The critical state and steady state of sand: A literature review

Abstract

The critical state and steady state theories are widely accepted for simulating the soil behavior and providing a basis for liquefaction evaluation and constitutive modeling. However, there was conflicting evidence regarding the critical state and steady state of sands in the last decades. In some cases, the critical state and steady state are taken to be identical and in others they differ significantly. Whether they are the same or not remain a hot academic debate to date. This paper provides a critical review on the origin and history of the critical state and steady state of sands, which identifies conflicting evidences and discusses the influencing factors on the existence and uniqueness of critical state and steady state. Based on a critical review of literature, it is concluded that the steady state concept is a refinement of the critical state concept and the uniqueness of the critical state and steady state was affirmed. Special care should be paid in the laboratory techniques in order to accurately measure the critical state and steady state due to the numerous influencing factors of them.     

Induction of apoptosis by the tropical seaweed Pylaiella littoralis in HT-29 cells via the mitochondrial and MAPK pathways

We demonstrated that an extract from Pylaiella littoralis, collected from the Federate States of Micronesia (FSM), could inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells. P. littoralis extract (PLE) showed anti-proliferative activities in the tumorigenic cells tested, ranging from 20.2% to 67.9%. The highest inhibitory activity, in HT-29 cells, was selected for further experiments. PLE showed no cytotoxic effect in normal cells and inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells depending on concentration and incubation time. PLE-treated HT-29 cells showed the typical morphological characteristics of apoptosis, such as apoptotic body formation and DNA fragmentation. PLE also induced mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization and resulted in increased mitochondrial membrane permeability, compared with untreated cells. PLE decreased Bcl-2 protein and increased Bax protein expression, activating caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) expression via the caspase pathway. PLE also increased the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and it reduced cell viability in treatment cells with specific inhibitors such as PD98059 (a specific inhibitor of ERK), SP600125 (a specific inbibitor of JNK), and SB 203580 (a specific inbibitor of p38 MAPK). via the the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) pathway. These results suggest that PLE inhibits the proliferation of HT-29 cells by affecting the caspase and MAPK pathways involved in the induction of apoptosis. Thus, we suggest that P. littoralis extract might be potential candidate agents for the treatment of human colorectal cancer.     

Morphology and molecular characterization of the epiphytic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cf. rhathymum in temperate waters off Jeju Island, Korea

Prorocentrum spp. are planktonic and/or benthic species. Benthic Prorocentrum species are of primary concern to scientists and the public because some of them are toxic. We established clonal cultures of 3 strains of Prorocentrum species that were collected from the thalli of a macroalga in the coastal waters off Jeju Island, located at the southern end of Korea. The Korean strains of P. cf. rhathymum, which are morphologically almost identical to the Virgin Island strain of P. rhathymum, were different from P. mexicanum because the former dinoflagellate has one simple collar-like spine in the periflagellar area, while the latter dinoflagellate has a 2- or 3-horned spine. In addition, the sequences of the small subunit (SSU) rDNA of the Korean strains were identical to those of the Malaysian and Floridian strains of P. rhathymum, while the sequences of the large subunit (LSU) rDNA of the Korean strains were 0.1–0.9% different from those of the Iranian and Malaysian strains of P. rhathymum. In phylogenetic trees based on the SSU rDNA sequences, the Korean strains of P. rhathymum formed a clade with the Malaysian and Floridian strains of P. rhathymum and the Vietnamese and Polynesian strains of P. mexicanum. However, in phylogenetic trees based on the LSU rDNA sequences, the Korean strains of P. rhathymum formed a clade with the Iranian strain of P. rhathymum and the Spanish and Mexican strains of P. mexicanum. Therefore, the molecular characterization of the Korean strains does not allow us to clearly classify them as P. rhathymum, nor P. mexicanum, although their morphology has so far been reported to be closer to that of P. rhathymum than P. mexicanum and thus we designated them as P. cf. rhathymum.     

Coseismic vertical deformation of the MS8.0 Wenchuan earthquake from repeated levelings and its constraint on listric fault geometry

The devastating M_S8.0 Wenchuan earthquake ruptured two large parallel thrust faults along the middle segment of the Longmenshan thrust belt. Preseismic and postseismic leveling data indicated the hanging wall of the YingxiuBeichuan-Nanba thrust fault mainly presented coseismic uplift with respect to the reference point at Pingwu county town, and the observed maximum uplift of 4.7 m is located at Beichuan county (Qushan town) which is about 100 m west of the fault scarp. The foot wall of the Yingxiu-Beichuan-Nanba thrust fault mainly showed subsidence with maximum subsidence of 0.6 m near the rupture. By employing a listric dislocation model, we found that the fault geometry model of exponential dip angle δ= 88°?×1-exp(-9/h) with depth of 18 km and uniform thrust-slip of 5.6 m could fit the observed coseismic vertical deformation very well, which verifies the listric thrust model of the Longmenshan orogenic zone.

     

震源区构造对地震学参数扫描结果的影响分析

以华南、华北以及西部地区中强地震为例,选择了8种物理意义明确、独立性较强的地震学指标,以区域内断裂走向为参考,分别沿断裂走向进行平行、垂直、斜向滑移做空间扫描,以扫描曲线与震源区曲线的相关系数大小定量分析不同滑移方式扫描结果的差异,研究不同构造分区内断裂走向对地震学参数扫描结果的影响及变化规律。结果表明:不仅空间参数的改变对结果有影响,震源区内的断裂走向对地震学参数扫描结果也有一定影响。文中给出了不同震级地震学指标在扫描中影响最小的空间范围的最佳条件参数,同时也对不同断裂走向对参数扫描结果可能产生的影响进行了分析     

北极Svalbard群岛雪坑及河流主要离子特征

报道了2007年北极Svalbard群岛Longyearbyen地区2处雪坑样品和8个河流样品中主要阴、阳离子浓度。对比该地区1996年雪坑样品离子浓度发现,2007年雪坑中离子浓度普遍降低,该地区河流水化学受陆源离子影响为主,主要是河流流经裸露基岩过程中对岩石的侵蚀作用造成的。     

Effect of incoming sediment on the transport rate of bed load in mountain streams

Field experiments were conducted on bed load transport in the Diaoga River, a mountain stream in southwest China, to study the variation of bed load transport with varying sediment supply. The rate of bed load transport is greatly affected by incoming sediment （load and size）. Under the same flow conditions, bed load transport rates may differ by three orders of magnitude depending on whether measurements were taken before or after the first flood of the year. The relation of the ＂bed load transport rate versus flow intensity＂ appears to have similar characteristics as a clockwise looped-rating curve. Experiments also were conducted during the non-flood season to study bed load transport processes with different incoming load from an upstream section. Bed load with different sizes can be grouped into two types： traveling bed load and structural bed load. Traveling bed load is composed of sediment finer than a critical size, De, and its transport rate depends mainly on the incoming sediment rate. The incoming sediment rate can alter the rate of bed load transport by three orders of magnitude. Structural bed load is composed of coarser sediment and its transport rate closely relies on the flow intensity.     

越南石油生产和出口形势变化及其对中国的影响

越南石油产量快速上升,在2006年达到峰值后而迅速下降。为改变油品几乎全靠进口的状况,着手大力兴建炼厂。因而石油进出口形势将发生逆转。预计2013年后就可成为原油净进口国（进口量可达3—5千万吨）且将大量出口油品。此前越南是中国的原油进口源国和油品（特别是轻质油）的出口目的地。越南石油形势的重大变化将对中国和东亚石油格局产生一定的影响。     

Surface water deficiency zoning of China based on surface water deficit index (SWDI)

China’s economic and social development is severely restricted by regional water deficiency, and the determination of water deficiency level in different regions is an important basis of water resource management. In this study, we zoned 32 provinces of China into five surface water deficiency levels based on surface water deficit index derived from the Chinese meteorological satellite FY-2C images. The result shows that China is facing serious water shortage crisis with only 15.44% of total area without water deficiency, which is located in the south and southeast coast. More than 60% of total area of China suffered from severe or extremely water deficiency, which are mainly distributed in western and northern regions. Jingjinji area (namely Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province), which is a special region with high amount of gross domestic product and relative abundant water resources, is suffering from severe water deficiency. It revealed that water resources were interacted with regional development and water management should consider local conditions. To Jingjinji area, water management should focus on adjustment of industrial structure, urban expansion control and scientific water resources allocation. In general, the surface water deficit index based water deficiency zoning will be of significant value to be applied in water resources management at regional scales.     

高邮4.9级地震前滁州地震台电磁扰动异常分析

采用超限率方法,分析滁州地震台2011-2013年电磁扰动数据,结果发现,2012年7月20日江苏高邮M4.9地震前,电磁扰动脉冲超限频次和超限幅度均出现明显增强;进一步分析该台电磁扰动子夜时段(00:00-04:00)的脉冲变化,结果显示,子夜时段的电磁扰动脉冲在震前明显增强.分析认为,2012年滁州地震台电磁扰动脉冲增强变化与高邮M4.9地震具有明显的相关性.