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Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is proposed as a means of reducing global warming and climate change impacts. Similar to aerosol enhancements produced by volcanic eruptions, introducing particles into the stratosphere would reflect sunlight and reduce the level of warming. However, uncertainties remain about the roles of nucleation mechanisms, ionized molecules, impurities (unevaporated residuals of injected precursors), and ambient conditions in the generation of SAI particles optimally sized to reflect sunlight. Here, we use a kinetic ion-mediated and homogeneous nucleation model to study the formation of H2SO4 particles in aircraft exhaust plumes with direct injection of H2SO4 vapor. We find that under the conditions that produce particles of desired sizes (diameter â¼200-300 nm), nucleation occurs in the nascent (t < 0.01 s), hot (T = 360-445 K), and dry (RH = 0.01-0.1%) plume and is predominantly unary. Nucleation on chemiions occurs first, followed by neutral new particle formation, which converts most of the injected H2SO4 vapor to particles. Coagulation in the aging and diluting plumes governs the subsequent evolution to a narrow (σg = 1.3) particle size distribution. Scavenging by exhaust soot is negligible, but scavenging by acid impurities or incomplete H2SO4 evaporation in the hot exhaust plume and enhanced background aerosols can matter. This research highlights the need to obtain laboratory and/or real-world experiment data to verify the model prediction.
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Aerosoles , Aeronaves , Tamaño de la Partícula , Emisiones de Vehículos , Atmósfera/química , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/químicaRESUMEN
Aviation-related aerosol emissions contribute to the formation of contrail cirrus clouds that can alter upper tropospheric radiation and water budgets, and therefore climate. The magnitude of air-traffic-related aerosol-cloud interactions and the ways in which these interactions might change in the future remain uncertain. Modelling studies of the present and future effects of aviation on climate require detailed information about the number of aerosol particles emitted per kilogram of fuel burned and the microphysical properties of those aerosols that are relevant for cloud formation. However, previous observational data at cruise altitudes are sparse for engines burning conventional fuels, and no data have previously been reported for biofuel use in-flight. Here we report observations from research aircraft that sampled the exhaust of engines onboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft as they burned conventional Jet A fuel and a 50:50 (by volume) blend of Jet A fuel and a biofuel derived from Camelina oil. We show that, compared to using conventional fuels, biofuel blending reduces particle number and mass emissions immediately behind the aircraft by 50 to 70 per cent. Our observations quantify the impact of biofuel blending on aerosol emissions at cruise conditions and provide key microphysical parameters, which will be useful to assess the potential of biofuel use in aviation as a viable strategy to mitigate climate change.
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Aeronaves/instrumentación , Biocombustibles/análisis , Material Particulado/análisis , Emisiones de Vehículos/análisis , Emisiones de Vehículos/prevención & control , Aerosoles/análisis , Aerosoles/química , Calentamiento Global/prevención & control , Efecto Invernadero/prevención & control , Material Particulado/químicaRESUMEN
The humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border is a long-standing and evolving crisis in which nearly 8,000 deaths have been reported in the last two decades. These deaths are largely distributed across the Arizona-Mexico and Texas-Mexico border regions, where demographic trends for immigrants attempting to cross into the United States have shifted dramatically. The demographic change and volume of immigrants seeking shelter in the United States present new challenges for the forensic practitioners entrusted with the identification of individuals who lose their lives during the final segment of their journey. Within this border context, this study investigated how genetic variation inferred from forensically significant microsatellites can provide valuable information on regions of origin for unidentified remains at the group level. To explore how to mobilize these genetic data to inform identification strategies, the authors conducted a comparative genetic analysis of identified and unidentified immigrant cases from the Arizona- and Texas-Mexico contexts, as well as 27 other Latin American groups. Allele frequencies were utilized to calculate FST, and relationships were visually depicted in a multidimensional scaling plot. A Spearman correlation coefficient analysis assessed the strength and significance of population relationships, and an agglomerative clustering analysis assessed population clusters. Results indicate that Arizona-Mexico immigrants have the strongest relationship (>80%) with groups from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and an indigenous group from southern Mexico. Texas-Mexico immigrants have the strongest relationships (>80%) with groups from Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. These findings agree with, and are discussed in comparison with, previously reported demographic trends, population genetics research, and population history analyses. The authors emphasize the utility and necessity of coupling genetic variation research with a nuanced anthropological perspective for identification processes in the US-Mexico border context.
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Emigrantes e Inmigrantes , Genética de Población , Hispánicos o Latinos , Arizona , Variación Genética , Hispánicos o Latinos/genética , Humanos , América Latina , México , Texas , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
The composition and prevalence of microorganisms in the middle-to-upper troposphere (8-15 km altitude) and their role in aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions represent important, unresolved questions for biological and atmospheric science. In particular, airborne microorganisms above the oceans remain essentially uncharacterized, as most work to date is restricted to samples taken near the Earth's surface. Here we report on the microbiome of low- and high-altitude air masses sampled onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration DC-8 platform during the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes campaign in the Caribbean Sea. The samples were collected in cloudy and cloud-free air masses before, during, and after two major tropical hurricanes, Earl and Karl. Quantitative PCR and microscopy revealed that viable bacterial cells represented on average around 20% of the total particles in the 0.25- to 1-µm diameter range and were at least an order of magnitude more abundant than fungal cells, suggesting that bacteria represent an important and underestimated fraction of micrometer-sized atmospheric aerosols. The samples from the two hurricanes were characterized by significantly different bacterial communities, revealing that hurricanes aerosolize a large amount of new cells. Nonetheless, 17 bacterial taxa, including taxa that are known to use C1-C4 carbon compounds present in the atmosphere, were found in all samples, indicating that these organisms possess traits that allow survival in the troposphere. The findings presented here suggest that the microbiome is a dynamic and underappreciated aspect of the upper troposphere with potentially important impacts on the hydrological cycle, clouds, and climate.
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Microbiología del Aire , Atmósfera , Biodiversidad , Tormentas Ciclónicas , Metagenoma/genética , Altitud , Análisis de Varianza , Región del Caribe , Filogeografía , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Especificidad de la EspecieRESUMEN
Cloud droplet formation depends on the condensation of water vapor on ambient aerosols, the rate of which is strongly affected by the kinetics of water uptake as expressed by the condensation (or mass accommodation) coefficient, αc. Estimates of αc for droplet growth from activation of ambient particles vary considerably and represent a critical source of uncertainty in estimates of global cloud droplet distributions and the aerosol indirect forcing of climate. We present an analysis of 10 globally relevant data sets of cloud condensation nuclei to constrain the value of αc for ambient aerosol. We find that rapid activation kinetics (αc > 0.1) is uniformly prevalent. This finding resolves a long-standing issue in cloud physics, as the uncertainty in water vapor accommodation on droplets is considerably less than previously thought.
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Genetic research has documented geographical variation within Mexico that corresponds to trends in ancestry admixture from postcolonial times on. The purpose of this study is to determine whether craniometric variation among contemporary Mexicans is comparable to that reported in genetic studies. Standard osteometric measurements were taken on 82 male crania derived from forensic cases, with geographic origins of the specimens spanning over two-thirds of Mexico's states. To study similarities in regional clustering patterns with genetic data, k-means clustering analyses were performed, followed by chi-square tests of association between cluster assignments and geographic region of origin. Normal mixtures analyses were performed, centered on three "ancestral" sample proxies to estimate classification probability to each ancestry. The results demonstrate that the cranial morphological sample data cluster similarly to the regional groupings inferred from the genetic data. Additionally, the results indicate a gradient trend in population structure for contemporary Mexicans, with the proportion of Amerindian ancestry increasing from North to South while, conversely, European ancestry proportion estimates increase from South to North. Furthermore, the probabilities for classification of African ancestry remained low across the regions, again reflecting the results for the genetic data. Cranial morphological variation is well aligned with the genetic data for describing broad trends among Mexican populations, as well as yielding comparable estimates of general ancestry affiliations that reflect Mexico's history of Spanish contact and colonialism.
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Demografía , Variación Genética , Indígenas Norteamericanos/genética , Cráneo/anatomía & histología , Población Blanca/genética , Análisis por Conglomerados , Genética de Población , Humanos , Masculino , México , Modelos GenéticosRESUMEN
Lubrication oil was identified in the organic particulate matter (PM) emissions of engine exhaust plumes from in-service commercial aircraft at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) and O'Hare International Airport (ORD). This is the first field study focused on aircraft lubrication oil emissions, and all of the observed plumes described in this work were due to near-idle engine operations. The identification was carried out with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF AMS) via a collaborative laboratory and field investigation. A characteristic mass marker of lubrication oil, I(85)/I(71), the ratio of ion fragment intensity between m/z = 85 and 71, was used to distinguish lubrication oil from jet engine combustion products. This AMS marker was based on ion fragmentation patterns measured using electron impact ionization for two brands of widely used lubrication oil in a laboratory study. The AMS measurements of exhaust plumes from commercial aircraft in this airport field study reveal that lubrication oil is commonly present in organic PM emissions that are associated with emitted soot particles, unlike the purely oil droplets observed at the lubrication system vent. The characteristic oil marker, I(85)/I(71), was applied to quantitatively determine the contribution from lubrication oil in measured aircraft plumes, which ranges from 5% to 100%.
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Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Aceites Industriales/análisis , Lubricantes/análisis , Material Particulado/análisis , Emisiones de Vehículos/análisis , Aeronaves , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Espectrometría de MasasRESUMEN
The emissions from a Garrett-AiResearch (now Honeywell) Model GTCP85-98CK auxiliary power unit (APU) were determined as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Alternative Aviation Fuel Experiment (AAFEX) using both JP-8 and a coal-derived Fischer Tropsch fuel (FT-2). Measurements were conducted by multiple research organizations for sulfur dioxide (SO2, total hydrocarbons (THC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), speciated gas-phase emissions, particulate matter (PM) mass and number, black carbon, and speciated PM. In addition, particle size distribution (PSD), number-based geometric mean particle diameter (GMD), and smoke number were also determined from the data collected. The results of the research showed PM mass emission indices (EIs) in the range of 20 to 700 mg/kg fuel and PM number EIs ranging from 0.5 x 10(15) to 5 x 10(15) particles/kg fuel depending on engine load and fuel type. In addition, significant reductions in both the SO2 and PM EIs were observed for the use of the FT fuel. These reductions were on the order of approximately 90% for SO2 and particle mass EIs and approximately 60% for the particle number EI, with similar decreases observed for black carbon. Also, the size of the particles generated by JP-8 combustion are noticeably larger than those emitted by the APU burning the FT fuel with the geometric mean diameters ranging from 20 to 50 nm depending on engine load and fuel type. Finally, both particle-bound sulfate and organics were reduced during FT-2 combustion. The PM sulfate was reduced by nearly 100% due to lack of sulfur in the fuel, with the PM organics reduced by a factor of approximately 5 as compared with JP-8.
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Contaminantes Atmosféricos/química , Aeronaves , Gas Natural , Emisiones de Vehículos/análisis , Carbón Mineral , Tamaño de la Partícula , Material Particulado , PetróleoRESUMEN
Ångström exponents (α) allow reconstruction of aerosol optical spectra over a broad range of wavelengths from measurements at two or more wavelengths. Hyperspectral measurements of atmospheric aerosols provide opportunities to probe measured spectra for information inaccessible from only a few wavelengths. Four sets of hyperspectral in situ aerosol optical coefficients (aerosol-phase total extinction, σ ext, and absorption, σ abs; liquid-phase soluble absorption from methanol, σ MeOH-abs, and water, σ DI-abs, extracts) were measured from biomass burning aerosols (BBAs). Hyperspectral single scattering albedo (ω), calculated from σ ext and σ abs, provide spectral resolution over a wide spectral range rare for this optical parameter. Observed spectral shifts between σ abs and σ MeOH-abs/σ DI-abs argue in favor of measuring σ abs rather than reconstructing it from liquid extracts. Logarithmically transformed spectra exhibited curvature better fit by second-order polynomials than linear α. Mapping second order fit coefficients (a 1, a 2) revealed samples from a given fire tended to cluster together, that is, aerosol spectra from a given fire were similar to each other and somewhat distinct from others. Separation in (a 1, a 2) space for spectra with the same α suggest additional information in second-order parameterization absent from the linear fit. Spectral features found in the fit residuals indicate more information in the measured spectra than captured by the fits. Above-detection σ MeOH-abs at 0.7 µm suggests assuming all absorption at long visible wavelengths is BC to partition absorption between BC and brown carbon (BrC) overestimates BC and underestimates BrC across the spectral range. Hyperspectral measurements may eventually discriminate BBA among fires in different ecosystems under variable conditions.
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Microbiología del Aire , Atmósfera , Biodiversidad , Tormentas Ciclónicas , Metagenoma/genéticaRESUMEN
"Bullet wipe" is the material deposited by a bullet on any surface with which it comes into contact after it is fired and may contain debris from the gun barrel, including particles of primer and metal fragments from previously fired bullets. X-ray analysis is a non-destructive method by which traces of metallic elements can be visually detected. The analysis of osseous defects for radiodense bullet wipe (RBW) assists in determining the presence or absence of perforating gunshot wounds, especially in fragmented, skeletonized remains. The aim of our current study was to determine the frequency of RBW around entrance firearms injuries that perforated bone. We prospectively analyzed entrance gunshot wounds for RBW over a three-year period using digital X-ray analysis (n = 59). We retrospectively reviewed the corresponding autopsy reports to determine the frequency of RBW by biologic sex, reported ancestry, age-at-death, location of wound, manner of death, range of fire, bullet caliber, and presence of bullet jacket. Data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test or Chi-square test with significance levels accepted at p < 0.05. RBW was present in 66% (n = 39) of examined cases. Decedent characteristics did not significantly alter RBW distribution, including biologic sex (p = 0.75), reported ancestry (p = 0.49), and age-at-death (p = 0.43). Additionally, the location of the osseous entrance gunshot wound, manner of death, range of fire, and cartridge caliber did not affect RBW detection. All cases involving non-jacketed rounds (n = 5) showed RBW (p = 0.30). To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the frequency of RBW detection from osseous entrance gunshot wounds.
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Huesos/química , Huesos/diagnóstico por imagen , Metales/análisis , Radiografía , Heridas por Arma de Fuego/diagnóstico por imagen , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Huesos/lesiones , Niño , Femenino , Balística Forense/métodos , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estudios Prospectivos , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
In this first ever study, particulate matter (PM) emitted from the lubrication system overboard breather vent for two different models of aircraft engines has been systematically characterized. Lubrication oil was confirmed as the predominant component of the emitted particulate matter based upon the characteristic mass spectrum of the pure oil. Total particulate mass and size distributions of the emitted oil are also investigated by several high-sensitivity aerosol characterization instruments. The emission index (EI) of lubrication oil at engine idle is in the range of 2-12 mg kg(-1) and increases with engine power. The chemical composition of the oil droplets is essentially independent of engine thrust, suggesting that engine oil does not undergo thermally driven chemical transformations during the â¼4 h test window. Volumetric mean diameter is around 250-350 nm for all engine power conditions with a slight power dependence.
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Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Aeronaves , Lubricantes/análisis , Aceites/análisis , Emisiones de Vehículos/análisis , Aerosoles/análisis , Atmósfera/química , Monitoreo del Ambiente/instrumentación , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Tamaño de la Partícula , Material Particulado/análisisRESUMEN
Deceased undocumented border crossers are some of the most difficult individuals to identify due to the inability to narrow down the region of origin and therefore to obtain family reference samples for DNA comparison. The isotopic compositions of various body tissues have been demonstrated to be useful biomarkers for tracking locations and movements to aid in the identification of human remains. This study closes the large spatial gap of available 87Sr/86Sr ratios from North America in tap water and presents the first 87Sr/86Sr human tissue-based ratios from Mexico. The 101 hair samples from 32 locations in Mexico range in 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.70424 to 0.71613 (ΔSrmax-min=0.01189). Furthermore, 151 tap water samples from 51 locations range between 0.70404 to 0.71385 (ΔSrmax-min=0.00981). Overall, small variations in the hair and tap water samples collected from individual locations were recorded (ΔSrmax-min=0.00041 and 0.00034 respectively). Despite the fact that Mexico is one of the largest bottled water consumers in the world, the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of human hair and tap water correlated strongly (R2=0.87 for location averages and R2=0.80 when using individual data points). These data represent a valuable resource for identifying the provenance of human remains.
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Agua Potable/química , Cabello/química , Isótopos de Estroncio/análisis , Biomarcadores/análisis , Ciencias Forenses , Humanos , México/epidemiología , Valores de Referencia , Análisis EspacialRESUMEN
One of the many difficulties associated with identifying undocumented border crossers stems from an inability to narrow down the search area for the region of origin and family members to obtain family reference samples for DNA comparison. While the geography of regions of origins is wide, the biological profiles of the undocumented border crossers often show strong similarities, young and male. The isotopic composition of human bones, teeth, and hair has been demonstrated to be useful biomarkers for tracing locations and movements of individuals and for aiding in the identification of human remains. Data obtained from human remains can be compared to and aligned with various reference sources, such as soils and bedrock, archaeological remains, or cultural data. Here, the spatial deficiency in isotopic reference data for Mexico, specifically for oxygen (δ18 O) isotopes in tap water, is being addressed through the collection and analysis of over 150 water samples and explored with tooth enamel isotopic values from recently identified Mexican nationals. The isoscape was developed using a Spine with Barriers interpolation method and shows sufficient detail to narrow down the regions where specific isotopic values are represented. The individuals were plotted on the developed isoscape using conditional correlations. The methodology was successful in assigning the correct regions of origin for the two individuals, which shows the tremendous potential of the developed isoscape. Nonetheless, there is more research needed to further improve upon this geolocation method, including analysis of multiple isotopes in different tissues, and the development of new isotopic methods.
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Esmalte Dental/química , Emigrantes e Inmigrantes , Geografía , Isótopos de Oxígeno/análisis , Abastecimiento de Agua , Agua/química , Diente Premolar/química , Restos Mortales , Antropología Forense/métodos , Odontología Forense/métodos , Humanos , México , Modelos Estadísticos , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
A particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) was coupled to a flow-through conductivity cell to provide a continuous, nondestructive, online measurement in support of offline ion chromatography analysis. The conductivity measurement provides a rapid assessment of the total ion concentration augmenting slower batch-sample data from offline analysis and is developed primarily to assist airborne measurements, where fast time-response is essential. A conductivity model was developed for measured ions and excellent closure was derived for laboratory-generated aerosols (97% conductivity explained, R2 > 0.99). The PILS-conductivity measurement was extensively tested throughout the NASA Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes: Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) during nineteen research flights. A diverse range of ambient aerosol was sampled from biomass burning, fresh and aged urban pollution, and marine sources. Ambient aerosol did not exhibit the same degree of closure as the laboratory aerosol, with measured ions only accountable for 43% of the conductivity. The remaining fraction of the conductivity was examined in combination with ion charge balance and found to provide additional supporting information for diagnosing and modeling particle acidity. An urban plume case study was used to demonstrate the utility of the measurement for supplementing compositional data and augmenting the temporal capability of the PILS.
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The Korea - United States Air Quality Study (May - June 2016) deployed instrumented aircraft and ground-based measurements to elucidate causes of poor air quality related to high ozone and aerosol concentrations in South Korea. This work synthesizes data pertaining to aerosols (specifically, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 micrometers, PM2.5) and conditions leading to violations of South Korean air quality standards (24-hr mean PM2.5 < 35 µg m-3). PM2.5 variability from AirKorea monitors across South Korea is evaluated. Detailed data from the Seoul vicinity are used to interpret factors that contribute to elevated PM2.5. The interplay between meteorology and surface aerosols, contrasting synoptic-scale behavior vs. local influences, is presented. Transboundary transport from upwind sources, vertical mixing and containment of aerosols, and local production of secondary aerosols are discussed. Two meteorological periods are probed for drivers of elevated PM2.5. Clear, dry conditions, with limited transport (Stagnant period), promoted photochemical production of secondary organic aerosol from locally emitted precursors. Cloudy humid conditions fostered rapid heterogeneous secondary inorganic aerosol production from local and transported emissions (Transport/Haze period), likely driven by a positive feedback mechanism where water uptake by aerosols increased gas-to-particle partitioning that increased water uptake. Further, clouds reduced solar insolation, suppressing mixing, exacerbating PM2.5 accumulation in a shallow boundary layer. The combination of factors contributing to enhanced PM2.5 is challenging to model, complicating quantification of contributions to PM2.5 from local versus upwind precursors and production. We recommend co-locating additional continuous measurements at a few AirKorea sites across South Korea to help resolve this and other outstanding questions: carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide (transboundary transport tracer), boundary layer height (surface PM2.5 mixing depth), and aerosol composition with aerosol liquid water (meteorologically-dependent secondary production). These data would aid future research to refine emissions targets to further improve South Korean PM2.5 air quality.
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Assigning correct population affinity to a skeleton can contribute important information to an investigation-yet recent work highlights high error rates when classifying Latinos with a traditional tool, Fordisc 3.1 (FD3). Our study examines whether misclassification trends exist, and whether these can be used to infer population affinity. We examine the relationships among ancestry, geography, and FD3 misclassifications of Latinos using canonical variate analysis and unsupervised model-based clustering of craniometrics. Northern Mexicans appear more strongly associated with FD3 references samples with elevated amounts of European ancestry (e.g., American Blacks and Whites), while Southern Mexicans are more strongly associated with FD3 reference samples with reduced amounts of European ancestry (e.g., Guatemalans and Native Americans). FD3 classifications revealed that Latinos exhibited lower posterior probabilities when compared to other common case demographics (Whites and African Americas), even when the classification was "correct." We make recommendations for practitioner interpretation of FD3 reports for casework.
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Cefalometría , Hispánicos o Latinos , Filogeografía , Programas Informáticos , Conjuntos de Datos como Asunto , Análisis Discriminante , Femenino , Antropología Forense/métodos , Humanos , América Latina , Masculino , Probabilidad , Grupos RacialesRESUMEN
The Pima County (Arizona) Office of the Medical Examiner has seen a dramatic rise over the past 6 years in the number of deaths related to the illegal crossing of our international border with Mexico. This rise in deaths is undoubtedly related to an increase in the number of foreign nationals who cross into the various Arizona jurisdictions that utilize the Pima County Medical Examiner to investigate their unnatural deaths. Because of the utterly dangerous nature of trekking across the Sonoran Desert, especially in the summer months, many of these unfortunate migrants succumb to the effects of heat-related illness and perish along the journey. The combined effects of a dry, hot environment and the remoteness of some of the trekking corridors can quickly render a deceased person unidentifiable by visual means. Thus, our office is faced with not only an increase in the number of deaths requiring medico-legal investigation but also an increase in the number of decedents needing additional specialized examinations in an effort to effect identification. This paper attempts to outline the problems and the methods utilized by our office over the past 6 years in the identification process of undocumented border crossers. It is hoped that this paper, as well as the others presented at this symposium, will allow for the sharing of information amongst all medical investigators who assist in the identification of these migrants. The identification of these individuals takes on added importance when one considers the possible nationalities, and perhaps motivation for entering into the US, of those that remain unidentified.
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Emigrantes e Inmigrantes/estadística & datos numéricos , Antropología Forense , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribución por Edad , Anciano , Arizona , Causas de Muerte , Niño , Preescolar , Clima Desértico/efectos adversos , Emigración e Inmigración/legislación & jurisprudencia , Femenino , Trastornos de Estrés por Calor/mortalidad , Humanos , Lactante , Recién Nacido , América Latina/etnología , Masculino , Mapas como Asunto , Persona de Mediana Edad , Distribución por SexoRESUMEN
Due to the increasing number of Southwest Hispanics in the United States, as well as the overwhelming number of foreign nationals that die every year trying to enter the United States along the southern United States border with Mexico, new methods for classifying individuals have been established at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona (PCOME). For each of the past 5 years, the PCOME has investigated a record number of deaths associated with these border crossings. The overwhelming majority of the identified decedents are Mexican Nationals. However, approximately 25% of these undocumented border crossers have yet to be identified, making it clear that improved methods for human identification are greatly needed. The first goal of this paper is to delineate the suite of skeletal nonmetric traits utilized in assessing Southwest Hispanic ancestry at the PCOME. This suite of nonmetric traits has proven to be an effective component in establishing the "biological profile" of unknown individuals in these cases. The second goal of this paper is to introduce methods used at the PCOME to establish the "cultural profile" of individuals in these cases. The "cultural profile" is a set of identification criteria that include: the geographic context of recovery, personal effects, dental health, and cultural accoutrements. Establishing the "cultural profile" in these cases is essential in identifying individuals as foreign nationals who have died trying to cross the border.
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Emigrantes e Inmigrantes , Antropología Forense/métodos , Estatura , Huesos/anatomía & histología , América Central/etnología , Coronas , Cultura , Odontología Forense , Humanos , México/etnología , Salud BucalRESUMEN
We present ground-based, advected aircraft engine emissions from flights taking off at Los Angeles International Airport. 275 discrete engine take-off plumes were observed on 18 and 25 May 2014 at a distance of 400 m downwind of the runway. CO2 measurements are used to convert the aerosol data into plume-average emissions indices that are suitable for modelling aircraft emissions. Total and non-volatile particle number EIs are of order 1016-1017 kg-1 and 1014-1016 kg-1, respectively. Black-carbon-equivalent particle mass EIs vary between 175-941 mg kg-1 (except for the GE GEnx engines at 46 mg kg-1). Aircraft tail numbers recorded for each take-off event are used to incorporate aircraft- and engine-specific parameters into the data set. Data acquisition and processing follow standard methods for quality assurance. A unique aspect of the data set is the mapping of aerosol concentration time series to integrated plume EIs, aircraft and engine specifications, and manufacturer-reported engine emissions certifications. The integrated data enable future studies seeking to understand and model aircraft emissions and their impact on air quality.