Achieving environmentally relevant organochlorine pesticide concentrations in eggs through maternal exposure in Alligator mississippiensis

Alligator mississippiensis eggs from organochlorine pesticide (OCP) contaminated sites in Florida exhibit high rates of embryonic mortality compared to reference sites (P < 0.05). The objective of the present study was to use captive adult alligators to test the hypotheses that maternal exposure to OCPs results in increased OCP concentrations in eggs, and that increased exposure is associated with increased embryonic mortality. A total of 24 adult alligators (8 males and 16 females) were housed in eight pens. Eight females in four pens were dosed with a mixture of p,p'-DDE, toxaphene, dieldrin, and chlordane at a rate of 0.2+/-0.01 mg/kg/day for 274+/-8 days. Treated females produced eggs containing higher OCP concentrations (12,814+/-813 ng/g yolk) than controls (38+/-4 ng/g yolk). Eggs of treated females exhibited decreased viability (13+/-22%) as compared to controls (45+/-20%). Results indicated that 0.6% of administered OCPs were maternally transferred to the eggs of American alligators, and that maternal exposure is associated with decreased egg/embryo viability in this species.     

Studies of Star-forming Complexes in the Galaxies NGC 628, NGC 2976, and NGC 3351

The parameters of the radiation of interstellar matter in star-forming complexes in the high-metallicity galaxies NGC 628, NGC 2976, and NGC 3351, which have different morphological types, are analyzed. The relationship between the emission in Hα and in lines of CO and HI is considered, as well as the relationship between Hα and the emission of dust in the infrared range (IR). The fluxes and surface brightnesses in the UV and IR correlate well with the Hα emission. The HI emission also correlates well with Hα, while the correlation between the CO and Hα emission is much weaker. The ratio of the fluxes at 8 and 24 µm decreases with increasing Hα flux. This may be due to changes in the properties of the dust ensemble (a decrease in the mass fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) or to changing excitation conditions. Analysis of the kinematics of the CO lines shows that the CO flux grows with increasing velocity scatter ΔV when ΔV ? 70 km/s. Preliminary evidence for the existence of star-forming complexes with higher values of ΔV is provided, when the increase in the velocity scatter is accompanied by a decrease in the CO luminosity of the complex.

     

Collapse risk of controlled rocking steel braced frames with different post‐tensioning and energy dissipation designs

Controlled rocking steel braced frames (CRSBFs) are low‐damage self‐centring lateral force resisting systems. Previous studies have shown that designing the energy dissipation (ED) and post‐tensioning (PT) in CRSBFs using a response modification factor of R=8 can prevent collapse of structures during earthquakes beyond the design level. However, designers have unique control over the hysteretic behaviour of the system, even after the response modification factor is selected. Additionally, recent studies have suggested that CRSBFs could also be designed using R>8 while still satisfying performance limits. This paper examines how the response modification factor and the design of the ED and PT influence the collapse performance of CRSBFs with three and six storeys where collapse occurs because of over‐rotation of the base rocking joint. In addition, the influence of using an additional rocking joint above the base to mitigate higher‐mode forces is evaluated for a 12‐storey frame. A total of 18 different designs are considered for the three buildings using different ED and PT design parameters, including different response modification factors. A suite of 44 ground motions is scaled until at least 50% of the records cause collapse, and fragility curves are generated using the truncated incremental dynamic analysis curves. The results from two different assessment methodologies show that the parameters selected have a marked influence on the collapse performance of a CRSBF. Nevertheless, even CRSBFs designed using R>8 or without supplemental ED can have acceptably low probabilities of collapse, provided that the frame members are designed to remain elastic. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relation between the parameters of dust and of molecular and atomic gas in extragalactic star-forming regions

The relationships between atomic and molecular hydrogen and dust of various sizes in extragalactic star-forming regions are considered, based on observational data from the Spitzer and Herschel infrared space telescopes, the Very Large Array (atomic hydrogen emission) and IRAM (CO emission). The source sample consists of approximately 300 star-forming regions in 11 nearby galaxies. Aperture photometry has been applied to measure the fluxes in eight infrared bands (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8, 24, 70, 100, and 160 μm), the atomic hydrogen 21 cm line, and CO (2–1) line. The parameters of the dust in the starforming regions were determined via synthetic-spectra fitting, such as the total dust mass, the fraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc. Comparison of the observed fluxes with the measured parameters shows that the relationships between atomic hydrogen, molecular hydrogen, and dust are different in low- and high-metallicity regions. Low-metallicity regions contain more atomic gas, but less molecular gas and dust, including PAHs. The mass of dust constitutes about 1% of the mass of molecular gas in all regions considered. Fluxes produced by atomic and molecular gas do not correlate with the parameters of the stellar radiation, whereas the dust fluxes grow with increasing mean intensity of stellar radiation and the fraction of enhanced stellar radiation. The ratio of the fluxes at 8 and 24 μm, which characterizes the PAH content, decreases with increasing intensity of the stellar radiation, possibly indicating evolutionary variations of the PAH content. The results confirm that the contribution of the 24 μm emission to the total IR luminosity of extragalactic star-forming regions does not depend on the metallicity.     

Problems of star-formation theory and prospects for submillimeter observations

We consider the current state of star-formation theory and requirements for millimeter and submillimeter observations that would enable the resolution of the most pressing problems in the physics of star formation. Two key features of star-forming regions that define these observational requirements are the relatively low energy of processes taking place there and the smallness of the corresponding spatial scales. This is especially true for objects in the latest stages of “pre-stellar” evolution, that is, hot cores, hypercompact and ultracompact HII regions, and protoplanetary disks. The angular resolution, sensitivity, and spectral coverage in existing ground-based and space submillimeter and millimeter telescopes are not fully adequate to the observtional requirements. To obtain detailed information on star-forming regions, as well as individual protostars, it is necessary to use a space-based interferometer.     

Relationships of soil,plant, and microbial characteristics in silt-clay and sand,tall-formSpartina alterniflora marshes

The relationships between soil texture, plant growth, and anaerobic microbial activity in two tall-formSpartina alterniflora marshes on Sapelo Island, Georgia, were compared. The soil of one marsh was composed of typical silt-clay-sized particles; the soil of the other marsh consisted of >90% sand-sized particles. The two soils supported similar biomasses ofS. alterniflora, however, plants were taller and more robust in the silt-clay-soil than in the sand soil. Total microbial adenosine triphosphate concentrations in the silt-clay and sand soils averaged 5.71 and 1.64 μg per cm³, respectively. Seawater slurries of both soils exhibited potential for microbial sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and glucose fermentation; rates for the processes averaged 2.03 and 0.33 nmol S-cm³ per h; 1.20 and 0.87 μmol CH₄ per cm³ per h; and 0.04 and 0.12 per min (rate constant) for the sand and silt-clay soils, respectively.     

Sea surface wind stress and drag coefficients: The hexos results

Turbulent fluxes have been measured in the atmospheric surface layer from a boom extending upwind from the Dutch offshore research platform Meetpost Noordwijk (MPN) during HEXMAX (Humidity Exchange over the Sea Main Experiment) in October–November, 1986. We started out to study eddy flux of water vapour, but discrepancies among simultaneous measurements made with three different anemometers led us to develop methods to correct eddy correlation measurements of wind stress for flow distortion by nearby objects. We then found excellent agreement among the corrected wind stress data sets from the three anemometers on the MPN boom and with eddy correlation measurements from a mast on a tripod. Inertial-dissipation techniques gave reliable estimates of wind stress from turbulence spectra, both at MPN and at a nearby ship. The data cover a range of wave ages and the results yield new insights into the variation of sea surface wind stress with sea state; two alternative formulas are given for the nondimensional surface roughness as a function of wave age.     

Basaltic pillow mounds in the Vinalhaven intrusion, Maine

The Vinalhaven intrusion is a dominantly granitic pluton of probable Devonian age, located on Vinalhaven Island and adjacent islands, Maine. It consists of four main units: coarse-grained granite, fine-grained granite, a gabbro-diorite unit consisting of interlayered mafic, hybrid and granitic rocks, and a heterogeneous granitic unit. The gabbro-diorite unit occurs along the south and east coast of the island as a sheet-like body, hundreds of meters to more than 1 km thick, that dips beneath the central granitic units and rests on heterogeneous granitic rocks that form the base of the intrusion and are exposed on islands to the southeast. Load-cast and pipe structures at the bases of mafic sheets indicate that the gabbro-diorite unit represents a sequence of basaltic injections that ponded on crystal-rich mush at the base of a silicic magma chamber and variably interacted with overlying crystal-poor granitic magma. The pluton, therefore, represents a fossilized silicic magma chamber that was periodically replenished by basaltic magma. Near the base of the gabbro-diorite unit, some basaltic injections produced large mounds up to more than 10 m high and 100 m wide of tightly packed, meter-scale chilled basaltic pillows, tubes and sheets in a granitic matrix. The mounds appear to represent flow fronts of basaltic injections that entered and ponded on the floor of a silicic magma chamber. Although physical conditions differ significantly, these plutonic pillow mounds appear to share many characteristics with submarine pillow basalts and lava flows.