PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Giving oxygen to the question of air quality

Giving oxygen to the question of air quality
2021-02-18
(Press-News.org) The simplest of organic molecules have a much more complex relationship with oxygen than previously thought. Researchers from KAUST and their international collaborators have shown that alkanes participate extensively in autoxidation reactions with oxygen molecules1. The discovery, which overturns current chemical wisdom, has implications for air quality prediction and efficient fuel combustion in engines.

Autoxidation is a chemical process in which oxygen molecules rapidly and sequentially add to organic molecules in a radical chain reaction. The process is critical for the timing of fuel combustion in engines and is a key step in the atmospheric conversion of volatile organic molecules into particulate matter.

"Conventional knowledge suggests atmospheric autoxidation requires precursor molecules with features such as double bonds or oxygen-containing moieties," says Zhandong Wang, now a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, formerly a research scientist with Mani Sarathy at KAUST. Alkanes -- the primary component of combustion engine fuels and an important class of urban trace gases -- do not have these structural features. "Alkanes were thought to have only minor susceptibility to extensive autoxidation," Wang says.

To overturn this assumption, Sarathy, Wang and colleagues showed that alkanes do undergo extensive autoxidation under the hot high-pressure conditions of combustion2. The team then set out to explore the possibility that alkane autoxidation also occurs under atmospheric conditions.

"In 2016, we collaborated with University of Helsinki researchers to win a KAUST Competitive Research Grant," says Wang. "That was the beginning of this work."

The team used a state-of-the-art analytical technique, called chemical ionization atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometry, to detect products of atmospheric alkane autoxidation. "Strikingly, the yield of highly oxygenated organic molecules containing six or more oxygen atoms was much higher than expected," Wang says.

Under combustion conditions, the team also observed alkanes that had undergone up to five sequential O2 additions, significantly higher than the three additions they observed previously.

"These findings enrich our understanding of autoxidation processes and will allow us to better perform predictive simulations of combustion engines and atmospheric processes that impact air quality and climate," Sarathy says.

"We are now working with the department of Health, Safety and Environment in KAUST to better understand atmospheric chemical processes using real-world measurements." he adds. "Using data acquired at the KAUST-based monitoring station, we are attempting to unravel complex atmospheric chemical processes in the western region of Saudi Arabia."

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Giving oxygen to the question of air quality

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Increasing temperatures will hit meat and milk production in East Africa

Increasing temperatures will hit meat and milk production in East Africa
2021-02-18
New research published in Nature Food warns that heat stress in animals caused by rising temperatures and humidity will occur more frequently and for longer periods, impacting milk and meat productivity for dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry across East Africa. Analysis of historical data from 1981-2010 shows that livestock have already been progressively subjected to heat stress conditions. According to projections, this is set to worsen significantly, with severe implications for livestock unable to cope with the extra heat. Authors warn that 4-19% of current meat and milk production occurs in areas where dangerous heat stress conditions are likely to increase in frequency from 2071-2100. If climate conditions ...

Gut microbiome implicated in healthy aging and longevity

2021-02-18
The gut microbiome is an integral component of the body, but its importance in the human aging process is unclear. ISB researchers and their collaborators have identified distinct signatures in the gut microbiome that are associated with either healthy or unhealthy aging trajectories, which in turn predict survival in a population of older individuals. The work is set to be published in the journal Nature Metabolism. (Once the embargo lifts, you can access the paper here.) The research team analyzed gut microbiome, phenotypic and clinical data from over 9,000 people - between the ages of 18 and 101 years old - across three independent cohorts. The team focused, ...

UNEP synthesis of scientific assessments provides blueprint to secure humanity's future

UNEP synthesis of scientific assessments provides blueprint to secure humanitys future
2021-02-18
Shifting world views and putting nature at the heart of decision-making is key to achieving transformative change COVID-19 recovery plans are an unmissable opportunity to invest in nature and reach net zero emissions by 2050 The world can transform its relationship with nature and tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises together to secure a sustainable future and prevent future pandemics, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that offers a comprehensive blueprint for addressing our triple planetary emergency. The report, ...

Store fat or burn it? Targeting a single protein flips the switch

2021-02-18
As obesity becomes a growing issue worldwide - nearly tripling over the last-half century - scientists are trying to gain a better understanding of the condition at the molecular level. Now, new research led by UC San Francisco scientists suggests that a single protein could play an outsize role in weight gain. As reported in Nature Metabolism on February 18, 2021, UCSF's Davide Ruggero, PhD, and colleagues found that mice in which activity of a protein called eIF4E is diminished, either genetically or pharmaceutically, gain only half the weight of other mice, even if all the mice eat a high-fat diet. "These mice ...

PTSD in patients after severe COVID-19 infection

2021-02-18
What The Study Did: Characteristics associated with posttraumatic stress disorder in patients after severe COVID-19 were analyzed in this observational study. Authors: Delfina Janiri, M.D., of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome, Italy, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0109) Editor's Note:  The article includes conflict of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. INFORMATION: Media ...

Exposure to spoken communication in children with cochlear implants during COVID-19 lockdown

2021-02-18
What The Study Did: This study examined how lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the spoken communication environments of children with cochlear implants by comparing the sounds they were exposed to before and during the resulting closures of schools and nonessential businesses. Authors: Karen A. Gordon, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2020.5496) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest ...

3-dimensionally printed nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 testing

2021-02-18
What The Study Did: This is a diagnostic study that examines the accuracy and acceptability of a 3-dimensionally printed swab for identifying SARS-CoV-2. Authors: David M. Allen, M.D., of the National University of Singapore, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2020.5680) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media ...

COVID-19: Over 20.5 million years of life may have been lost due to COVID-19

2021-02-18
Over 20.5 million years of life may have been lost due to COVID-19 globally, with an average of 16 years lost per death, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Years of life lost (YLL) - the difference between an individual's age at death and their life expectancy - due to COVID-19 in heavily affected countries may be two to nine times higher than YLL due to average seasonal influenza. Héctor Pifarré i Arolas, Mikko Mÿrskyla and colleagues estimated YLL due to COVID-19 using data on over 1,279,866 deaths in 81 countries, as well as life ...

Scientists identify over 140,000 virus species in the human gut

2021-02-18
Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before. The paper, published today (18 February 2021) in Cell, contains an analysis of over 28,000 gut microbiome samples collected in different parts of the world. The number and diversity of the viruses the researchers found was surprisingly high, and the data opens up new research avenues for understanding how viruses living in the gut affect human health. The human gut is an incredibly biodiverse environment. In addition to bacteria, hundreds of thousands of viruses ...

Hospital hygiene: A closer look reveals realistic frequency of infection

Hospital hygiene: A closer look reveals realistic frequency of infection
2021-02-18
The incidence of surgical site infections after an operation is an important quality indicator for hospitals. An overview from six European countries published in 2017 documented increased costs and, in some cases, significantly poorer surgical outcomes due to SSIs. The European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) and authorities in the U.S. have therefore defined criteria for recording and documenting the rate of surgical site infections per procedure. Swissnoso has issued binding guidelines for Switzerland based on these criteria. The study investigated to what extent surgical site ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe makes history with closest pass to Sun

Are we ready for the ethical challenges of AI and robots?

Nanotechnology: Light enables an "impossibile" molecular fit

Estimated vaccine effectiveness for pediatric patients with severe influenza

Changes to the US preventive services task force screening guidelines and incidence of breast cancer

Urgent action needed to protect the Parma wallaby

Societal inequality linked to reduced brain health in aging and dementia

Singles differ in personality traits and life satisfaction compared to partnered people

President Biden signs bipartisan HEARTS Act into law

Advanced DNA storage: Cheng Zhang and Long Qian’s team introduce epi-bit method in Nature

New hope for male infertility: PKU researchers discover key mechanism in Klinefelter syndrome

Room-temperature non-volatile optical manipulation of polar order in a charge density wave

Coupled decline in ocean pH and carbonate saturation during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

Unlocking the Future of Superconductors in non-van-der Waals 2D Polymers

Starlight to sight: Breakthrough in short-wave infrared detection

Land use changes and China’s carbon sequestration potential

PKU scientists reveals phenological divergence between plants and animals under climate change

Aerobic exercise and weight loss in adults

Persistent short sleep duration from pregnancy to 2 to 7 years after delivery and metabolic health

Kidney function decline after COVID-19 infection

Investigation uncovers poor quality of dental coverage under Medicare Advantage

Cooking sulfur-containing vegetables can promote the formation of trans-fatty acids

How do monkeys recognize snakes so fast?

Revolutionizing stent surgery for cardiovascular diseases with laser patterning technology

Fish-friendly dentistry: New method makes oral research non-lethal

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

[Press-News.org] Giving oxygen to the question of air quality