PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P A Tanner

Publications and source records attributed to P A Tanner.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

2-year study of chemical composition of bulk deposition in a south China coastal city: comparison with east Asian cities.

Using the emission strengths of the precursor gases, the nature of soil in China, the ventilation power and half value rainout region length, the nss-SO42-, NO3-, Ca2+, and NH4+ concentrations, and pH of rainwater at Hong Kong and other cities of China and Japan are compared and rationalized. The chemical composition of Hong Kong bulk deposition from 1998 to 2000 is taken from our collection and analysis of 156 daily samples. The volume-weighted average (VWA) pH is 4.2 over the whole study period. Nonsea salt- (nss-) sulfate is the most abundant species in the samples, and the pH mostly depended upon the concentrations of the major species nss-SO42, NO3-, Ca2+, and NH4+. All species concentrations show higher levels in the cold season (especially NO3- and Ca2+), which indicates the dominant dilution effects in the warm season due to heavy rainfall and the influence of the continental outflow of pollutants during the cold season. For Hong Kong bulk deposition, the VWA pH is slightly lower in the cold season, and there is a slight decrease in VWA pH over the period from 1994 to 2000. The impact of acid rain in Hong Kong is briefly discussed.

Air Pollutants↗

Alterations in extracellular substances during the biofilm development of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on aluminum plates.

The chemical moieties during biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on aluminium plates were examined for a period of 17 days. The effect of fluid shearing upon biofilm formation has also been investigated. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum of the biofilm taken on the fifth day showed significant differences compared with the spectrum of the unattached bacterial cells, indicating that structural changes or modifications of the cell envelope had taken place during the development of the biofilm. Major changes were also observed in the spectrum during the subsequent development of the biofilm from day 5 to day 17. The increasing intensity of a band corresponding to the symmetric stretching mode of the carboxyl group indicated interactions between the carboxyl group and the aluminium surface. Increased bacterial colonization was also observed at the air-water interface of the aluminium plates when compared with the middle and the bottom parts. Changes in FTIR spectra of the biofilm at the bottom, at the middle, and at the air-water interface suggest that the mechanisms of bacterial attachment differed by a -COO(-) interaction at the air-water interface, and by both -COO(-) and NH3(+) groups beneath the water surface.

Air↗