potential of four C. raciborskii strains (ACT 9502, ACT 9503, ACT 9504 and ACT 9505) isolated from Lake Balaton (Hungary), by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage measurements and by detecting morphological alterations in CHO-K1 (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cells. The Australian AQS (cylindrospermopsin producer) strain of C. raciborskii and purified cylindrospermopsin (CYN) were used as positive references in both the biochemical and morphological studies. Chemical analysis for known cyanotoxins was performed on aqueous extracts of ACT and AQS strains by the HPLC-MS technique. Comparing threshold values of LDH leakage data, different toxic potentials of cyanobacterial extracts are suggested in short term (3 h) and long (24 h) exposure regimes. In the acute (3 h) experiments the aqueous extract of the ACT 9505 strain proved to be most toxic (EC(50) = 7.4 mg mL(-1)), while after 24 h the ACT 9504 extract was the most effective (EC(50) = 0.65 mg mL(-1)). The extract of the AQS strain and the purified CYN exerted most of their toxic effects after 3 h exposure (EC(50) = 0.74 mg mL(-1), and 0.9 μg mL(-1) respectively). The morphological changes of CHO-K1 cells induced by the crude extracts of the ACT strains included fragmentation of the actin filaments then relocation of the depolymerized actin to the perinuclear region, resulting cell rounding and loss of adhesion. Exposure of CHO-K1 cells to the crude extract of the AQS strain, moreover, resulted cell shrinking and formation of filopodia, i.e. distinctly different cytological alterations from that induced by the ACT extracts and the purified CYN. Chemical analysis of the cyanobacterial crude extracts confirmed the presence of cylindrospermopsin in the extract of the AQS strain (8.5 mg CYN g(-1) dry weight), and none of the presently known cyanotoxins have been analytically confirmed in the extracts of the ACT strains isolated from the Lake Balaton. Although a significant toxicity of all four ACT C. raciborskii strains is confirmed by both biochemical and morphological studies, our results also pointed out the necessity of further studies to identify the toxic, but still unknown metabolic components produced by these cyanobacterial members of the phytoplankton communities.

18 páginas, 8 figuras, 1 tabla., We present results from the international field campaign DAURE (Determination of the sources of atmospheric Aerosols in Urban and Rural Environments in the Western Mediterranean), with the objective of apportioning the sources of fine carbonaceous aerosols. Submicron fine particulate matter (PM1) samples were collected during February–March 2009 and July 2009 at an urban background site in Barcelona (BCN) and at a forested regional background site in Montseny (MSY). We present radiocarbon ( 14 C) analysis for elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC) and source apportionment for these data. We combine the results with those from component analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements, and compare to levoglucosan-based estimates of biomass burning OC, source apportionment of filter data with inorganic composition + EC + OC, submicron bulk potassium (K) concentrations, and gaseous acetonitrile concentrations. At BCN, 87 % and 91 % of the EC on average, in winter and summer, respectively, had a fossil origin, whereas at MSY these fractions were 66 % and 79 %. The contribution of fossil sources to organic carbon (OC) at BCN was 40 % and 48 %, in winter and summer, respectively, and 31 % and 25 % at MSY. The combination of results obtained using the 14 C technique, AMS data, and the correlations between fossil OC and fossil EC imply that the fossil OC at Barcelona is ∼47 % primary whereas at MSY the fossil OC is mainly secondary (∼85 %). Day-to-day variation in total carbonaceous aerosol loading and the relative contributions of different sources predominantly depended on the meteorological transport conditions. The estimated biogenic secondary OC at MSY only increased by ∼40 % compared to the order-of-magnitude increase observed for biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between winter and summer, which highlights the uncertainties in the estimation of that component. Biomass burning contributions estimated using the 14 C technique ranged from similar to slightly higher than when estimated using other techniques, and the different estimations were highly or moderately correlated. Differences can be explained by the contribution of secondary organic matter (not included in the primary biomass burning source estimates), and/or by an overestimation of the biomass burning OC contribution by the 14 C technique if the estimated biomass burning EC/OC ratio used for the calculations is too high for this region. Acetonitrile concentrations correlate well with the biomass burning EC determined by 14 C. K is a noisy tracer for biomass burning., This work was supported by the Accion´ Complementaria DAURE CGL2007-30502-E/CLI, the GRACCIE project CSD2007-00067, the VAMOS project CGL2010- 19464/CLI, and the Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge of the Generalitat de Catalunya. This work was also supported by the EU FP6 project EUCAARI and the IMBALANCE project within the Centre of Competence for Environment and Sustainability (CCES). M. C. Minguillon was partially supported by a Postdoc- ´ toral Grant in the frame of Programa Nacional de Movilidad de Recursos Humanos del Plan nacional de I-D+I 2008–2011 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. D. A. Day, A. M. Ortega, and J. L. Jimenez were partially supported by US NSF grants ATM-0920940 and ATM-0919189 (from Atm. Chem. and OISE – Office of International Science and Engineering), and by NOAA grant NA08OAR4310565. A. M. Ortega was supported by DOE SCGF (ARRA/ORISE/ORAU) Fellowship DE-AC05-06OR23100. J. Penuelas and R. Seco were supported by the Spanish Govern- ˜ ment projects CGL2010-17172 and Consolider Ingenio Montes CSD2008-00040, and by a postdoctoral grant from Fundacion´ Ramon Areces to R. Seco. The National Center for Atmospheric ´ Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation