Evaluation of formaldehyde and VOCs emission factors from paints in a small chamber: the effects of preconditioning time and coating weight.

The aims of this study were to improve the emission test method for the 20 L small chamber standardized in Korea using paints and to develop an optical test method for paints. The emission factors of the total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and formaldehyde from oil-based paints, emulsion paints and water-dispersion paints coated at 300 g/m(2) and cured for 24 (48)h were determined using the 20 L small chamber method. The emission factors of TVOC and formaldehyde from all paints under steady state conditions were determined after 7 days with 24 (48)h of curing. The Korean standards require that paints be measured and analyzed on the third day after a test. However, the emission factors of TVOC and formaldehyde from the paints only began to stabilize 7 days after installing the samples. Until now, the emission test results have been reported mainly as concentration vs. time or emission factor vs. time profiles of TVOC and formaldehyde. The emission factors of the target volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aldehyde types were obtained under specific test conditions according to the different coating weights. For all target volatile organic compounds and aldehyde types examined, the paint coating weight had an effect on emission.

The impact of plants on the reduction of volatile organic compounds in a small space.

This study aims at examining the reduction of indoor air contaminants by plants placed in an indoor space. Field measurements were performed using Aglaonema brevispathum, Pachira aquatica, and Ficus benjamiana, which were verified as air-purifying plants by NASA. Three conditions for the amount of plants and positions were used in two separate rooms whose dimensions are identical. The concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) was monitored three hours after the plants were placed and three days after the plants were placed. The variations of concentration of Benzene, Toluene, Etylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX), as well as Formaldehyde, which are all known as the major elements of Volatile Organic Compounds were monitored. The amount of reduction in concentration of Toluene and Formaldehyde was monitored 3 hours and 3 days after the plants were placed in the space. The reduction in the concentration of Benzene, Toluene, Etylbenzene, Xylene, and Formaldehyde was significantly greater when plants were present. When plants were placed near a window, the reduction of concentration was greater. The more plants were used, the more a reduction of indoor air contaminants occurred. The effect of reducing the concentration of air contaminants increased when the amount of plants increased, and when the plants were placed in sunny area. The concentration of Toluene was reduced by 45.6 microg/m(3) when 10% of the model space was occupied by Aglaonema brevispathum.

Genetic diversity and mating system of the threatened plant Kirengeshoma palmata (Saxifragaceae) in Korea.

The endangered herb Kirengeshoma palmata, from eastern Asia, has had its population severely reduced in number through habitat loss and fragmentation. All of the individuals within five subgroups at Mt. Baek-un-san, in the southern part of Korea, were genetically surveyed by allozyme analysis. Genetic diversity levels within subgroups were relatively high, and a consistently high outcrossing rate as well as a negligible biparental mating rate were confirmed by this study. Several groups of visibly connected ramets were observed in a clustered distribution which suggested cloning. Absence of mating partner rather than pollinators decreased seed production in small mating groups. The present genetic structure of the five subgroups was probably the result of local extinction of intervening populations. Because K. palmata may be a self-incompatible species, populations with few genets face lowered seed set due to mate scarcity. Thus, this type of population may be at an increased risk of extinction as a result of inbreeding depression, loss of genetic variability, and reduced sexual reproduction. The small, genetically depauperate subgroups may need an input of seeds or plants from other populations in China or Japan in order to regenerate, but the possibility of outcrossing depression leads us to recommend outbreeding among the local subgroups of Mt. Baek-un-san to restore genetic variability.

Furin is an endogenous regulator of alpha-secretase associated APP processing.

Constitutive and PKC-regulated alpha-secretase pathways have been reported to produce the secreted form of alpha-secretase-derived APP (sAPPalpha). Here, we examined putative role of furin in the regulation of alpha-secretase activity in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of the prodomain of furin and infection with a furin-specific inhibitor significantly reduced the levels of sAPPalpha regardless of PKC activity, whereas total APP levels remained unchanged. Furin mRNA levels in the brains of AD patients and Tg2576 mice were significantly lower than those in controls, whereas ADAM10 and TACE mRNA levels were much alike between Tg2576 and littermate mice. Moreover, the injection of furin-adenovirus into Tg2576 mouse brains markedly increased alpha-secretase activity and reduced beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) production in infected brain regions. Our results suggest that furin enhances alpha-secretase activity via the cleavage of ADAM10 and TACE, and that attenuated furin activity is connected to the production of Abeta.