莲（Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.）胚芽的光合特性及其暗萌发过程中的光合系统建成

被子植物成熟的种子一般不合有叶绿素，但是莲（Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.）的胚芽却具有鲜明的绿色，本文较详细地研究了莲胚芽不同于一般被子植物叶组织的色素和光台系统组成，并通过对莲胚芽成熟发育过程中的叶绿素合成和光合系统发育进行分析，探讨了莲胚芽光合特性形成的原因，最后对莲胚芽在黑暗中萌发能发育并建成光合系统的现象进行了研究，主要的结果如下： 1，莲胚芽不仅含有叶绿素和光合系统，而且其色素和光台系统组成均与莲叶以及其它被子植物的叶组织不同。莲胚芽的Chla/b值约为0.8左右，远远低于正常高等植物的Chla/b值(～3)：莲胚芽的色素组成中不含有β-胡萝卜素;莲胚芽的光合系统没有电子传递活性，快速荧光动力学测定结果表明莲胚芽只有较高的固定荧光F。没有可变荧光Fv;原位低温荧光光谱检测表明莲胚芽只在679nm处有一个荧光发射主峰，没有正常的PSII和PSI荧光发射峰(683nm、692nm和730nm);部分变性的叶绿素蛋白复合物凝胶电泳分析结果表明莲胚芽叶绿体类囊体膜上只存在LHCII 一种叶绿素蛋白复合物（其中单体和二聚体形式的LHCII均有发现）;Western Blots检测结果表明莲胚芽的LHCII组成比较单一，同时确证了莲胚芽不含有PSI的核心和天线蛋白组分。莲胚芽LHCII和莲叶LHCII在SDS-PAGE图谱上迁移距离相同，但是光谱分析表明二者不仅在Chla、Chlb的相对含量上不同，而且在叶绿素分子与蛋白的结合状态上也存在差异，这些差异主要是由一部分Chla分子造成的，Chlb分子在二者中的结合状态则比较～致。 2，对莲胚芽成熟过程中的光合系统发育进行研究，结果表明这个过程可以分为建成期（0-20天）、稳定期（20-30天）和降解期（30—40天）三个阶段。在建成期和稳定期内，莲胚芽外面的包被物可能不是完全遮光的，所以莲胚芽能感受到环境光信号，其叶绿素合成已经光合系统建成集中在此阶段内进行：在莲’胚芽成熟后期，莲胚芽外面的包被组织开始木质化，光信号无法再穿透它们，莲胚芽的光合系统发育进入降解期，叶绿素合成停止，己建成的光合系统开始降解，到莲胚芽成熟时，除LHCIl外，光合系统其余的叶绿素蛋白复合物都被降解了，所以莲胚芽具有不同于一般祓子植物叶组织的色素和光合系统组成。对莲胚芽的成熟发育过程进行遮光处理，结果发现遮光发育的莲胚芽发生明显黄化，这表明莲胚芽的叶绿素合成也离不开光照，在莲总基因组中检测不到编码DPOR的三个基因的同源序列，确证了莲胚芽不具有在黑暗中合成叶绿素的能力。 3，在黑暗中萌发生长的莲胚芽能够在相当长的时间内保持其叶绿素稳定，特别是Chla的含量在暗生长10天以内基本没有变化;原位低温荧光光谱检测表明暗萌发过程中莲苗有PSII和PSI的荧光发射峰形成，暗生长10天左右的莲苗具有比较明显的光合系统荧光发射峰，但是与自然光照下的发育过程相比，暗萌发莲苗的光合系统荧光发射峰出现较慢，而且PSI的荧光发射相对较弱;暗萌发莲苗在转绿以及冻融过程中的原位低温荧光光谱变化表明莲苗在黑暗中建成的光合系统不完善并且不稳定;对莲胚芽、暗萌发莲苗以及莲叶的叶绿体吸收光谱进行比较，结果显示暗萌发莲苗的叶绿体发育阶段介于莲胚芽和莲叶之间;叶绿素蛋白复合物凝胶电泳分离，SDS-PAGE，Western Blots免疫检测、以及叶绿素荧光诱导动力学结果均确证暗萌发莲苗有光合系统的发育，特别是PSI的出现;对暗萌发莲苗的光化学活性进行分析，结果表明暗中建成的PSII和PSI均具有电子传递活性：但是放氧复合物的发育不完全，对莲胚芽暗萌发过程光合系统建成的原因进行分析，推测叶绿素可能起了至关重要的作用，光对于莲胚芽萌发过程中的光合系统发育来说可能并不是必需的。

Feasibility of cyanobacterial inoculation for biological soil crusts formation in desert area

Practical testing of the feasibility of cyanobacterial inoculation to speed up the recovery of biological soil crusts in the field was conducted in this experiment. Results showed that cyanobacterial and algal cover climbed up to 48.5% and a total of 14 cyanobacterial and algal species were identified at the termination of inoculation experiment; biological crusts' thickness, compressive and chlorophyll a content increased with inoculation time among 3 years; moss species appeared in the second year; cyanobacterial inoculation increased organic carbon and total nitrogen of the soil; total salt, calcium carbonate and electrical conductivity in the soil also increased after inoculation. Diverse vascular plant communities composed of 10 and 9 species are established by cyanobacterial inoculation on the windward and leeward surface of the dunes, respectively, after 3 years. The Simpson index for the above two communities are 0.842 and 0.852, while the Shannon-Weiner index are 2.097 and 2.053, respectively. In conclusion, we suggest that cyanobacterial inoculation would be a suitable and effective technique to recover biological soil crusts, and may further restore the ecological system. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Formation and growth of Bryopsis hypnoides lamouroux regenerated from its protoplasts

Tissue culture, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and spectra analysis were used for studying the aggregation mechanism of protoplasts from Bryopsis hypnoides Lamouroux and the discrepancy between the protoplast-regenerated plants and the wild type. The aggregation of protoplasts from B. hypnoides was observed in natural seawater and artificial seawater with different pH values, and the location and mechanism of the materials causing the aggregation were also studied. Results showed that the protoplasts could aggregate into some viable spheres in natural seawater and subsequently grow into mature individuals. Aggregation of the protoplasts depended exclusively upon the pH value (6-11), and the protoplasts aggregated best at pH 8-9. Some of the extruded protoplasts were separated into two parts by centrifugation: the pellet (PO) and the supernatant (PL). The PO could aggregate in artificial seawater (pH 8.3) but not in PL. No aggregation was found in PO cultured in natural seawater containing nigericin, which can dissipate the proton gradients across the membrane. These experiments suggest that the aggregation of protoplasts is proton-gradient dependent and the materials causing the aggregation were not in the vacuolar sap, but located on the surface or inside the organelles. Furthermore, the transfer of the materials across the membrane was similar to Delta pH-based translocation (Delta pH/TAT) pathway that occurs in the chloroplasts of higher plants and bacteria. Obvious discrepancies in both the total soluble proteins and the ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b between the regenerated B. hypnoides and the wild type were found, which may be related to the exchange of genetic material during aggregation of the organelles. In the process of development, diatom Amphora coffeaeformis Agardh attached to the protoplast aggregations, retarding their further development, and once they were removed, the aggregations immediately germinated, which showed that diatoms can affect the development of other algae.

Distribution patterns of chlorophyll a in spring and autumn in association with hydrological features in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea

Two field studies were conducted to measure pigments in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the northern East China Sea (NECS) in April (spring) and September (autumn) to evaluate the distribution pattern of phytoplankton stock (Chl a concentration) and the impact of hydrological features such as water mass, mixing and tidal front on these patterns. The results indicated that the Chl a concentration was 2.43 +/- 2.64 (Mean +/- SD) mg m(-3) in April (range, 0.35 to 17.02 mg m(-3)) and 1.75 +/- 3.10 mg m(-3) in September (from 0.07 to 36.54 mg m(-3)) in 2003. Additionally, four areas with higher Chl a concentrations were observed in the surface water in April, while two were observed in September, and these areas were located within or near the point at which different water masses converged (temperature front area). The distribution pattern of Chl a was generally consistent between onshore and offshore stations at different depths in April and September. Specifically, higher Chl a concentrations were observed along the coastal line in September, which consisted of a mixing area and a tidal front area, although the distributional pattern of Chl a concentrations varied along transects in April. The maximum Chl a concentration at each station was observed in the surface and subsurface layer (0-10 m) for onshore stations and the thermocline layer (10-30 m) for offshore stations in September, while the greatest concentrations were generally observed in surface and subsurface water (0-10 m) in April. The formation of the Chl a distributional pattern in the SYS and NECS and its relationship with possible influencing factors is also discussed. Although physical forces had a close relationship with Chl a distribution, more data are required to clearly and comprehensively elucidate the spatial pattern dynamics of Chl a in the SYS and NECS.

Is inorganic nutrient enrichment a driving force for the formation of red tides? A case study of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea in an embayment

Red tides (high biomass phytoplankton blooms) have frequently occurred in Hong Kong waters, but most red tides occurred in waters which are not very eutrophic. For example, Port Shelter, a semi-enclosed bay in the northeast of Hong Kong, is one of hot spots for red tides. Concentrations of ambient inorganic nutrients (e.g. N, P), are not high enough to form the high biomass of chlorophyll a (chl a) in a red tide when chl a is converted to its particulate organic nutrient (N) (which should equal the inorganic nutrient, N). When a red tide of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea occurred in the bay, we found that the red tide patch along the shore had a high cell density of 15,000 cells ml(-1), and high chl a (56 mu g l(-1)), and pH reached 8.6 at the surface (8.2 at the bottom), indicating active photosynthesis in situ. Ambient inorganic nutrients (NO3, PO4, SiO4, and NH4) were all low in the waters and deep waters surrounding the red tide patch, suggesting that the nutrients were not high enough to support the high chl a >50 mu g l(-1) in the red tide. Nutrient addition experiments showed that the addition of all of the inorganic nutrients to a non-red-tide water sample containing low concentrations of Scrippsiella trochoidea did not produce cell density of Scrippsiella trochoidea as high as in the red tide patch, suggesting that nutrients were not an initializing factor for this red tide. During the incubation of the red tide water sample without any nutrient addition, the phytoplankton biomass decreased gradually over 9 days. However, with a N addition, the phytoplankton biomass increased steadily until day 7, which suggested that nitrogen addition was able to sustain the high biomass of the red tide for a week with and without nutrients. In contrast, the red tide in the bay disappeared on the sampling day when the wind direction changed. These results indicated that initiation, maintenance and disappearance of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea red tide in the bay were not directly driven by changes in nutrients. Therefore, how nutrients are linked to the formation of red tides in coastal waters need to be further examined, particularly in relation to dissolved organic nutrients. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formation and structure of composite coating of HDA and micro-plasma oxidation on A3 steel

Composite coatings were obtained on A3 steel by hot dipping aluminum(HDA) at 720 ℃ for 6 min and micro-plasma oxidation(MPO) in alkali electrolyte. The surface morphology, element distribution and interface structure of composite coatings were studied by means of XRD, SEM and EDS. The results show that the composite coatings obtained through HDA/MPO on A3 steel consist of four layers. From the surface to the substrate, the layer is loose Al2O3 ceramic, compact Al2O3 ceramic, Al and FeAl intermetallic compound layer in turn. The adhesions among all the layers are strengthened because the ceramic layer formed at the Al surface originally, FeAl intermetallic compound layer and substrate are combined in metallurgical form through mutual diffusion during HDA process.Initial experiment results disclose that the anti-corrosion performance and wear resistance of composite coating are obviously improved through HDA/MPO treatment.

Formation of Fivefold Deformation Twins in Nanocrystalline Face-Centered-Cubic Copper Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Fivefold deformation twins were reported recently to be observed in the experiment of the nanocrystalline face-centered-cubic metals and alloys. However, they were not predicted previously based on the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the reason was thought to be a uniaxial tension considered in the simulations. In the present investigation, through introducing pretwins in grain regions, using the MD simulations, the authors predict out the fivefold deformation twins in the grain regions of the nanocrystal grain cell, which undergoes a uniaxial tension. It is shown in their simulation results that series of Shockley partial dislocations emitted from grain boundaries provide sequential twining mechanism, which results in fivefold deformation twins. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Numerical Simulation of Nox Formation in Coal Combustion with Inlet Natural Gas Burning

A full two-fluid model of reacting gas-particle flows and coal combustion is used to simulate coal combustion with and without inlet natural gas added in the inlet. The simulation results for the case without natural gas burning is in fair agreement with the experimental results reported in references. The simulation results of different natural gas adding positions indicate that the natural gas burning can form lean oxygen combustion enviroment at the combustor inlet region and the NOz concentration is reduced. The same result can be obtained from chemical equilibrium analysis.

Twinning and Stacking Fault Formation during Tensile Deformation of Nanocrystalline Ni

Deformation twins and stacking faults have been observed in nanocrystal line Ni, for the first time under uniaxial tensile test conditions. These partial dislocation mediated deformation mechanisms are enhanced at cryogenic test temperatures. Our observations highlight the effects of deformation conditions, temperature in particular, on deformation mechanisms in nanograins.

Formation, Thermal Stability and Deformation Behavior of Graphite-Flakes Reinforced Cu-based Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composites

Graphite-flake reinforced Cu47Ti34Zr11 Ni-8 bulk metallic glass matrix composite was fabricated by water-cooled copper mould cast. Most of the graphite flakes still keep unreacted and distribute uniformly in the amorphous matrix except that some reactive wetting occurs by the formation of TiC particles around the flakes. It reveals that the presence of graphite flakes does not affect the onset of the glass transition temperature, crystallization reaction and liquidus of the metallic glass. The resulting material shows obvious serrated flow and higher fracture strength under room temperature compressive load, comparing with the monolithic bulk metallic glass (BMG). Three types of interaction between the shear bands and graphite flakes, namely, shear band termination, shear bands branching and new shear bands formation near the graphite flakes can be observed by quasi-static uniaxial compression test and bonded interface technique through Vickers indentation.

Effect of Particle Size on the Formation of Adiabatic Shear Band In Particle Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites

In this paper, the effect of particle size on the formation of adiabatic shear band in 2024 All matrix composites reinforced with 15% volume fraction of 3.5, 10 and 20 mum SiC particles was investigated by making use of split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The results have demonstrated that the onset of adiabatic shear banding in the composites strongly depends on the particle size and adiabatic shear banding is more readily observed in the composite reinforced with small particles than that in the composite with large particles. This size dependency phenomenon can be characterized by the strain gradient effect. Instability analysis reveals that high strain gradient is a strong driving force for the formation of adiabatic shear banding in particle reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCp).

Evaluation of the Cumulative Formation of High-Speed Liquid Jets

This paper describes the generation of pulsed, high-speed liquid jets using the cumulation method. This work mainly includes (1) the design of the nozzle assembly, (2) the measurement of the jet velocity and (3) flow visualization of the injection sequences. The cumulation method can be briefly described as the liquid being accelerated first by the impact of a moving projectile and then further after it enters a converging section. The experimental results show that the cumulation method is useful in obtaining a liquid jet with high velocity. The flow visualization shows the roles of the Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the breakup of the liquid depend on the jet diameter and the downstream distance. When the liquid jet front is far downstream from the nozzle exit, the jet is decelerated by air drag. Meanwhile, large coherent vortex structures are formed surrounding the jet. The liquid will break up totally by the action of these vortices. Experimental results showing the effect of the liquid volume on the jet velocity are also included in this paper. Finally, a method for measuring the jet velocity by cutting two carbon rods is examined.

Formation Mechanism of Cracks in Saturated Sand

The formation mechanism of “water film” (or crack) in saturated sand is analyzed theoretically and numerically. The theoretical analysis shows that there will be no stable “water film” in the saturated sand if the strength of the skeleton is zero and no positions are choked. It is shown by numerical simulation that stable water films initiate and grow if the choking state keeps unchanged once the fluid velocities decrease to zero in the liquefied sand column. The developments of “water film” based on the model presented in this paper are compared with experimental results.

Electrochemical, spectroscopic and SPM evidence for the controlled formation of self-assembled monolayers and organised multilayers of ferrocenyl alkyl thiols on Au(111)

Organised multilayers were formed from the controlled self-assembly of ferrocene alkyl thiols on Au(111) surfaces. The control was accomplished by increasing the concentration of the thiol solutions used for the assembly. Cyclic voltammetry, ellipsometry, scanning probe microscopy (STM and AFM) and in situ FTIR spectroscopy were used to probe the differences between mono- and multilayers of the same compounds. Electrochemical desorption studies confirmed that the multilayer structure is attached to the surface via one monolayer. The electrochemical behaviour of the multilayers indicated the presence of more than one controlling factor during the oxidation step, whereas the reduction was kinetically controlled which contrasts with the behaviour of monolayers, which exhibit kinetic control for the oxidation and reduction steps. Conventional and imaging ellipsometry confirmed that multilayers with well-defined increments in thickness could be produced. However, STM indicated that at the monolayer stage, the thiols used promote the mobility of Au atoms on the surface. It is very likely that the multilayer structure is held together through hydrogen bonding. To the best of out knowledge, this is the first example of a controlled one-step growth of multilayers of ferrocenyl alkyl thiols using self-assembly techniques.