Impact of Gas Adsorption Induced Coal Matrix Damage on the Evolution of Coal Permeability

It has been widely reported that coal permeability can change from reduction to enhancement due to gas adsorption even under the constant effective stress condition, which is apparently inconsistent with the classic theoretical solutions. This study addresses this inconsistency through explicit simulations of the dynamic interactions between coal matrix swelling/shrinking induced damage and fracture aperture alteration, and translations of these interactions to permeability evolution under the constant effective stress condition. We develop a coupled coal–gas interaction model that incorporates the material heterogeneity and damage evolution of coal, which allows us to couple the progressive development of damage zone with gas adsorption processes within the coal matrix. For the case of constant effective stress, coal permeability changes from reduction to enhancement while the damage zone within the coal matrix develops from the fracture wall to further inside the matrix. As the peak Langmuir strain is approached, the decrease of permeability halts and permeability increases with pressure. The transition of permeability reduction to permeability enhancement during gas adsorption, which may be closely related to the damage zone development in coal matrix, is controlled by coal heterogeneity, external boundary condition, and adsorption-induced swelling.     

射电脉冲星的偏振特性与逆康普顿散射（ICS）模型

大量射电脉冲星的偏振观测－包括红偏振和圆偏振，个别脉冲的生直偏振模式，累积脉冲的消偏振现象等－为辐射区的物理状态和辐射提供了非常确切的观测事实，但现有理论对大从观测事实尚无法给出完整的说明，综述了脉冲星的偏振观测特征，并利用逆康谱顿散射模型对这些特性进行了解释。     

Characteristics of dry-wet abrupt alternation events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin and the relationship with ENSO

During recent decades, more frequent flood-drought alternations have been seen in China as a result of global climate change and intensive human activities, which have significant implications on water and food security. To better identify the characteristics of flood-drought alternations, we proposed a modified dry-wet abrupt alternation index (DWAAI) and applied the new method in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin (YRB-ML) to analyze the long-term spatio-temporal characteristics of dry-wet abrupt alternation (DWAA) events based on the daily precipitation observations at 75 rainfall stations in summer from 1960 to 2015. We found that the DWAA events have been spreading in the study area with higher frequency and intensity since 1960. In particular, the DWAA events mainly occurred in May and June in the northwest of the YRB-ML, including Hanjiang River Basin, the middle reaches of the YRB, north of Dongting Lake and northwest of Poyang Lake. In addition, we also analyzed the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on DWAA events in the YRB-ML. The results showed that around 41.04% of DWAA events occurred during the declining stages of La Niña or within the subsequent 8 months after La Niña, which implies that La Niña events could be predictive signals of DWAA events. Besides, significant negative correlations have been found between the modified DWAAI values of all the rainfall stations and the sea surface temperature anomalies in the Nino3.4 region within the 6 months prior to the DWAA events, particularly for the Poyang Lake watershed and the middle reaches of the YRB. This study has significant implications on the flood and drought control and water resources management in the YRB-ML under the challenge of future climate change.     

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.     

Protective effects of C-phycocyanin on alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice

Excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver disease. Extensive evidence suggests that C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a chromophore phycocyanobilin derived from Spirulina platensis, exerts protective effects against chemical-induced organ damage. In this study, we investigated whether C-PC could protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (CHOL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), liver homogenate malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) content were measured, and pathological examination of liver sections were examined. C-PC showed obvious inhibitory effects on serum ALT, AST, TG, CHOL, LDL and MDA, and SOD content significantly increased in the liver. The structure of hepatic lobules was clear, liver sinus returned to normal, and liver cell cords were arranged in neat rows. Cloudiness, swelling, inflammatory cell infiltration and spotty necrosis of liver cells were significantly reduced. Therefore, C-PC can significantly protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury.     

Why chromatic imaging matters

During the last two decades, the first generation of beam combiners at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has proved the importance of optical interferometry for high-angular resolution astrophysical studies in the near- and mid-infrared. With the advent of 4-beam combiners at the VLTI, the u ? v coverage per pointing increases significantly, providing an opportunity to use reconstructed images as powerful scientific tools. Therefore, interferometric imaging is already a key feature of the new generation of VLTI instruments, as well as for other interferometric facilities like CHARA and JWST. It is thus imperative to account for the current image reconstruction capabilities and their expected evolutions in the coming years. Here, we present a general overview of the current situation of optical interferometric image reconstruction with a focus on new wavelength-dependent information, highlighting its main advantages and limitations. As an Appendix we include several cookbooks describing the usage and installation of several state-of-the art image reconstruction packages. To illustrate the current capabilities of the software available to the community, we recovered chromatic images, from simulated MATISSE data, using the MCMC software SQUEEZE. With these images, we aim at showing the importance of selecting good regularization functions and their impact on the reconstruction.     

3种典型荒漠灌木内生固氮菌及固氮酶基因nifH多样性分析

具有特殊生境的内生固氮菌,对改善植物营养、增强植物抗逆性及群落稳定性具有重要作用,是一类潜力巨大、尚待开发的微生物资源。以新疆3种典型荒漠灌木多枝柽柳（Tamarix ramosissima）、黑果枸杞（Lycium ruthenicum）、盐穗木（Halostachys caspica）为材料,从根和枝条组织中分离筛选获得137个内生固氮菌菌株,采用16S rDNA PCR-RFLP、16S rDNA序列测定、BOXAIR-PCR指纹图谱、nifH PCR-RFLP等方法分析其遗传多样性及系统发育关系。结果表明：分离菌株经16SrDNA PCR-RFLP酶切图谱聚类划分为9个遗传类型。序列测定和系统发育分析显示,代表菌株分属于拉恩氏菌属（Rahnella）、假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）、泛菌属（Pantoea）、芽孢杆菌属（Bacillus）、寡养单胞菌属（Stenotrophomonas）和申氏杆菌属（Shinella）,其中Rahnella为优势种群。一个测定菌株的16SrDNA序列同源性低于97%,提示可能为一个潜在的新种。BOXAIR-PCR分析优势种群的基因组结构特征,获得12种指纹图谱类型,显示出该种群具有丰富的基因组多样性。nifH PCR-RFLP分析分离内生固氮菌菌株固氮酶基因nifH的分子多态性,将其划分为3种基因型,体现了nifH具有高度保守性,同时在不同固氮微生物种群和菌株间也存在一定的多样性。研究结果丰富了固氮微生物物种资源库和基因库,对于内生固氮菌资源的保护和利用奠定了科学基础。     

EFFECTS OF FISH OIL,DHA OIL AND LECITIHIN IN MICROPARTICULATE DIETS ON STRESS TOLERANCE OF LARVAL GILTHEAD SEABREAM（SPARUS AURATA）

The effects of natural fish oil,DHA oil and soybean lecithin in microparticulate diets on stress tolerance of larval gilthead seabream(Sparus aurata)were investigated after 15 days feeding trials.The tolerance of larval gilthead seabream to various stress factors such as exposure to air(lack of dissolved oxygen),changes in water temperature(low)and salinity(high) were determined.This study showed that microparticulate diet with natural fish oil and soybean lecithin was the most effective for in-creasing the tolerance of larval gilthead seabream to various stresses,and that microparticulate diet with natural fish oil and palmitic acid(16:0)was more effective than microparticulate diet with DHA oil and soybean lecithin.     

南极普里兹湾附近海域表层海流特征分析

利用第29次南极科考期间在普里兹湾海区释放的8个Argos漂流浮标所获的总计662 d的数据,对普里兹湾及其邻近海域的表层海流特征进行了分析,并和以前的研究结果进行对比,结果表明:普里兹湾西部和北部表层海流基本呈现向西的流动,说明此地区的表层海流以沿南极大陆的逆时针沿岸流为主。普里兹湾东部海流呈现先向南再向西或先向南再向北的流动,普里兹湾西北部海流呈现向南的流动。8个浮标平均流速在0.02—0.20 m·s~(-1)之间,最大流速为1.57 m·s~(-1),流速1.0 m·s~(-1)的大流速区主要集中在普里兹湾、克洛斯角外侧、达恩利角外侧海域,流速1.5 m·s~(-1)的大流速区只出现在普里兹湾、克洛斯角外侧两处海域。     

潮汐形变资料中地震前兆信息的识别与提取

将小波变换的多分辨率分析引入潮汐形变资料处理中，对近年来云南地区的3次强震前的潮汐形变观测资料进行了处理与分析，发现在地震前2～5个月，震中附近的形变台站都接收到一个频段相同的异常信号，且它们之间是相关的，相关系数达80％以上，由此可以确定信号是由同一个源发出来的。出现在多个台站的相同频段的异常信号很可能就是我们想要得到的地震前兆信息。