An integrated approach to assess the ecological and chemical status of lakes with HOD/AHOD: a case study of two lakes

The thermal strati?cation of the lakes impedes the transfer of atmospheric oxygen into the lower layers of the lake. In lakes which are af fected by diverse anthropogenic in?uences, the increasing organic matter amounts lead to a sharp decrease in hypolimnetic oxygen amounts, aided by thermal strati?cation,and anaerobic conditions arise. The determination of hypolimnetic oxygen demand(HOD) and areal hypolimnetic oxygen demand(AHOD) and their monitoring represent an integrated approach to investigate the oxygenation of lakes, the nutrient conditions, and the physicochemical dynamics. In this study, two lakes dif fering by size and af fected by dif ferent anthropogenic sources, are investigated in this respect. At?rst, bathymetric studies were conducted to determine the depth, surface area, and volume relationships.Then, based on monitoring studies conducted in 2013 and 2014, the thermal strati?cation dynamics and layer properties were established using the relative thermal resistance to mixing(RTRM) index based on temperature and density pro?les. Following this, the oxygen depletion rates were determined by oxygen and temperature pro?ling in the hypolimnion. For the years of 2013 and 2014, the AHOD values for the Borabey Pond which is far from anthropogenic in?uences, were found to be 0.848 and 0.569 g O 2/(m·d), respectively.The AHOD values for the Porsuk Reservoir which was overburdened for years by industrial and domestic pollution were found to be 4.263 and 5.099 g O 2/(m·d), larger than its counterpart by almost sevenfold. The HOD and AHOD monitoring can be considered to a valuable tool for assessing the ecological and chemical status of lakes within Annex 5 of the Water Framework Directive and as an integrated approach to assess and monitor the status of lakes.     

On the fairing of resistance test data: A software-based approach

A fairing method is presented for giving a good representation of ship model resistance test data, which in general tend to exhibit a scattered trend and need to be smoothed appropriately. One component of the test data originates from the frictional resistance and can be formulated smoothly. The second component is the wave resistance which exhibits a specific harmonic character with peaks and troughs. In this method, this component is modelled using suitable harmonic cosine terms for obtaining the best representation of the corresponding resistance data. The performance of the method is then tested on two example cases, using the characteristic parameters of the sample data as input during the smoothing process.     

Microbial activity promotes the enrichment of cobalt over nickel on hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts

The different mineral phases of the ferromanganese (Fe–Mn) crusts stem from the interaction of biotic and abiotic components. It is therefore vital to study the activity of these components to decipher their contribution to the enrichment/depletion of metals in the crust. Thus, the present study examined sorption and release of Co and Ni by Fe-Mn crusts with associated microbial communities in the presence and absence of the metabolic poison sodium azide (15?mM). The study was conducted in the presence (G⁺) and absence (G^?) of added glucose (0.1%) at temperatures of 4?±?1°C and 28?±?2°C. Results showed that the microbial community had maximal sorption of Co of 66.12?µg?g^?1 at 4?±?1°C in the absence of added glucose and 479.75?µg?g^?1 at 28?±?2°C in the presence of added glucose. Maximum sorption of Ni in the absence of added glucose was 1.89?µg?g^?1 at 4?±?1°C and release of Ni was 51.28?µg?g^?1 in the presence of added glucose. Under abiotic conditions with 15?mM sodium azide as a metabolic inhibitor, significant amounts of Co and Ni were released in the G⁺ medium. Total cell counts on the Fe-Mn crust in the presence of added glucose increased by an order of magnitude from 10⁶ to 10⁷ cells g^?1 and in the absence of added glucose remained within the order of 10⁶ cells?g^?1 irrespective of temperature of incubation. Microscopic observation of the samples from biotic incubations showed numerous bacterial cells, exopolysaccharides, and structures resembling secondary minerals formed by bacteria. The results indicate that bacteria promote the enrichment of Co and Ni on the hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts by sorption processes and release of Ni by reductive dissolution of the oxides. The higher enrichment of Co than Ni is attributed to the way in which microbes interact with the metals.     

Field Study on the Behavior of Destructive and Non-Destructive Piles Under Compression

This paper presents a series of full-scale load tests on long bored piles instrumented with strain gauges along the shafts, including eight field tests of piles loaded to failure and one non-destructive pile load test. The load-displacement response, skin friction, end resistance, and the threshold of the pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistance were discussed. A simple softening model was proposed to describe the degradation behavior of the skin friction along the pile-soil interface and the load-displacement relationship developed at the pile base. It is found that the shaft resistance degradation investigated in the non-destructive load test only occurs at a shallow depth, and the skin friction of deeper soil is not fully developed. However, unlike the results of the non-destructive load tests, the softening is accompanied by a reduction in skin friction and observed to be along the whole pile depth. The thresholds of pile-soil relative displacement for fully mobilizing skin resistances in different soils have been found to be in the range 0.6% to 2.4% of the pile diameter. Moreover, in practical applications, a bilinear model is assumed to be feasible in analyzing the load-settlement relationship developed at the end of non-destructive pile, whereas the load transmission curve of the soils below the pile base corresponds to a softening model in the field tests of piles loaded to failure.     

New Zealand estuary benthic health indicators summarised nationally and by estuary type

ABSTRACT

Ecological data are often collected at small geographic scales. However, analysing data collectively over wider scales can reveal results and patterns not shown in the smaller-scale data. We summarised data for intertidal benthic ecological (physico-chemical and biological) health indicators from New Zealand estuaries and compared the results against thresholds above which ecological impacts are expected to occur. Values for the sediment physico-chemical indicators mud and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus collectively) were above thresholds for at least 50% and at 31% of sites measured respectively. Sediment organic content and metal concentrations were generally low, with only maximum values exceeding the thresholds. Scores for biological indicators were within (or better than) the moderate health category for either at least 50%, or at least 75%, of sites. When compared across estuary types (based on a geomorphic classification system) we found statistically significant differences for thirteen of the sixteen indicators. Differences (among mean values) for highly significant results were relatively large compared to the range of values observed nationally for those indicators. However, the differences, except those for mud, were smaller than their respective ecological health threshold values. Our summary provides a reference for future comparisons of estuary indicators nationally and across estuary types.     

Chlorophyll production,in response to nutrient additions,by the algae in Lake Taupo water

In batch cultures of Lake Taupo water, phosphorus was the nutrient limiting plant growth from January to June, and nitrogen took over this role from July to December. Chlorophyll production by algae was often stimulated by trace element additions, but it was uncertain whether total cytoplasmic production was also involved.     

Relationships between land use and stream invertebrate community structure in a South Island,New Zealand,coastal stream catchment

Macroinvertebrate community composition was compared across streams draining catchments dominated by either native bush, agricultural or urban land uses within the Water of Leith stream catchment near Dunedin, New Zealand. Land use was associated with differences in taxon richness and faunal composition of communities present in each stream. The mean abundance levels of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera were highest in native bush catchments, and lowest in urban catchments. In contrast, the mean abundance of Oligochaeta exhibited the opposite pattern. Increasing dominance of the urban and agricultural streams by pollution tolerant taxa was reflected in the Macroinvertebrate Community Index and Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index scores.     

JGN型耐高温建筑结构胶抗震加固性能研究

为有效增强建筑结构的抗震性能、提高建筑抗震水平,对JGN型耐高温建筑结构胶抗震加固性能展开研究。将高活性酚醛胺(T－31)作为主固化剂、聚酰胺树脂(PA)为辅助固化剂,结合气相白炭黑、超细石英砂、石棉纤维、纳米材料、环氧树脂等材料,制备JGN型耐高温建筑结构胶。在高温环境下,使用万能试验机分析不同配比条件对结构胶抗震加固性能的影响。测试主要以拉伸强度、压缩强度以及压缩弹性模量为指标。测试结果表明：当固化剂质量比为45∶15、气相白炭黑掺量为4.5%、超细石英砂掺量为10%、石棉纤维掺量为10.5%、纳米SiO₂掺量为3.5%、纳米CaCO₃掺量为2.5%时,JGN型耐高温建筑结构胶的拉伸强度和压缩强度更大,压缩弹性模量得到优化,结构胶的抗震加固性能达到最佳状态。     

Corrected Formula of Bed Resistance Coefficient for Plane Numerical Simulation of Tidal Current

By means of a logarithm law for the velocity profile,a corrected formula of bed resistancecoefficient,which involves many factors such as gradient of still water depth,variation of surfaceelevation,flow direction,and so on,is derived from the 3D governing equations of tidal current by aver-aging over the whole water depth.Theoretical analysis and application have shown that the 2D plane tidalcurrent numerical model would be more reasonable and could be applied to steep bottom topographywhen the corrected bed resistance coefficient is used,therefore the results of reproduction simulation andengineering calculation would be more scientific and reasonable.     

Diet restriction induced autophagy: a lysosomal protective system against oxidative- and pollutant-stress and cell injury

Nutrient deprivation or dietary restriction (DR) confers protection against ageing and stress in many animals and induced lysosomal autophagy is part of this mechanism. The effects of dietary restriction on the toxicity of copper and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene have been investigated in the common marine mussel Mytilus edulis. The findings show that DR-induced autophagy facilitates the recovery of the digestive gland (i.e., molluscan liver analogue) from cell injury caused by both copper and phenanthrene. It is inferred that DR-induced autophagy and lysosomal proteolysis results in improved cellular "housekeeping" through the more efficient removal of oxidatively and pollutant damaged proteins (e.g., protein carbonyls, protein adducts, etc.) and that this contributes to stress resistance.