Modelling of deformation response and chemo‐mechanical coupling in chalk

A constitutive relation is derived for describing the mechanical response of chalk. The approach is based on a phenomenological framework which employs chemo‐plasticity. The properties of the material are assumed to be affected by the physico‐chemical processes that occur through the interaction between the skeleton and the pore fluid. The underlying mechanism is discussed by invoking a micromechanical analysis. The performance of the framework is illustrated by examining the evolution of mechanical characteristics in the presence of different pore fluids. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A transdisciplinary analysis of water problems in the mountainous karst areas of Morocco

Water management and engineering in the karstic High Atlas of Morocco are difficult tasks under the prevailing geological, hydrogeological, geomorphological, vegetational and climatic conditions. It is important to be able to understand and predict the characteristics and availability of water for future water planning in the region under changing climatic and agricultural conditions. An interdisciplinary analysis of problems and adequate hydrological modelling tools developed by geologists, hydrologists and biologists are necessary. The karst areas of the High Atlas Mountains are characterised by impermeable triassic basalt underlying substantial subsurface reservoirs with high potential discharge rates. The karst groundwater aquifers are extensive but largely unknown in dimension, probably with a hierarchical network of groundwater flow paths. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the surface water is directly lost to groundwater. Steep landslide- and debris flow prone slopes exist next to coarse-grained, highly porous river beds. Infrequent, high intensity rainfall or snowmelt causes a particularly high flood risk to these karst areas. In addition, agriculture and land use changes have degraded the karst areas. The most important driving forces for degradation include permanent overgrazing even during droughts and the use of firewood by a continually growing population. Large scale degradation of vegetation has occurred in the oro-mediterranean (mountainous Mediterranean) zone, between 2600 and 3400 m which coincides with the most important zone for karstic groundwater creation. The combination of high amounts of groundwater flow and rapid surface flow due to sparse vegetation has increased the problems of flood flow.     

Influence of Structural Non-Stationarity of Surface Roughness on Morphological Characterization and Mechanical Deformation of Rock Joints

Summary Structural non-stationarity of surface roughness affects accurate morphological characterization as well as mechanical behaviour of rock joints at the laboratory scale using samples with a size below the stationarity threshold. In this paper, the effect of structural non-stationarity of surface roughness is investigated by studying the scale dependence of surface roughness and mechanical behaviour of rock joints. The results show that the structural non-stationarity mainly affects the accurate characterization of the surface roughness of the fracture samples. It also controls the amount and location of the contact areas during shear tests, which in turn affects the mechanical properties and asperity degradation of the samples. It is concluded that for accurate determination of the morphological and mechanical properties of rock joints at laboratory and field scales, samples with size equal to or larger than the stationarity threshold are required. Author’s address: Nader Fardin, Rock Mechanics Group, Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 11365/4563, Tehran, Iran     

A genetic assessment of the taxonomic status of New Zealand mussels of the genus Xenostrobus Wilson, 1967

ABSTRACT

The genus Xenostrobus consists of small, marine and estuarine mussels that all appear similar externally. One of its estuarine species, Xenostrobus securis, with a native range in New Zealand and Australia, has become invasive in the Northern Hemisphere. No genetic data are available to determine if X. securis populations from the two countries are conspecific. Additionally, marine Xenostrobus from New Zealand have often been regarded as a species, X. neozelanicus, distinct fromthe marine Australian species X. pulex. We combined new DNA sequences with published data to assess the taxonomic status of New Zealand Xenostrobus. The data comprised 658 aligned bases of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and 331 bases of nuclear histone H3. There was no evidence that X. securis populations from Australia and New Zealand are specifically distinct. Northern Hemisphere specimens of X. securis belonged to Australian, not New Zealand, clades in phylogenetic analyses of COI data, suggesting the former country as their more likely original source. The results confirm that X. neozelanicus and X. pulex are distinct species and for nomenclatural completeness for this taxonomic decision a lectotype is designated for Mytilus ater Zelebor in Dunker and Zelebor, 1866 DunkerW, ZeleborJ. 1866. Bericht über die von der Novara-expedition mitgebrachten Mollusken. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 16:909–916. [Google Scholar] [?=?Modiolus neozelanicus Iredale, 1915 IredaleT. 1915. A commentary on Suter’s ‘Manual of New Zealand Mollusca’. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. 47:417–497. [Google Scholar]].     

褐牙鲆(♀)、夏鲆(♂)及其杂交子一代线粒体16S rDNA序列遗传特性的初步研究

以线粒体16S rRNA基因部分片段为代表研究雌褐牙鲆Paralichthys olivaceus、雄夏鲆P. dentatus及其杂交子一代间线粒体DNA的遗传特性。母本与父本序列差异较大,属种间差异,在590个位点中有28个变异位点,而且全部为简约信息位点。使用同一对引物扩增亲本与杂交子代,在杂交子代中未检测到父本的线粒体DNA类型,11个处于两种生长阶段的杂交样本仅检测到一种单倍型,而且与母本的一个单倍型为同一种,表明褐牙鲆与夏鲆杂交线粒体DNA遵循母系遗传规律。     

唐山市滨海湿地动态演变特征及其机制分析

利用历史资料和Landsat TM卫星遥感图像,研究了唐山市滨海湿地自建国以来的演变特征,着重对1987~2004年陡河———滦河之间的滨海平原湿地类型进行了识别,绘制了不同时期的景观面解译图。利用Mapinfo制图软件计算出两个时期的面积(比例)转化矩阵,显示该区滨海湿地破碎化加重,其动态演变特征呈明显退化趋势,进而提出引起其退化的原因和发展趋势预测。     

6个虾种基因组DNA多态性分析

采用RAPD方法检测了罗氏沼虾（Macrobrachium rosenbergii)、绿须虾（Aristeus virilis)、长毛对虾（Penaeus penicillatus)、日本对虾（P.japonicus)、斑节对虾（P.monodon)和周氏新对虾（Metapenaeus joyneri)等6个虾种的基因组DNA的多态性。用20个随机引物扩增得到492个DNA片段，根据这些片段的共享度计算出遗传距离并构建系统树。所得结果从DNA水平上反映出虾类在科属种不同分类阶元亲缘关系的远近，并为虾类现行的分类系统提供了分子生物学依据。     

The DNA de-methylating agent 5-azacytidine does not restore CYP1A induction in PCB resistant Newark Bay killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus)

Newark Bay (NB) killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) have been chronically exposed to environmental contaminants that activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and are tolerant to toxic effects and CYP1A induction provoked by AHR ligands. Resistance to CYP1A induction could be due to an epigenetic mechanism such as DNA methylation. We measured in-ovo CYP1A catalytic activity (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, EROD) in NB and reference site killifish embryos aqueously exposed to various concentrations of the de-methylating agent 5-azacytidine, 5-AC (5, 50 and 500 μ(micro)M) with or without 0.2 μ(micro)g/l of the CYP1A inducer 3,3^′,4,4^′,5 pentachlorobiphenyl (IUPAC PCB126). Neither PCB126 alone, nor PCB126 plus 5-AC, induced EROD above levels in vehicle treated Newark Bay fish. In reference site fish, the same PCB126 dose provoked a 7.4-fold EROD induction relative to controls. We conclude that Newark Bay killifish are resistant to CYP1A induction by co-planar PCBs during early embryological development and our data suggests that DNA methylation does not play a critical role in resistance to CYP1A induction in this model.     

6-磷酸山梨醇脱氢酶(gutD)基因克隆、测序和表达

本研究根据6-磷酸山梨醇脱氢酶基因(gutD)两端序列设计引物，以假单胞杆菌(Pseudonmonas XM)的总DNA为模板通过PCR的方法克隆gutD基因并进行序列分析，将克隆得到的gutD基因与原核表达载体pBV220连接并转化大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)JM101后检测其蛋白表达及菌株生长耐盐性。