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Background Rapid economic development in China has resulted in an increase in severe air pollution in city groups such as the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Metropolitan Region. PM2.5 (fine particles with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of 2.5 μm or less) is one of the most important pollutants. The deposition process is an important way of removing particles from the air. To evaluate the effect of an urban forest on atmospheric particle removal, a concentration gradient method was used to measure the deposition velocities of water-soluble inorganics in PM2.5 in two national forest parks in Beijing, China. The following eight water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 were investigated: sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate. Methods Samples were taken from two sites in Beijing from the 7th to the 15th May, 2013. The concentrations of water-soluble inorganic ions were analyzed with ion chromatography. We used the concentration gradient technique to estimate the deposition flux and velocity. To determine the relationships between leaf traits and particle accumulation, typical leaf samples from each selected species were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Results The total deposition flux and total deposition velocity during the daytime were higher than those at night. Sulfate showed the biggest deposition flux and velocity at both study sites, whereas the other ions showed different trends at each site. Result from higher proportion of coniferous to broadleaved trees, the total deposition flux of the eight ions measured in Jiufeng National Forest Park was greater than that in Olympic Forest Park. Conclusions The deposition velocity was affected by meteorological conditions such as wind speed, temperature, and humidity. The deposition velocity was also influenced by tree species. The surface of plants is an important factor influencing particle deposition. The results of this study may help in assessing the effects of forestry systems on particle removal and provide evidence for urban air pollution control and afforestation of urban areas.

The current use of hearing aids and artificial cochleas for deaf-mute individuals depends on their auditory nerve. Skin-hearing technology, a patented system developed by our group, uses a cutaneous sensory nerve to substitute for the auditory nerve to help deaf-mutes to hear sound. This paper introduces a new solution, multi-channel-array skin-hearing technology, to solve the problem of speech discrimination. Based on the filtering principle of hair cells, external voice signals at different frequencies are converted to current signals at corresponding frequencies using electronic multi-channel bandpass filtering technology. Different positions on the skin can be stimulated by the electrode array, allowing the perception and discrimination of external speech signals to be determined by the skin response to the current signals. Through voice frequency analysis, the frequency range of the band-pass filter can also be determined. These findings demonstrate that the sensory nerves in the skin can help to transfer the voice signal and to distinguish the speech signal, suggesting that the skin sensory nerves are good candidates for the replacement of the auditory nerve in addressing deaf-mutes’ hearing problems. Scientific hearing experiments can be more safely performed on the skin. Compared with the artificial cochlea, multi-channel-array skin-hearing aids have lower operation risk in use, are cheaper and are more easily popularized.