Flow cytometry and pigment analyses as tools to investigate the toxicity of herbicides to natural phytoplankton communities

Characterisation of natural phytoplanktonic communities is currently being advanced through flow cytometry and high resolution pigment analyses. To date, toxicological methods to assess impacts of herbicides on natural phytoplankton populations are lacking. Here, we report the novel use of these techniques in combination to study changes in phytoplankton populations exposed to 2-methylthio-4-tertiary-butylamino-6-cyclopropylamino-s-triazine (Irgarol 1051), a herbicide used in antifouling paints. Flow cytometry results revealed that following a 72-h exposure to approximately 100 ngL(-1), eukaryote abundance was less than half that in the controls. High performance liquid chromatographic analyses of pigments demonstrated that 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin was selectively lost relative to the control. This carotenoid is specific to the prymnesiophytes which are key constituents of phytoplanktonic communities within temperate marine waters. Values of EC(50) (72 h) as low as 70 ngL(-1) were calculated from the selective reduction in this compound. Concentrations substantially exceeding this level have been reported in UK and other European coastal waters.     

Dissolved gases in perennially ice-covered lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Measurements of dissolved N2, O2, Ar, CO2, and CH4 were made in perennially ice-covered Lake Hoare. Results confirm previous reports that O2 concentrations in the upper water column exceed atmospheric equilibrium and that N2 and Ar are supersaturated throughout the water column. The mean supersaturation of N2 was found to be 2.0 (+/- 0.37) and Ar was 3.8 (+/- 1.1). The ratios of N2/Ar (20.3 +/- 13.8), and O2/Ar (22.5 +/- 4.0) at the ice-water interface are consistent with those previously measured, suggesting that bubble formation is the main process for removing gas from the lake. However, the saturations of N2 and Ar greatly exceed those previously predicted for degassing by bubble formation only at the ice-water interface. The data support the hypothesis that removal of gas by bubbles occurs in the water column to a depth of 11 m in Lake Hoare. CO2 concentration increases from near zero at the ice-water interface to 80-100 times saturation at and below the chemocline at c. 28 m. There is considerable variability in the gas concentrations throughout the water column; samples separated in depth by one metre may vary by more than 50% in gas content. It is likely that this phenomenon results from the lack of turbulent mixing in the water column. Methane (c. 2 micrograms l-1) was detected below the chemocline and immediately above the sediment/water interface at a depth of 30 m. Samples from lakes Vanda, Joyce, and Miers, also show supersaturations of O2, N2, and Ar at levels similar to levels found in Lake Hoare.     

Geographical characteristics of migration linkages in the Moscow capital region

"A study of migration processes in the Moscow Capital Region over the period 1970-1985 begins by assessing their contribution to overall population growth within the region vis-a-vis natural increase and territorial and administrative changes. Attention then is turned toward movements both within the Moscow Capital Region and between it and other oblasts of the European RSFSR. Although the overall volume of migration within the Moscow capital Region and between it and remaining oblasts of the European RSFSR declined, the relative popularity of the former as a destination among migrants in European Russia remained unchanged."     

冻融循环对石灰处置粉质黏土静强度影响研究

以吉林－荒岗高速公路沿线的粉质黏土为研究对象,对不同石灰掺入比的土样试件进行0、2、4、6、8、10、12次冻融循环试验。通过室内静三轴试验,研究了冻融循环作用对石灰处置粉质黏土强度的影响。研究结果表明,石灰处置粉质黏土的应力-应变关系曲线呈应变软化型,峰值强度随围压增大而升高,粉质黏土峰值强度降低幅度值比石灰处置粉质黏土峰值强度降低幅度值大,经历4次冻融后应力-应变曲线峰值强度趋于稳定;冻融作用后石灰处置粉质黏土抗剪强度衰减率比粉质黏土的抗剪强度衰减率小,抗剪强度随围压的升高而增大;同一围压条件下石灰处置粉质黏土弹性模量随着冻融次数增加逐渐减小,经历4次冻融后基本趋于稳定。     

高煤级Ⅲ无烟煤吸附甲烷的特征及其机制

对福建、京西地区高煤级Ⅲ无烟煤煤样分别进行了30℃条件下的甲烷等温吸附试验。结果显示,高煤级Ⅲ无烟煤对甲烷的吸附量要低于相同条件下的烟煤和高煤级Ⅰ、Ⅱ无烟煤。通过综合分析煤样的低温液氮吸附试验结果及其孔隙特征,结合煤结构理论和前期研究成果,分析认为:高煤级Ⅲ无烟煤的孔隙发育不均衡性、比表面积与孔容极小性以及芳香度高度缩合性,导致了其对甲烷的吸附空间大大减少,对甲烷的吸附量显著降低。研究成果对于丰富完善煤吸附气体理论,指导高煤级Ⅲ无烟煤地区矿井瓦斯治理及地面煤层气勘探开发都具有重要意义。      

煤矿采动条件下煤层气储层模型及应用

煤矿区煤层气开发受煤矿采动影响,为实现煤矿采动条件下煤层气井产能数值模拟,抽象概化了采动条件下煤层气开发的地质模型,构建了采动条件下煤层气储层的数学模型,并通过对CBM-SIM软件二次开发,实现了采动条件下煤层气储层的数值模拟。在建模和数值解算软件开发中,基于采动离层量变化曲线公式构建了采动条件下储层渗透率变化曲线公式,利用采动井水位变化规律构建了储层漏失水量变化公式,利用时间卡机制解决了煤储层渗透率及漏失水量的动态求解和循环迭代过程中作为系数和边界条件的调用赋值,实现了渗透率随采动影响的动态变化、储层水漏失降压和储层产气的耦合解算。应用开发的软件对淮南矿区某矿采动条件下煤层气抽采井生产数据进行历史拟合和产量模拟应用,预测煤层气产量曲线与实际生产曲线基本一致,判定系数达到0.92。      

Large-Scale Motions in Superclusters: Their Imprint in the Cosmic Microwave Background

We study the spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background radiation induced by the effect in clusters of galaxies when the target electrons have a modified Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution with a high-energy nonthermal tail. Bremsstrahlung radiation from this type of electron distribution may explain the suprathermal X-ray emission observed in some clusters such as the Coma Cluster and A2199 and serve as an alternative to the classical but problematic inverse Compton scattering interpretation. We show that the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect can be used as a powerful tool to probe the electron distribution in clusters of galaxies and discriminate among these different interpretations of the X-ray excess. The existence of a nonthermal tail can have important consequences for cluster-based estimators of cosmological parameters.