Reliable Procedure for Molecular Analysis of Airborne Microflora in Three Indoor Environments: An Office and Two Different Museum Contexts

Biological aerosols from air constitute a significant source of exposure to microorganisms in public places. Airborne microorganisms are involved in the development of certain respiratory symptoms, allergies, or infections among users and occupants. Various sampling instruments have commonly been used in aerobiology to collect bacteria and fungi suspended in the air. The objective of this study was to develop a reliable procedure for sampling in indoor public environments presenting different levels of occupancy, airborne bacteria and fungi to be subjected to molecular analysis (bacteria and fungi quantitative PCR, capillary electrophoresis single strand conformation polymorphism fingerprinting). Four different sampling devices were tested in situ in an office building (open‐plan type) and the sampling strategy chosen was tested in two museum contexts. In accordance with the drawbacks involved to our study (quantitative and qualitative aspects, cost, and overcrowding), cyclone device appeared to be most suitable. The results underline the effectiveness of this high‐volume aerosol sampling device for both qualitative and quantitative molecular analysis. Four in situ sampling collections were carried out in 1 day in the Louvre Museum to study quantitative and qualitative variations of airborne bacterial and fungal diversity. The quantitative results revealed a similar order of magnitude for the numbers of both bacteria and fungi. In the Louvre Museum, the samples yielded between 3.7 × 10⁴ and 4.1 × 10⁴ genome equivalent (GE) bacteria/m³ air and between 5.0 × 10⁴ and 5.9 × 10⁴ GE fungi/m³ air and in the Decorative Arts Museum between, 2.1 × 10⁴ and 2.5 × 10⁴ GE bacteria/m³ air and between 1.4 × 10⁴ and 1.7 × 10⁴ GE fungi/m³ air. The results also indicate that the dominant bacterial community displayed a stable structure over a short period of time whereas dominant eukaryotic airborne community appeared more variable.     

Pile reinforcement mechanism of soil slopes

Stabilizing piles are widely used as an effective and economic reinforcement approach for slopes. Reasonable designs of pile reinforcement depend on the understanding of reinforcement mechanism of slopes. A series of centrifuge model tests were conducted on the pile-reinforced slopes and corresponding unreinforced slopes under self-weight and vertical loading conditions. The deformation of the slope was measured using image-based analysis and employed to investigate the pile reinforcement mechanism. The test results showed that the piles significantly reduced the deformation and changed the deformation distribution of the slope, and prevented the failure occurred in the unreinforced slope. The pile influence zone was determined according to the inflection points on the distribution curves of horizontal displacement, which comprehensively described the features of the pile–slope interaction and the characteristics of reinforced slopes. The concepts of anti-shear effect and compression effect were proposed to quantitatively describe the restriction features of the piles on the deformation of the slope, namely the reduction in the shear deformation and the increase in the compression deformation, respectively. The pile reinforcement effect mainly occurred in the pile influence zone and decreased with increasing distance from the piles. There was a dominated compression effect in the vicinities of the piles. The compression effect developed upwards in the slope with a transmission to the anti-shear effect. The anti-shear effect became significantly dominated near the slip surface and prevented the failure that occurred in the unreinforced slope.     

近30年来西藏那曲地区湖泊变化对气候波动的响应

根据1975年地形图、20世纪80年代至2005年的TM、CBERS卫星遥感资料和近45年的气温、降水量、蒸发量、最大积雪深度和最大冻土深度等气候资料分析得出,西藏那曲地区东南部的巴木错、蓬错、东错、乃日平错等四个湖泊的水位面积在近30年来呈较显著的扩大趋势,2005年与1975年相比,分别增加了48.2 km²、38.2km²、19.8 km² (比2004年)、26.0 km²,增长幅度分别为25.6%、28.2%、16.2%、37.6%。其主要原因与该地区近年来气温的上升、降水量的增加和蒸发量的减少、冻土退化等暖湿化的气候变化有很大关系。     

Flexural isostatic response of the Alps to increased Quaternary erosion recorded by foreland basin remnants,SE France

We test the hypothesis that flexural isostatic compensation of the mass removed by enhanced Quaternary erosion is responsible for uplift of the Western European Alps and their forelands. We use two well‐preserved and well‐dated (1.8 Ma) abandonment surfaces of foreland basin remnants in SE France (the Chambaran and Valensole plateaux) as passive benchmarks for tilting of the foreland. Estimating their initial slope from morphometric scaling relationships, we determine bulk post‐depositional tilting of 0.5–0.8% for these surfaces. The calculated isostatic response of the Alpine lithosphere to erosional unloading, using the method recently proposed by Champagnac et al. [Geology 35 (2007) 195–198] , yields a predicted tilting of 0.3–0.4% in the considered areas, explaining approximately half of the determined post‐depositional tilting. Such long‐term deformation being insensitive to cyclic loading/unloading because of glaciations, we suspect the other half to be related to as yet undetermined long‐wavelength and long‐lived tectonic process(es).     

西藏前冬环流及地温特征与夏季旱涝关系

选取西藏地区各区域内严重干旱年和严重洪涝年各5年,分析了北半球500hPa高度距平场同期和前冬环流,同时对旱涝年前冬地温距平与当年夏季旱涝的关系也进行了相关分析。结果表明,干旱年和洪涝年前冬（12月～2月）环流距平分布状况和地温距平有明显差异,这些不同特征是预测西藏夏季旱涝的信号和重要因子。夏季伊朗高压位置偏北或偏南,西太平洋高压脊线和西脊点位置都有一定的指示意义。同时,也可根据2月500hPa高度场正、负距平区位置特点,预测了西藏主要农业区沿雅鲁藏布江一线雨季偏迟或偏早。     

FEM × DEM modelling of cohesive granular materials: Numerical homogenisation and multi-scale simulations

The article presents a multi-scale modelling approach of cohesive granular materials, its numerical implementation and its results. At microscopic level, Discrete Element Method (DEM) is used to model dense grains packing. At the macroscopic level, the numerical solution is obtained by a Finite Element Method (FEM). In order to bridge the micro- and macro-scales, the concept of Representative Elementary Volume (REV) is applied, in which the average REV stress and the consistent tangent operators are obtained in each macroscopic integration point as the results of DEM’s simulation. In this way, the numerical constitutive law is determined through the detailed modelling of the microstructure, taking into account the nature of granular materials. We first elaborate the principle of the computation homogenisation (FEM × DEM), then demonstrate the features of our multiscale computation in terms of a biaxial compression test. Macroscopic strain location is observed and discussed.     

Surface current patterns in front of the Venice Lagoon

Surface patterns of the low-frequency current in a 20 × 30 km region in front of the Venice Lagoon were analysed from a 13-month-long HF radar data set. Surface circulation was related to prevalent wind regimes in the area and to the tidal flow through the lagoon inlet. Three different categories of wind-forcing were defined: bora (NE wind), sirocco (SE wind), and finally the category containing all other wind directions and calms (winds lower than 3 m/sec). Mean flow and vorticity spatial distributions were discussed for different wind conditions. The coastal area about 5 km wide is characterized by a flow field with maximum vorticity. Outside the coastal boundary layer the interior flow is part of the Adriatic basin-wide cyclonic circulation. Two counter-rotating vortices of the dimension of about 4–5 km were evidenced in the average flow field in front of the lagoon inlet (Malamocco inlet) in all situations except for the bora. The vortex-pair is probably associated with the tidal flow through the inlet. The bora wind induces a strong southward coastal jet detached from the coast by about 5 km homogenizing the flow and eliminating the dipole. The average coastal flow pattern in calm wind conditions was also analysed as a function of the strong inflow/outflow (currents in the inlet > 0.7 m s⁻¹) from the lagoon inlet. In both cases the vorticity pattern is similar, with the negative vorticity to the left of the inlet and positive to the right looking seaward.     

The Use of Stable Sulfur, Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Ratios as Geochemical Tracers of Sulfates in the Podwiśniówka Acid Drainage Area (South-Central Poland)

The paper presents the results of determinations of stable S and O isotopes of dissolved sulfates and O and H stable isotopes of waters from three ponds, that is, Marczakowe Do?y acid pond, Marczakowe Do?y fish pond and Podwi?niówka acid pit pond, located in the Holy Cross Mountains (south-central Poland). The δ³⁴S_V-CDT and δ¹⁸O_V-SMOW of SO₄ ^2? in waters of three ponds (n = 14) varied from ?16.2 to ?9.5 ‰ (mean of ?13.6 ‰) and from ?8.1 to ?3.2 ‰ (mean of ?4.8 ‰), respectively. The mean δ³⁴S–SO₄ ^2? values were closer to those of pyrite (mean of ?25.4 ‰) and efflorescent sulfate salts (mean of ?25.6 ‰), recorded previously in the Podwi?niówka quarry, than to sulfates derived from other anthropogenic or soil and bedrock sources. The SO₄ ^2? ions formed by bacterially induced pyrite oxidation combined with bacterial (dissimilatory) dissolved sulfate reduction, and presumably with subordinate mineralization of carbon-bonded sulfur compounds, especially in both Marczakowe Do?y ponds. In addition, the comparison of δ¹⁸O–SO₄ ^2? and δ¹⁸O–H₂O values indicated that 75–100 % of sulfate oxygen was derived from water. Due to the largest size, the Podwi?niówka acid pit pond revealed distinct seasonal variations in both δ¹⁸O–H₂O (?9.2 to ?1.6) and δD–H₂O (?29.7 to ?71.3) values. The strong correlation coefficient (r ² = 0.99) was noted between δ¹⁸O–H₂O and δD–H₂O values, which points to atmospheric precipitation as the only source of water. The sediments of both acid ponds display different mineral inventory: the Marczakowe Do?y acid pond sediment consists of schwertmannite and goethite, whereas Podwi?niówka acid pit pond sediment is composed of quartz, illite, chlorite and kaolinite with some admixture of jarosite reflecting a more acidic environment. Geochemical modeling of two acid ponds indicated that the saturation indices of schwertmannite and nanosized ε-Fe₂O₃ (Fe³⁺ oxide polymorph) were closest to thermodynamic equilibrium state with water, varying from ?1.44 to 3.05 and from ?3.42 to 6.04, respectively. This evidence matches well with the obtained mineralogical results.     

Proterozoic tectonic evolution and late Svecokarelian plate deformation of the Central Baltic Shield

The continental crust of the Central Baltic Shield evolved by accretion towards the west during the Svecokarelian orogeny 1700–2200 Ma ago. The following features are consistent with a plate tectonic mechanism involving subduction of oceanic crust below an Archean craton in the east: flysch-sediments with serpentinite masses and pillow lavas, linear high-grade metamorphic zones, island-arc type volcanic belts and late tectonic batholiths with porphyry type Cu-Mo deposits.Semi-consolidated new crust was affected by late Svecokarelian deformation (D_n) after 1850 Ma; NNE-trending folds with crenulation cleavage were overprinted on older structures together with associated NW trending ductile transcurrent shear zones that curve the F_n folds into gentle S and Z shapes. The late tectonic batholiths intruded partly at the same time as and partly after the D_n deformation.

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Zusammenfassung Die kontinentale Kruste des zentralen Baltischen Schildes entwickelte sich durch nach Westen gerichtetes Anwachsen während der Svecokarelischen Orogenese vor 1700 bis 2200 Ma. Die folgenden Erscheinungsformen lassen sich mit einem plattentektonischen Mechanismus in Einklang bringen, der Subduktion von ozeanischer Kruste unter einen Archaischen Kraton im Osten einschließt: Flysch-Sedimente mit Serpentinit-Massen und Kissenlaven, lineare hochmetamorphe Zonen, vulkanische Gürtel vom Inselbogen-Typ und spättektonische Batholithe mit porphyrischen Cu-Mo-Lagerstätten.Die halbkonsolidierte neue Kruste wurde durch späte Svecokarelische Deformation (D_n) nach 1850 Ma erfaßt; NNE-orientierte Falten mit Krenulationsschieferung wurden älteren Strukturen aufgeprägt in Verbindung mit NW-streichenden, plastischen Transcurrent-Scherzonen, die die F_n-Falten in sanfte S- und Z-Formen verbiegen. Die spättektonischen Batholithe intrudierten teils während, teils nach der D_n-Deformation.

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Résumé La croûte continentale du Boucher baltique central a évolué par voie d'accrétion vers l'ouest durant l'orogénie svécocarélienne 1700–2200 Ma. Les événements suivants sont en accord avec un mécanisme de tectonique de plaques impliquant la subduction d'une croûte océanique sous un craton archéen à l'est: sédiments flyschoïdes avec masses de serpentinite et de laves en coussins, zones linéaires à haut degré de métamorphisme, ceintures volcaniques du type guirlande d'îles et batholithes tectoniques tardifs avec gisements porphyriques de type Cu-Mo.La nouvelle croûte à semi-consolidée fut affectée par une déformation svécocarélienne tardive (D_n) postérieure à 1850 Ma. Des plis de direction NNE avec clivage de crénulation ont été superposés sur des structures plus anciennes, associés à des zones de cisaillement transcurrentes de direction NW qui ont incurvé les plis F_n suivant des formes en S et Z. Le batholithe tectonique tardif s'est mis en place en partie au même moment que, et en partie après, la déformation D_n.

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, , 1500–2200 . , , : ; ; - . , 1850 ; NNE- , , NW , , F_n S Z. , .

     

水平循环荷载下风电机桩基础离心模型试验研究

在近海风力发电工程中桩基是常用的基础型式,海上风力发电机桩基础一般建立于复杂软土地基、承受着海上风浪、潮流等近似水平向的循环荷载作用,而风力发电机组运行对基础的承载力和变形有严格的要求。因此,研究水平循环荷载下桩土系统变形规律和相互作用机制具有重要的意义。针对典型的近海风机单桩基础,选取典型的饱和砂性土地基,通过离心模型试验的方法研究了水平循环荷载下的风机桩基础的受力变形规律。试验结果表明,水平向循环作用下,桩周围土体中变形主要呈现为挤压或塌陷产生的沉降和水平向变形,变形主要集中在桩周围较小的范围内;变形呈现逐渐累积特性,其大小随着循环次数的增加而增加;桩身弯矩峰值出现在埋深上1/3处,多次循环后的弯矩大小和分布变化不大;桩周围土体中不同位置产生不同的超静孔隙水压力,孔隙水压力发展对土体变形有一定影响