Effects of temperature and salinity on survival,growth and DNA methylation of juvenile Pacific abalone,Haliotis discus hannai Ino

Temperature and salinity are two of the most potent abiotic factors infl uencing marine mollusks.In this study,we investigated the individual and combined ef fects of temperature and salinity on the survival and growth of juvenile Pacifi c abalone,Haliotis discus hannai Ino,and also examined the DNA methylation alteration that may underpin the phenotypic variation of abalone exposed to dif ferent rearing conditions.The single-factor data showed that the suitable ranges of temperature and salinity were 16–28°C at a constant salinity of 32,and 24–40 at a constant temperature of 20°C,respectively.The two-factor data indicated that both survival and growth were signifi cantly af fected by temperature,salinity and their interaction.The optimal temperature-salinity combination for juveniles was 23–25°C and 30–36.To explore environment-induced DNA methylation alteration,the methylation-sensitive amplifi ed polymorphism(MSAP)technique was used to analyze the genomic methylation profi les of abalone reared in optimal and adverse conditions.Neither temperature nor salinity induced evident changes in the global methylation level,but 67 and 63 dif ferentially methylated loci were identifi ed in temperature and salinity treatments,respectively.The between-group eigen analysis also showed that both temperature and salinity could induce epigenetic dif ferentiation in H.discus hannai Ino.The results of our study provide optimal rearing conditions for juvenile H.discus hannai Ino,and represent the fi rst step toward revealing the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of abalone in response to thermal and salt stresses.     

Method for assessing coal-floor water-inrush risk based on the variable-weight model and unascertained measure theory

Water inrush from coal-seam floors greatly threatens mining safety in North China and is a complex process controlled by multiple factors. This study presents a mathematical assessment system for coal-floor water-inrush risk based on the variable-weight model (VWM) and unascertained measure theory (UMT). In contrast to the traditional constant-weight model (CWM), which assigns a fixed weight to each factor, the VWM varies with the factor-state value. The UMT employs the confidence principle, which is more effective in ordered partition problems than the maximum membership principle adopted in the former mathematical theory. The method is applied to the Datang Tashan Coal Mine in North China. First, eight main controlling factors are selected to construct the comprehensive evaluation index system. Subsequently, an incentive-penalty variable-weight model is built to calculate the variable weights of each factor. Then, the VWM-UMT model is established using the quantitative risk-grade divide of each factor according to the UMT. On this basis, the risk of coal-floor water inrush in Tashan Mine No. 8 is divided into five grades. For comparison, the CWM is also adopted for the risk assessment, and a differences distribution map is obtained between the two methods. Finally, the verification of water-inrush points indicates that the VWM-UMT model is powerful and more feasible and reasonable. The model has great potential and practical significance in future engineering applications.     

Comparative study of As,Cd, Cu,Cr, Mg,Mn, Ni,Pb and Zn concentrations between sediment and water from estuary and port

The contents of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn have been determined in sediment and water samples from Valle de las Garzas estuary and Port Manzanillo (Colima, Mexico) using ICP-AES. The concentrations of these elements were used for a comparative study to determine the distribution of heavy metals and to evaluate which elements reflect natural or anthropogenic backgrounds. For this purpose, seven sampling points were selected: Four of them correspond to the lagoon, and three were situated in the port. Statistical analysis of the mineral content was assessed. Initially, data comparison was assessed by statistical tests for each variable. Principal component analysis was then applied considering the influence of all variables at the same time by obtaining the distribution of samples according to their scores in the principal component space. In this way, four studies were carried out: (1) study of sediments collected during the dry season; (2) study of sediments collected during the rainy season; (3) comparative study between sediments from rainy and dry season; and (4) study of water composition collected during rainy season. From the results of the performed analyses, it can be concluded that metals distribution pattern reflected natural and anthropogenic backgrounds (e.g., sediments from the lagoon, situated at the beginning of the rain channel, presented high contents of Zn and Cu, perhaps related to anthropogenic activities or the influence of igneous sediments).     

利用影像纹理和阴影信息提取城市不透水面的方法——以咸阳市为例

利用2012年的咸阳市资源三号卫星影像,同时利用光谱信息和纹理信息对咸阳市的地表进行监督分类,使用阈值和开闭运算提取阴影,并通过TM影像提取NDBI等指数辅助归类,优化分类结果,提高提取不透水层信息的准确率,旨在为城市合理布局,减少城市内涝等提供基本信息。研究结果表明,利用多源遥感卫星影像,同时考虑光谱和纹理信息的分类方法进行不透水面的提取精度提高了17.2%,对阴影检测和归类处理提取精度进一步提高了2.7%,方法简便可行,结果稳定可靠;咸阳市研究区地表不透水率为30.73%,不透水率相对较低,城市生态环境较好;不透水面主要分布在渭河以北老城区。     

Saltwater Upconing Due to Cyclic Pumping by Horizontal Wells in Freshwater Lenses

This article deals with the quantification of saltwater upconing below horizontal wells in freshwater lenses using analytical solutions as a computationally fast alternative to numerical simulations. Comparisons between analytical calculations and numerical simulations are presented regarding three aspects: (1) cyclic pumping; (2) dispersion; and (3) finite horizontal wells in a finite domain (a freshwater lens). Various hydrogeological conditions and pumping regimes within a dry half year are considered. The results show that the influence of elastic and phreatic storage (which are not taken into account in the analytical solutions) on the upconing of the interface is minimal. Furthermore, the analytical calculations based on the interface approach compare well with numerical simulations as long as the dimensionless interface upconing is below 1/3, which is in line with previous studies on steady pumping. Superimposing an analytical solution for mixing by dispersion below the well over an analytical solution based on the interface approach is appropriate in case the vertical flow velocity around the interface is nearly constant but should not be used for estimating the salinity of the pumped groundwater. The analytical calculations of interface upconing below a finite horizontal well compare well with the numerical simulations in case the distance between the horizontal well and the initial interface does not vary significantly along the well and in case the natural fluctuation of the freshwater lens is small. In order to maintain a low level of salinity in the well during a dry half year, the dimensionless analytically calculated interface upconing should stay below 0.25.     

Assessment of evaporation and water fluxes in a column of dry saline soil subject to different water table levels

Dry saline soils are common in the arid and hyper‐arid basins located in the Chilean Altiplano, where evaporation from shallow groundwater is typically the major component of the water balance. Thus, a good understanding of evaporation processes is necessary for improving water resource planning and management in these regions. In this study, we conducted laboratory experiments with a natural saline soil column to estimate evaporation rates and assess the liquid and water vapor fluxes under different water table levels. Water content, electrical conductivity and temperature at different depths were utilized to assess the liquid and water vapor fluxes in the soil column. We observed movement of water that dissolves salts from the soil and transports them to areas in the column where they accumulate. Isothermal liquid flux was predominant, while thermal and isothermal liquid and thermal water vapor fluxes were negligible, except for deep water table levels where isothermal and thermal water vapor fluxes had similar magnitude but opposite directions. Differences observed in total fluxes for all water table levels were due to different upward and downward fluxes, which depend on changes in water content and temperature within the soil profile. Both the vapor flux magnitude and direction were found to be very sensitive to the choice of empirical parameters used in flux quantification, such as tortuosity and the enhancement factor for local temperature gradients in the air phase within the column. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

山东及附近海域构造环境剪应力场分析

利用山东数字地震台网的地震波形记录,选取2007年以来台网记录清晰的ML≥2．0数字地震波形资料,计算每次地震的环境剪应力值τ0和矩震级MW,并分析其相关关系;结合山东地区地质构造和地震活动性特点,对胶东半岛及北部海域、南黄海北部地区、沂沭带地区、冀鲁豫交界地区应力场分布和时空变化进行细致分析,并探讨其区域特征及与地震活动性的关系。     

Prediction of PM10 and SO2 exceedances to control air pollution in the Bay of Algeciras,Spain

In this paper, the authors apply different classification techniques in order to provide 24 h advance forecasts of the daily peaks of SO₂ and PM10 concentrations in the Bay of Algeciras. K-nearest-neighbours, multilayer neural network with backpropagation and support vector machines (SVMs) are the classification methods used. The aim of this research is to obtain a suitable prediction model that would enable us to predict the peaks of pollutant concentrations in critical meteorological situations caused by the widespread existing industry and population in the area. A resampling strategy with twofold crossvalidation has been applied, using different quality indexes to evaluate the performance of the prediction models. SVM models achieved better true positive rate and accuracy (ACC) quality indexes. Results of ACC index value of 0.795 for PM10 and 0.755 for SO₂ showed the ability of the model to predict peaks and non-peaks correctly.