Bioimaging mass spectrometric techniques allow direct mapping of metal and biomolecule distributions with high spatial resolution in biological tissue. In this study laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) was used for imaging of transition metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Ti), alkali and alkaline-earth metals (Na, K, Mg, and Ca, respectively), and selected nonmetals (such as C, P, and S) in native cryosections of mouse heart. The metal and nonmetal images clearly illustrated the shape and the anatomy of the samples. Zinc and copper were inhomogeneously distributed with average concentrations of 26 and 11 μg g(-1), respectively. Titanium and manganese were detected at concentrations reaching 1 and 2 μg g(-1), respectively. The highest regional metal concentration of 360 μg g(-1)was observed for iron in blood present in the lumen of the aorta. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) as an elemental and biomolecular mass spectrometric technique was employed for imaging of Na, K, and selected biomolecules (e.g., phosphocholine, choline, cholesterol) in adjacent sections. Here, two different bioimaging techniques, LA-ICPMS and SIMS, were combined for the first time, yielding novel information on both elemental and biomolecular distributions.
Motivated by the previously reported high orbital decay rate of the planet WASP-43b, eight newly transit light curves are obtained and presented. Together with other data in literature, we perform a self-consistent timing analysis with data covering a timescale of 1849 epochs. The results give an orbital decay rate dP/dt = −0.02890795 ± 0.00772547 sec/year, which is one order smaller than previous values. This slow decay rate corresponds to a normally assumed theoretical value of stellar tidal dissipation factor. In addition, through the frequency analysis, the transit timing variations presented here are unlikely to be periodic, but could be signals of a slow orbital decay.
Fireworks displays are among the most important events during Taiwan's annual Lantern Festival, although thus practice leads to metal and non-metal pollution in the air. In this study, we investigated the levels of 16 elements-Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Sr, Ba, and Pb-during the fireworks festival in Yanshui, Tainan, Taiwan, and the chemical compositions and mass concentration distributions of these elements collected from the sampling site are reported. The airborne particles were mainly in the sub-micrometer regime, with coarse size ranges. The concentrations of most of the elements of interest in this study were higher in the post-fireworks display period than prior to it. Studies of respiratory epithelial cell death revealed that the levels of the elements collected in the sub-micrometer size range were more than two times lower than those in the micrometer size range in the post-fireworks display period, but the viability was 65.7% for the former compared with 73.3% for the latter. Accordingly, the toxicity of the sub-micrometer particles was greater than that of the micrometer-sized particles. We conclude that the burning of fireworks during the festival was the main source of the trace metals, and contributed significantly to the increase in airborne particulate matter.
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