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Characterization of M4 carbine rifle emissions with three ammunition types.

ABSTRACT: Muzzle emissions from firing an M4 carbine rifle in a semi-enclosed chamber were characterized for an array of compounds to provide quantitative data for future studies on potential inhalation exposure and rangeland contamination. Air emissions were characterized for particulate matter (PM) size distribution, composition, and morphology; carbon monoxide (CO); carbon dioxide (CO₂); energetics; metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and methane. Three types of ammunition were used: a "Legacy" (Vietnam-era) round, the common M855 round (no longer fielded), and its variant, an M855 round with added potassium (K)-based salts to reduce muzzle flash. Average CO concentrations up to 1500 ppm significantly exceeded CO₂ concentrations. Emitted particles were in the respirable size range with mass median diameters between 0.33 and 0.58 μm. PM emissions were highest from the M855 salt-added ammunition, likely due to incomplete secondary combustion in the muzzle blast caused by scavenging of combustion radicals by the K salt. Copper (Cu) had the highest emitted metal concentration for all three round formulations, likely originating from the Cu jacket on the bullet. Based on a mass balance analysis of each round's formulation, lead (Pb) was completely emitted for all three round types. This work demonstrated methods for characterizing emissions from gun firing which can distinguish between round-specific effects and can be used to initiate studies of inhalation risk and environmental deposition.

SUBMITTER: Aurell J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7369134 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Characterization of M4 carbine rifle emissions with three ammunition types.

Aurell Johanna J Holder Amara L AL Gullett Brian K BK McNesby Kevin K Weinstein Jason P JP

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) 20190801 Pt A

Muzzle emissions from firing an M4 carbine rifle in a semi-enclosed chamber were characterized for an array of compounds to provide quantitative data for future studies on potential inhalation exposure and rangeland contamination. Air emissions were characterized for particulate matter (PM) size distribution, composition, and morphology; carbon monoxide (CO); carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>); energetics; metals; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and methane. Three types of ammunition were used: a ...[more]

PMID: 31554143

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Project description:In recent years, many peatlands in Europe have been rewetted for nature conservation and global warming mitigation. However, the effects on emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) have been found to be highly variable and driving factors are poorly understood. Therefore, we measured N2O fluxes every two weeks over three years on pairs of sites (one drained, one rewetted) of three important peatland types in North-Eastern Germany, namely, percolation fen, alder forest and coastal fen. Additionally, every three months, sources of N2O were determined using a stable isotope mapping approach. Overall, fluxes were under the very dry conditions of the study years usually small with large temporal and spatial variations. Ammonium concentrations consistently and significantly correlated positively with N2O fluxes for all sites. Cumulative fluxes were often not significantly different from zero and apart from the rewetted alder forest, which was always a source of N2O, sites showed varying cumulative emission behavior (insignificant, source, potentially sink in one case) among years. Precipitation was positively correlated with cumulative fluxes on all drained sites and the rewetted alder forest. Isotope mapping indicated that N2O was always produced by more than one process simultaneously, with the estimated contribution of denitrification varying between 20 and 80%. N2O reduction played a potentially large role, with 5 to 50% of total emissions, showing large variations among sites and over time. Overall, neither the effect of rewetting, water level nor seasonality was clearly reflected in the fluxes or sources. Emissions were concentrated in hotspots and hot moments. A better understanding of the driving factors of N2O production and reduction in (rewetted) fens is essential and stable isotope methods including measurements of 15N and 18O as well as site preferences can help foster the necessary comprehension of the underlying mechanisms.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10705-022-10244-y.

Project description:BackgroundThe M4 family of metalloproteases is comprised of a large number of zinc-containing metalloproteases. A large number of these enzymes are important virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria and therefore potential drug targets. Whereas some enzymes have potential for biotechnological applications, the M4 family of metalloproteases is known almost exclusively from bacteria. The aim of the study was to identify the structure and properties of M4 metalloprotease proteins.ResultsA total of 31 protein sequences of M4 metalloprotease retrieved from UniProt representing different species of bacteria have been characterized for various physiochemical properties. They were thermostable, hydrophillic protein of a molecular mass ranging from 38 to 66 KDa. Correlation on the basis of both enzymes and respective genes has also been studied by phylogenetic tree. B. cereus M4 metalloprotease (PDB ID: 1NPC) was selected as a representative species for secondary and tertiary structures among the M4 metalloprotease proteins. The secondary structure displaying 11 helices (H1-H11) is involved in 15 helix-helix interactions, while 4 β-sheet motifs composed of 15 β-strands in PDBsum. Possible disulfide bridges were absent in most of the cases. The tertiary structure of B. cereus M4 metalloprotease was validated by QMEAN4 and SAVES server (Ramachandran plot, verify 3D, and ERRAT) which proved the stability, reliability, and consistency of the tertiary structure of the protein. Functional analysis was done in terms of membrane protein topology, disease-causing region prediction, proteolytic cleavage sites prediction, and network generation. Transmembrane helix prediction showed absence of transmembrane helix in protein. Protein-protein interaction networks demonstrated that bacillolysin of B. cereus interacted with ten other proteins in a high confidence score. Five disorder regions were identified. Active sites analysis showed the zinc-binding residues-His-143, His-147, and Glu-167, with Glu-144 acting as the catalytic residues.ConclusionMoreover, this theoretical overview will help researchers to get a details idea about the protein structure and it may also help to design enzymes with desirable characteristics for exploiting them at industrial level or potential drug targets.

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Characterization of M4 carbine rifle emissions with three ammunition types.

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Characterization of M4 carbine rifle emissions with three ammunition types.

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