Limit equilibrium method (LEM) of slope stability and calculation of comprehensive factor of safety with double strength-reduction technique

When the slope is in critical limit equilibrium(LE) state, the strength parameters have different contribution to each other on maintaining slope stability. That is to say that the strength parameters are not simultaneously reduced. Hence, the LE stress method is established to analyze the slope stability by employing the double strengthreduction(DSR) technique in this work. For calculation model of slope stability under the DSR technique, the general nonlinear Mohr–Coulomb(M–C) criterion is used to describe the shear failure of slope. Meanwhile, the average and polar diameter methods via the DSR technique are both adopted to calculate the comprehensive factor of safety(FOS) of slope. To extend the application of the polar diameter method, the original method is improved in the proposed method. After comparison and analysis on some slope examples, the proposed method's feasibility is verified. Thereafter, the stability charts of slope suitable for engineering application are drawn. Moreover, the studies show that:(1) the average method yields similar results as that of the polardiameter method;(2) compared with the traditional uniform strength-reduction(USR) technique, the slope stability obtained using the DSR techniquetends to be more unsafe; and(3) for a slope in the critical LE state, the strength parameter φ, i.e., internal friction angle, has greater contribution on the slope stability than the strength parameters c, i.e., cohesion.     

Otolith development in larval and juvenile Schizothorax davidi: ontogeny and growth increment characteristics

Laboratory-reared Schizothorax davidi larvae and juveniles were examined to assess the formation and characteristics of David’s schizothoracin otoliths.Otolith development was observed and their formation period was verifi ed by monitoring larvae and juveniles of knownage.The results revealed that lapilli and sagittae developed before hatching,and the first otolith increment was identified at 2 days post hatching in both.The shape of lapilli was relatively stable during development compared with that of sagittae;however,growth of four sagittae and lapilli areas was consistent,but the posterior area grew faster than the anterior area and the ventral surface grew faster than the dorsal surface.Similarly,the sum length of the radius of the anterior and posterior areas on sagittae and lapilli were linearly and binomially related to total fish length,respectively.Moreover,daily deposition rates were validated by monitoring knownage larvae and juveniles.The increase in lapilli width was 1.88±0.080 0μm at the ninth increment,which reached a maximum and the decreased gradually toward the otolith edge,whereas that of sagittae increased more slowly.These results illustrate the developmental biology of S.davidi,which will aid in population conservation and fish stock management.     

Long-term statistics of extreme tsunami height at Crescent City

Historically, Crescent City is one of the most vulnerable communities impacted by tsunamis along the west coast of the United States, largely attributed to its offshore geography. Trans-ocean tsunamis usually produce large wave runup at Crescent Harbor resulting in catastrophic damages, property loss and human death. How to determine the return values of tsunami height using relatively short-term observation data is of great significance to assess the tsunami hazards and improve engineering design along the coast of Crescent City. In the present study, the extreme tsunami heights observed along the coast of Crescent City from 1938 to 2015 are fitted using six different probabilistic distributions, namely, the Gumbel distribution, the Weibull distribution, the maximum entropy distribution, the lognormal distribution, the generalized extreme value distribution and the generalized Pareto distribution. The maximum likelihood method is applied to estimate the parameters of all above distributions. Both Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and root mean square error method are utilized for goodness-of-fit test and the better fitting distribution is selected. Assuming that the occurrence frequency of tsunami in each year follows the Poisson distribution, the Poisson compound extreme value distribution can be used to fit the annual maximum tsunami amplitude, and then the point and interval estimations of return tsunami heights are calculated for structural design. The results show that the Poisson compound extreme value distribution fits tsunami heights very well and is suitable to determine the return tsunami heights for coastal disaster prevention.     

Non-specific immune response of bullfrog <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rana catesbeiana</Emphasis> to intraperitoneal injection of bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aeromonas hydrophila</Emphasis>

Non-specific immune response of bullfrog Rana catesbeiana to pathogenic Aeromonas hydrophila was studied to 60 individuals in two groups. Each bullfrog in bacterium-injected group was injected intraperitoneally （i.p.） with 0.2 ml bacterial suspension at a density of 5.2 × 10^6 CFU/ml, while each one in control group injected i.p. with 0.2 ml sterile saline solution （0.85%, w/v）. Three bullfrogs in both groups were sampled at 0, 1, 3, 7, 11, 15 and 20 days post-injection （dpi） for the evaluation of non-specific immune parameters. It was observed that intraperitoneal injection of A. hydrophila significantly increased the number of leucocytes and that of NBT-positive cells in peripheral blood. Significant increases in serum bactericidal activity and serum acid phosphatase activity were also observed in the bacterium-injected frogs when compared with those in the control group. However, a significant reduction was detected in vitro in phagocytosis activity of peripheral blood phagocytes. No significant difference in changes in the number of peripheral erythrocytes, serum superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity, and lysozyme activity was detected between the two groups. It is suggested that bullfrogs may produce a series of non-specific immune reactions in response to the A. hydrophila infection.     

Assessment of point and nonpoint sources pollution in Songhua River Basin,Northeast China by using revised water quality model

Individual participation of pollutants in the pollution load should be estimated even if roughly for the appropriate environmental management of a river basin. It is difficult to identify the sources and to quantify the load, especially in modeling nonpoint source. In this study a revised model was established by integrating point and nonpoint sources into one-dimensional Streeter-Phelps (S-P) model on the basis of real-time hydrologic data and surface water quality monitoring data in the Jilin Reach of the Songhua River Basin. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH_3-N) loads were estimated. Results showed that COD loads of point source and nonpoint source were 134 958 t/yr and 86 209 t/yr, accounting for 61.02% and 38.98% of total loads, respectively. NH_3-N loads of point source and nonpoint source were 16 739 t/yr and 14 272 t/yr, accounting for 53.98% and 46.02%, respectively. Point source pollution was stronger than nonpoint source pollution in the study area at present. The water quality of upstream was better than that of downstream of the rivers and cities. It is indispensable to treat industrial wastewater and municipal sewage out of point sources, to adopt the best management practices to control diffuse pollutants from agricultural land and urban surface runoff in improving water quality of the Songhua River Basin. The revised S-P model can be successfully used to identify pollution source and quantify point source and nonpoint source loads by calibrating and validating.     

Crest-height distribution of nonlinear random waves

The wave crest is an important factor for the design of both fixed and floating marine structures. Wave crest height is a dominant parameter in assessing the likelihood of wave-in-deck impact and resultant severe damage. Many empirical and theoretical distribution functions for wave crest heights have been proposed, but there is a lack of agreement between them. It is of significance to develop a better new nonlinear wave crest height distribution model. The progress in the research of wave crest heights is reviewed in this paper. Based on Stokes’ wave theory, an approximate nonlinear wave crest-height distribution formula with simple parameters is derived. Two sets of measured data are presented and compared with various theoretical distributions of wave crests obtained from nonlinear wave models and analysis of the comparison is given in detail. The new crest-height distribution model agrees well with observations. Also, the new theoretical distribution is more accurate than the other methods cited in this paper and has a greater range of applications.     

Rotary spectrum analysis of tidal current in the southern Yellow Sea

A complete set of one-month Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP) current data at a station in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) is analyzed using the rotary spectrum method. The results revealed different rotary properties between barotropic and baroclinic tidal currents. The barotropic and baroclinic tidal currents rotate elliptically counter-clockwise and clockwise, respectively. Meanwhile, baroclinic bottom tidal currents are almost along-isobath. The baroclinic cross-isobath velocities attenuate quickly at the bottom, implying important effects of bottom topography on the cross-isobath motions.     

Positive effect of porphyrans on the lifespan and vitality of Drosophila melanogaster

The effects of degraded porphyran (P1) and natural porphyran (P) on the lifespan and vitality of Drosophila melanogaster are studied. The porphyrans, added daily to the food medium at 0.2% and 1% concentrations, can significantly increase the lifespan in average of 55.79 and 58.23 d in 0.2% P1 diet females and 1% P1 diet males, extending by 12.29% and 8.60% over the corresponding controls, respectively. The effects of porphyrans on D. melanogaster in heat-stress condition were also examined, and found a remarkable increase in survival time. The results which are consistently associated with the use of porphyrans are related to their free radical scavenger action. Considerable increase in vitality demonstrated that vitalities of middle-aged fly (assessed by measuring their mating capacity) was observed after porphyrans addition. Therefore, porphyrans are effective in reducing the rate of aging, and P1 in low molecular weight is better than natural P.     

Transformation of Carbon and Nitrogen by Earthworms in the Decomposition Processes of Broad-leaved Litters

Earthworms are the important constituents in the decayed food web and the main ecological conditioners in the process of decomposition and nutrient mineralization. The transformation of organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) in the broad-leaved litters ingested by earthworms was researched by means of a laboratory experiment. Experimental samples were collected from broad-leaved Korea Pine mixed forest in Liangshui National Natural Reserve (47°10′50″N, 128°53′20″E) in the northeastern Xiao Hinggan Mountains of Northeast China. The contents of organic C and total N in earthworms, leaf litters and earthworm faeces were analyzed. Results show that the organic C content was in the fol- lowing order: leaf litters>faeces>earthworms, while total N content was contrary to that of the organic C. The organic C contents in the different leaf litters were in the following order: Tilia amurensis>Betula costata>Acer mono, whereas the total N contents in the different leaf litters were: Betula costata>Tilia amurensis>Acer mono. The contents of organic C and total N in the faeces from the different leaf litters were almost consistent with the contents of the leaf litters. After the leaf litters were ingested by earthworms, the organic C, which was transformed to increase earthworms' weights, ac- counted for 3.90%-13.31% of the total ingestion by earthworms, while that in the earthworm faeces accounted for 6.14%-13.70%. The transformed organic C through the other metabolism (e.g., respiration) of earthworms accounted for 75.04%-89.92%. The ingested organic C by earthworms was mostly used for metabolic activities. The N ingested by earthworms was less than organic C. It is estimated that 37.08% of total N was transformed to increase the earthworm's weight, 19.97% into earthworm faeces and 47.86% for the consumption of the earthworm's activities. The earthworms not only increased the content of organic C and total N in the soil, but also decreased the values of C/N in the soil and leaf litters. Earthworms play a major role in the leaf litters' decomposition and transformation.