Waterborne exposure to fluorotelomer alcohol 6:2 FTOH alters plasma sex hormone and gene transcription in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis of zebrafish

Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) have shown estrogenic activity in vitro and in vivo, but the mechanism of this activity is not known. In this study, 18-week-old zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to 0, 0.03, 0.3 and 3.0 mg/l 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctan-1-ol (6:2 ETCH) for 7 days, and the effects on plasma sex hormone levels were measured followed by use of real-time PCR to examine selected gene expression in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and liver. Exposure to 6:2 FTOH significantly increased plasma estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) levels in both males and females. Furthermore, the ratio of T/E2 was reduced in females while increased in males. In females, the increase of E2 was accompanied by up-regulated hepatic estrogenic receptor alpha (ER alpha) and vitellogenin (VTG1 and VTG3) expression. In males, the elevation of the T level is consistent with the up-regulation of cytochrome P450 c17 alpha-hydroxylase, 17, 20-lase (CYP17) and the down-regulation of cytochrome P450 aromatase A (CYP19A). The present study demonstrated that waterborne exposure to 6:2 FTOH alter plasma sex hormone levels and the ratio of T/E2, as well as the transcriptional profiles of some genes in the HPG axis and liver. The results suggested that FTOHs may disturb fish reproduction through endocrine disrupted activity. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic effects of water-borne PFOS exposure on growth, survival and hepatotoxicity in zebrafish: A partial life-cycle test

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is widely distributed and persistent in the environment and wildlife. The main aim of this study was to investigate the impact of long-term exposure to low concentrations of PFOS in zebrafish. Zebrafish fry (F-0, 14d post-fertilization, dpf) were exposed via the water for 70d to 0 (control), 10, 50 and 250 mu g L-1 PFOS, followed by a further 30d to assess recovery in clean water. The effects on survival and growth parameters and liver histopathology were assessed. Although growth suppression (weight and length) was observed in fish treated with high concentrations PFOS during the exposure period, no mortality was observed throughout the 70d experiment. Embryos and larvae (F-1) derived from maternal exposure suffered malformation and mortality. Exposure to 50 and 250 mu g L-1 PFOS could inhibit the growth of the gonads (GSI) in the female zebrafish. Histopathological alterations, primary with lipid droplets accumulation, were most prominently seen in the liver of males and the changes were not reversible, even after the fish were allowed to recover for 30d in clean water. The triiodothyronine (T-3)) levels were not significantly changed in any of the exposure groups. Hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) gene expression was significantly up-regulated in both male and female zebrafish, but the sex ratio was not altered. The overall results suggested that lower concentrations of PFOS in maternal exposure could result in offspring deformation and mortality. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on the apoptosis and Bcl-2/Bax expression of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells after exposure to heavy-ion and X-ray irradiations

This study is aimed at observing the apoptosis and Bcl-2/Bax gene expression of mammalian cells following heavy-ion and X-ray irradiations. Exponentially growing human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells cultured in vitro were irradiated with a C-12 ion beam of 50 MeV/u (corresponding to a LET value of 44.56 keV/mu m) from Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) at doses varying from 0 to 3 Gy. The X-ray irradiation (8 MV) was performed in the therapy unit of the General Hospital of the Lanzhou Military Area. Survival fractions of irradiated cells at various doses were measured by means of MTT assay. Apoptotic cells after irradiation were analyzed with fluorescence microscope and flow cytometer (FCM). Immuno-histological assay were applied to detect the expression of Bcl-2/Bax genes in the irradiated cells. The survival fraction of SMMC-7721 cells decreased gradually (vs. control p<0.05) with increasing the dose of the carbon ion beam more obviously than X-ray irradiation, and the carbon ion irradiation efficiently induced cell apoptosis and significantly promoted the expression of Bax gene while Bcl-2 gene expression was restrained. High-LET heavy ion beam would induce cell apoptosis effectively than low-LET X-ray, and the apoptosis rate is correlated with the transcription of Bcl-2/Bax and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax in human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells after irradiation to heavy ion beam.

Increasing Critical Sensitivity of the Load/Unload Response Ratio before Large Earthquakes with Identified Stress Acclumulation Pattern

The Load/Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is proposed for short-to-intermediate-term earthquake prediction [Yin, X.C., Chen, X.Z., Song, Z.P., Yin, C., 1995. A New Approach to Earthquake Prediction — The Load/Unload Response Ratio (LURR) Theory, Pure Appl. Geophys., 145, 701–715]. This method is based on measuring the ratio between Benioff strains released during the time periods of loading and unloading, corresponding to the Coulomb Failure Stress change induced by Earth tides on optimally oriented faults. According to the method, the LURR time series usually climb to an anomalously high peak prior to occurrence of a large earthquake. Previous studies have indicated that the size of critical seismogenic region selected for LURR measurements has great influence on the evaluation of LURR. In this study, we replace the circular region usually adopted in LURR practice with an area within which the tectonic stress change would mostly affect the Coulomb stress on a potential seismogenic fault of a future event. The Coulomb stress change before a hypothetical earthquake is calculated based on a simple back-slip dislocation model of the event. This new algorithm, by combining the LURR method with our choice of identified area with increased Coulomb stress, is devised to improve the sensitivity of LURR to measure criticality of stress accumulation before a large earthquake. Retrospective tests of this algorithm on four large earthquakes occurred in California over the last two decades show remarkable enhancement of the LURR precursory anomalies. For some strong events of lesser magnitudes occurred in the same neighborhoods and during the same time periods, significant anomalies are found if circular areas are used, and are not found if increased Coulomb stress areas are used for LURR data selection. The unique feature of this algorithm may provide stronger constraints on forecasts of the size and location of future large events.

Numerical simulation of an adaptive optics system with laser propagation in the atmosphere

A comprehensive model of laser propagation in the atmosphere with a complete adaptive optics (AO) system for phase compensation is presented, and a corresponding computer program is compiled. A direct wave-front gradient control method is used to reconstruct the wave-front phase. With the long-exposure Strehl ratio as the evaluation parameter, a numerical simulation of an AO system in a stationary state with the atmospheric propagation of a laser beam was conducted. It was found that for certain conditions the phase screen that describes turbulence in the atmosphere might not be isotropic. Numerical experiments show that the computational results in imaging of lenses by means of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method agree well with those computed by means of an integration method. However, the computer time required for the FFT method is 1 order of magnitude less than that of the integration method. Phase tailoring of the calculated phase is presented as a means to solve the problem that variance of the calculated residual phase does not correspond to the correction effectiveness of an AO system. It is found for the first time to our knowledge that for a constant delay time of an AO system, when the lateral wind speed exceeds a threshold, the compensation effectiveness of an AO system is better than that of complete phase conjugation. This finding indicates that the better compensation capability of an AO system does not mean better correction effectiveness. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America.

Load-Unload Response Ratio and Accelerating Moment/Energy Release Critical Region Scaling and Earthquake Prediction

The main idea of the Load-Unload Response Ratio (LURR) is that when a system is stable, its response to loading corresponds to its response to unloading, whereas when the system is approaching an unstable state, the response to loading and unloading becomes quite different. High LURR values and observations of Accelerating Moment/Energy Release (AMR/AER) prior to large earthquakes have led different research groups to suggest intermediate-term earthquake prediction is possible and imply that the LURR and AMR/AER observations may have a similar physical origin. To study this possibility, we conducted a retrospective examination of several Australian and Chinese earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 7.9, including Australia's deadly Newcastle earthquake and the devastating Tangshan earthquake. Both LURR values and best-fit power-law time-to-failure functions were computed using data within a range of distances from the epicenter. Like the best-fit power-law fits in AMR/AER, the LURR value was optimal using data within a certain epicentral distance implying a critical region for LURR. Furthermore, LURR critical region size scales with mainshock magnitude and is similar to the AMR/AER critical region size. These results suggest a common physical origin for both the AMR/AER and LURR observations. Further research may provide clues that yield an understanding of this mechanism and help lead to a solid foundation for intermediate-term earthquake prediction.

Effect of Cold Rolling Ratio and Heating Rate of Batch Annealing on Textures of Micro-Carbon Steel Sheet

在四辊冷轧试验机和Gleeble-1500试验机上进行了热轧微碳钢板的冷轧和退火试验。用D/max-RC衍射仪测量了试样的,/”层织构,并用Roe软件进行了ODF分析。研究表明,所研究的热轧微碳深冲板压下率约为75%,退火升温速度为20-40℃/h时,试样为{111}织构特征；压下率较大(80%)时,退火织构为较弱的{111}组分。无论{111}织构还是非{111}织构都是在形核阶段开始形成,在晶粒长大优先长大,受到定向形核和选择生长双重机制的作用。

Influence of the thickness ratio of air layer to liquid layer on the onset of Benard-Marangoni convection

An experimental investigation of the onset of Benard-Marangoni convection has been performed in a liquid layer of rectangular configuration. The critical temperature difference was measured via the detections of both temperature field pattern (IR-imaging) on the free surface and fluid convection (PIV) in the liquid layer. The critical temperature difference or the critical Marangoni number was given. The experiments were performed for a fixed depth of air layer and a changeable depth of the liquid layer, and then the influence of the thickness ratio of the air layer to liquid layer on the Marangoni instability was studied.

Simulation of the Load-Unload Response Ratio and Critical Sensitivity in the Lattice Solid Model

The Load-Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is an intermediate-term earthquake prediction approach that has shown considerable promise. It involves calculating the ratio of a specified energy release measure during loading and unloading where loading and unloading periods are determined from the earth tide induced perturbations in the Coulomb Failure Stress on optimally oriented faults. In the lead-up to large earthquakes, high LURR values are frequently observed a few months or years prior to the event. These signals may have a similar origin to the observed accelerating seismic moment release (AMR) prior to many large earthquakes or may be due to critical sensitivity of the crust when a large earthquake is imminent. As a first step towards studying the underlying physical mechanism for the LURR observations, numerical studies are conducted using the particle based lattice solid model (LSM) to determine whether LURR observations can be reproduced. The model is initialized as a heterogeneous 2-D block made up of random-sized particles bonded by elastic-brittle links. The system is subjected to uniaxial compression from rigid driving plates on the upper and lower edges of the model. Experiments are conducted using both strain and stress control to load the plates. A sinusoidal stress perturbation is added to the gradual compressional loading to simulate loading and unloading cycles and LURR is calculated. The results reproduce signals similar to those observed in earthquake prediction practice with a high LURR value followed by a sudden drop prior to macroscopic failure of the sample. The results suggest that LURR provides a good predictor for catastrophic failure in elastic-brittle systems and motivate further research to study the underlying physical mechanisms and statistical properties of high LURR values. The results provide encouragement for earthquake prediction research and the use of advanced simulation models to probe the physics of earthquakes.

Influences of the Fish-Mouth Project and the Groins on the Flow and Sediment Ratio of the Yangtze River Waterway

A depth-integrated two-dimensional numerical model of current, salinity and sediment transport was proposed and calibrated by the observation data in the Yangtze River Estuary. It was then applied to investigate the flow and sediment ratio of the navigati

High Aspect Ratio (L/D) Riser Viv Prediction Using Wake Oscillator Model

A two-dimensional (2-D) vortex-induced vibration (VIV) prediction model for high aspect ratio (LID) riser subjected to uniform and sheared flow is studied in this paper. The nonlinear structure equations are considered. The near wake dynamics describing the fluctuating nature of vortex shedding is modeled using classical van der Pol equation. A new approach was applied to calibrate the empirical parameters in the wake oscillator model. Compared the predicted results with the experimental data and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) results. Good agreements are observed. It can be concluded that the present model can be used as simple computational tool in predicting some aspects of VIV of long flexible structures. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect Of A Negative Poisson Ratio In The Tension Of Ceramics

The effect of a negative Poisson ratio is experimentally revealed in the tension deformation of a natural layered ceramic. This effect can increase the volume strain energy per unit volume by 1100% and, simultaneously, decrease the deformation strain energy per unit volume by about 44%, so that it effectively enhances the deformation capacity by about 1 order of magnitude in the tension of the material. The present study also shows that the physical mechanisms producing the effect are attributed to the climbing on one another of the nanostructures in the natural material, which provides a guide to the design of synthetic toughening composites.

Reconsideration On The Role Of The Specific Heat Ratio In Arrhenius Law Applications

Arrhenius law implicates that only those molecules which possess the internal energy greater than the activation energy E-a can react. However, the internal energy will not be proportional to the gas temperature if the specific heat ratio gamma and the gas constant R vary during chemical reaction processes. The varying gamma may affect significantly the chemical reaction rate calculated with the Arrhenius law under the constant gamma assumption, which has been widely accepted in detonation and combustion simulations for many years. In this paper, the roles of variable gamma and R in Arrhenius law applications are reconsidered, and their effects on the chemical reaction rate are demonstrated by simulating one-dimensional C-J and two-dimensional cellular detonations. A new overall one-step detonation model with variable gamma and R is proposed to improve the Arrhenius law. Numerical experiments demonstrate that this improved Arrhenius law works well in predicting detonation phenomena with the numerical results being in good agreement with experimental data.

The Newest Developments Of Load-Unload Response Ratio (Lurr)

The Load Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is an intermediate-term earthquake prediction approach that has shown considerable promise. It is inspiring that its predictions using LURR have been improving. Since 2004 we have made a major breakthrough in intermediate-term earthquake forecasting of the strong earthquakes on the Chinese mainland using LURR and successfully predicted the Pakistan earthquake with magnitude M 7.6 on October 8, 2005. The causes for improving the prediction in terms of LURR have been discussed in the present paper.