Intraguild predation by polyps of three scyphozoan jellyfish: Nemopilema nomurai,Aurelia coerulea,and Rhopilema esculentum

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Jellyfish blooms occur worldwide and have resulted in serious problems in tourism, fisheries, coastal industries, and the marine ecosystem. The life cycle of...     

Distribution patterns of chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> in spring and autumn in association with hydrological features in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea

Two field studies were conducted to measure pigments in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the northern East China Sea (NECS) in April (spring) and September (autumn) to evaluate the distribution pattern of phytoplankton stock (Chl a concentration) and the impact of hydrological features such as water mass, mixing and tidal front on these patterns. The results indicated that the Chl a concentration was 2.43±2.64 (Mean ± SD) mg m^?3 in April (range, 0.35 to 17.02 mg m^?3) and 1.75±3.10 mg m^?3 in September (from 0.07 to 36.54 mg m^?3) in 2003. Additionally, four areas with higher Chl a concentrations were observed in the surface water in April, while two were observed in September, and these areas were located within or near the point at which different water masses converged (temperature front area). The distribution pattern of Chl a was generally consistent between onshore and offshore stations at different depths in April and September. Specifically, higher Chl a concentrations were observed along the coastal line in September, which consisted of a mixing area and a tidal front area, although the distributional pattern of Chl a concentrations varied along transects in April. The maximum Chl a concentration at each station was observed in the surface and subsurface layer (0–10 m) for onshore stations and the thermocline layer (10–30 m) for offshore stations in September, while the greatest concentrations were generally observed in surface and subsurface water (0–10 m) in April. The formation of the Chl a distributional pattern in the SYS and NECS and its relationship with possible influencing factors is also discussed. Although physical forces had a close relationship with Chl a distribution, more data are required to clearly and comprehensively elucidate the spatial pattern dynamics of Chl a in the SYS and NECS.     

Antiangiogenic activity of low-temperature lysozyme from a marine bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis>

We extracted marine low-temperature lysozyme (MLTL), a novel lysozyme, from a marine microorganism through fermentation. Our previous study suggested that a low molecular weight (16 kDa) may exert anti-tumor activity through antiangiogenesis. In this study, we extracted a high weight (39 kDa) and investigated its antiangiogenic activity in vivo and in vitro. Using zebrafish embryos as an in vivo study model, we found that treatment with MLTL significantly inhibited the growth of subintestinal vessels (SIVs) in a dose-dependent manner and that 400 μg/ml MLTL was sufficient to block the growth of SIVs. An in vitro study conducted using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) revealed that MLTL suppressed the proliferation, migration and tube formation of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, assays by flow cytometry and DNA electrophoresis indicated that MLTL was able to induce apoptosis of HUVECs. Moreover, further study demonstrated that the disruption of intracellular Ca²⁺ homeostasis may play an important role in MLTL induced apoptosis of HUVECs. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate for the first time that MLTL inhibits angiogenesis through its pleiotropic effects on vascular endothelial cells and induces apoptosis through regulation of cellular Ca²⁺ levels. The results of this study also revealed a possible mechanism underlying the antiangiogenic effect of MLTL and suggested that MLTL may be a promising new antiangiogenic agent for use in cancer therapy.     

Complex organics in space from Solar System to distant galaxies

Recent observational and experimental evidence for the presence of complex organics in space is reviewed. Remote astronomical observations have detected \(\sim \)200 gas-phased molecules through their rotational and vibrational transitions. Many classes of organic molecules are represented in this list, including some precursors to biological molecules. A number of unidentified spectral phenomena observed in the interstellar medium are likely to have originated from complex organics. The observations of these features in distant galaxies suggests that organic synthesis had already taken place during the early epochs of the Universe. In the Solar System, almost all biologically relevant molecules can be found in the soluble component of carbonaceous meteorites. Complex organics of mixed aromatic and aliphatic structures are present in the insoluble component of meteorites. Hydrocarbons cover much of the surface of the planetary satellite Titan and complex organics are found in comets and interplanetary dust particles. The possibility that the early Solar System, or even the early Earth, have been enriched by interstellar organics is discussed.     

Trends of urban air pollution in Zhengzhou City in 1996–2008

Urban air pollution is a commonly concerned environmental problem in the world.Identification of air quality trend using long-term monitoring data is helpful to understand the effectiveness of pollution control strategies.This study,using data from six monitoring stations in Zhengzhou City,analyzed the changing trend in concentrations of SO 2,NO x /NO 2 and TSP/PM 10 in 1996-2008,based on non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator,and evaluated the comprehensive air pollution level using Multi-Pollutant Index(MPI).It was found that the concentration of each pollutant exceeded obviously the World Health Organization(WHO) guideline value,but the changing trend varied:SO 2 and NO 2 were significantly increased mainly due to an increase in coal consumption and vehicle number,while NO x,TSP and PM 10 decreased.The air pollution was serious,and differed markedly among the three functional regions:it is the most severe in the Industrial and Residential Area(IRA),followed by the Transportation Hub and Business District(THBD),and then the High-tech,Cultural and Educational Area(HCEA).Different from NO 2 concentration that had a similar change trend/rate among the function regions,the change rate of PM 10 concentration differed spatially,decreased much more obviously in THBD than other two regions.For the whole city,the comprehensive air pollution level declined gradually,illustrating that the air quality in Zhengzhou was improved in the last decade.     

济阳坳陷义和庄凸起东部燕山期构造负反转及层序地层样式响应

通过钻井、测井与地震数据,依据不整合面分析、断层活动速率分析与地层的"负向结构"分析,在义和庄凸起东部燕山期内识别出一期发生于中晚侏罗世之交的构造负反转,并据此将义和庄凸起燕山期划分为早期与晚期两个阶段.通过单井与连井层序地层分析,分别建立了燕山早期与晚期的层序地层样式,两者在层序结构及内部沉积充填等方面表现出巨大差异.早期层序地层不具有显著的沉积厚度分异,且格架内部充填河流相沉积;晚期因构造负反转而形成小型拉张断陷盆地,沉积厚度分异明显,内部以扇三角洲沉积充填为主,呈现出对构造负反转的显著响应.燕山期构造-层序地层学的研究可为中国东部其他具有相似构造背景盆地前新生代的油气勘探提供借鉴.     

Stability analysis of slope in strain-softening soils using local arc-length solution scheme

Soils with strain-softening behavior — manifesting as a reduction of strength with increasing plastic strain — are commonly found in the natural environment. For slopes in these soils,a progressive failure mechanism can occur due to a reduction of strength with increasing strain. Finite element method based numerical approaches have been widely performed for simulating such failure mechanism,owning to their ability for tracing the formation and development of the localized shear strain. However,the reliability of the currently used approaches are often affected by poor convergence or significant mesh-dependency,and their applicability is limited by the use of complicated soil models. This paper aims to overcome these limitations by developing a finite element approach using a local arc-length controlled iterative algorithm as the solution strategy. In the proposed finite element approach,the soils are simulated with an elastoplastic constitutive model in conjunction with the Mohr-Coulomb yield function. The strain-softening behavior is represented by a piece-wise linearrelationship between the Mohr-Coulomb strength parameters and the deviatoric plastic strain. To assess the reliability of the proposed finite element approach,comparisons of the numerical solutions obtained by different finite element methods and meshes with various qualities are presented. Moreover,a landslide triggered by excavation in a real expressway construction project is analyzed by the presented finite element approach to demonstrate its applicability for practical engineering problems.     

Strength Behavior of Shanghai Clayey Soil Reinforced with Wheat Straw Fibers

It is generally recognized that the low strength and high compressibility are the characteristics of soft soil. In addition to other techniques, reinforcement can also be used in increasing the strength and decreasing the deformation of this kind of soil. The results of an investigation into the effects of a natural fiber on the consolidation and shear strength behavior of Shanghai clayey soil reinforced with wheat straw fibers are presented in this paper. A series of one dimensional consolidation and triaxial tests were conducted on samples of unreinforced and reinforced Shanghai clayey soil with different percentages of randomly distributed wheat straw fibers. The results show that the preconsolidation pressure decreases and the coefficient of swelling and compression generally increase with increasing the fiber content until a optimum content value. Furthermore, the addition of wheat straw fiber leads to a significant increase in shear strength and friction angle of the natural soil and there is an optimum wheat fiber content that makes this increase maximal.     

夏季欧亚阻塞高压逐日演变的定量化分析

利用NCEP/NCAR 1998-06～1998-08逐日500 hPa高度场资料,对夏季欧亚阻塞高压的逐日演变作了定量化研究.结果发现,利用纬偏值作为基本量可以计算出乌拉尔山地区(25～80°E)、贝加尔湖地区(80～125°E)、鄂霍茨克海地区(125～170°E)3个区域阻塞高压的面积指数,该特征值能很好地揭示1998年夏季阻塞高压强度和位置变化的逐日演变特征,并且与我国1998年夏季降水的分布有重要的联系.