Cultivation of the brown alga Sargassum horneri: sexual reproduction and seedling production in tank culture under reduced solar irradiance in ambient temperature

As a large conspicuous intertidal brown alga, individuals of Sargassum horneri can reach a length of more than 7 m with a fresh weight of 3 kg along the coasts of the Eastern China Sea. The biomass of this alga as a vital component in coastal water ecology has been well documented. In recent years, a steady disappearance of the algal biomass along the once densely populated coastal areas of the Eastern China Sea has drawn attention in China. Efforts have been made to reconstruct the subtidal algal flora or even to grow the alga by use of long-lines. As part of the efforts to establish an efficient technique for producing seedlings of S. horneri, in this investigation a series of culture experiments were carried out in indoor raceway and rectangular tanks under reduced solar irradiance at ambient temperature in 2007-2008. The investigation demonstrated that: (1) sexual reproduction of S. horneri could be accelerated in elevated temperature and light climates, at least 3 months earlier than in the wild; (2) eggs of S. horneri had the potential to be fertilized up to 48 h, much longer than that of known related species; (3) suspension and fixed culture methods were both effective in growing the seedlings to the long-line cultivation stage; and (4) the life cycle of S. horneri in culture could be shortened to 4.5 months, thus establishing this alga as an appropriate model for investigating sexual reproduction in dieocious species of this genus.

Optimization of triploid induction by heat shock in Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis

Chromosome manipulation for commercially valuable marine animals plays an important role in aquaculture. The special reproductive characteristics of shrimp make it difficult to control fertilization and synchronize egg development, so research on chromosome manipulation in shrimp has proceeded very slowly. In the present study, triploid shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis were induced by heat shocks and the optimal-inducing condition was screened at different spawning temperatures. Level of triploid induction for each treatment was evaluated by flow cytometry at nauplius stage. The highest level of triploid induction reached to more than 90%. Starting time for each treatment was very crucial for triploid induction in shrimp. One optimal treatment condition for triploid induction was heat shock (29-32 degreesC), starting at 18-20 min for duration of 10 min. These conditions varied depending on the temperature at spawning. Triploid level at embryo stage and nauplius stage was not different, suggesting the same hatching rate between diploids and triploids. Heat shock is a very effective way to induce triploids in this species, and can be easily used on large scale without any harmful effect on the environment as compared with chemical treatment. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling vertical heat transport in the wave affected surface layer of the ocean

In considering the vertical heat transport problems in the upper ocean, the flat upper boundary approximation for the free surface and the horizontal homogenous hypothesis are usually applied. However, due to the existence of the wave motion, the application of this approximation may result in some errors to the solar irradiation since it decays quickly in respect to the actual thickness of the water layer below the surface; on the other hand, due to the fluctuation of the water layer depth, it is improper to neglect the effects of the horizontal advection and turbulent diffusion since they also contribute to the vertical heat transport. A new model is constructed in this study to reflect these effects. The corresponding numerical simulations show that the wave motion may remarkably accelerate the vertical heat transferring process and the variation of the temperature in the wave affected layer appears in an oscillating manner.

Interannual horizontal heat advection in the surface mixed layer over the equatorial Pacific Ocean: assimilation versus TAO analysis

The interannual anomalies of horizontal heat advection in the surface mixed layer over the equatorial Pacific Ocean in an assimilation experiment are studied and compared with existing observational analyses. The assimilation builds upon a hindcast study that has produced a good simulation of the observed equatorial currents and optimizes the simulation of the Reynolds sea surface temperature (SST) data. The comparison suggests that the assimilation has improved the simulation of the interannual horizontal heat advection of the surface mixed layer significantly. During periods of interrupted current measurements, the assimilation is shown to produce more meaningful anomalies of the heat advection than the interpolation of the observational data does. The assimilation also shows that the eddy heat flux due to the correlation between high-frequency current and SST variations, which is largely overlooked by the existing observational analyses, is important for the interannual SST balance over the equatorial Pacific. The interannual horizontal heat advection anomalies are found to be sensitive to SST errors where oceanic currents are strong, which is a challenge for ENSO prediction. The study further suggests that the observational analyses of the tropical SST balance based on the TAO and the Reynolds SST data contain significant errors due to the large gradient errors in the Reynolds SST data, which are amplified into the advection anomalies by the large equatorial currents.

Seasonal and interannual variability of primary and export production in the South China Sea: a three-dimensional physical-biogeochemical model study

To investigate the seasonal and interannual variations in biological productivity in the South China Sea (SCS), a Pacific basin-wide physical - biogeochemical model has been developed and used to estimate the biological productivity and export flux in the SCS. The Pacific circulation model, based on the Regional Ocean Model Systems (ROMS), is forced with daily air-sea fluxes derived from the NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reanalysis between 1990 and 2004. The biogeochemical processes are simulated with a carbon, Si(OH)(4), and nitrogen ecosystem (CoSiNE) model consisting of silicate, nitrate, ammonium, two phytoplankton groups (small phytoplankton and large phytoplankton), two zooplankton grazers (small micrograzers and large mesozooplankton), and two detritus pools. The ROMS-CoSiNE model favourably reproduces many of the observed features, such as ChI a, nutrients, and primary production (PP) in the SCS. The modelled depth-integrated PP over the euphotic zone (0-125 m) varies seasonally, with the highest value of 386 mg C m (-2) d (-1) during winter and the lowest value of 156 mg C m (-2) d (-1) during early summer. The annual mean value is 196 mg C m (-2) d (-1). The model-integrated annual mean new production (uptake of nitrate), in carbon units, is 64.4 mg C m (-2) d (-1) which yields an f-ratio of 0.33 for the entire SCS. The modelled export ratio (e-ratio: the ratio of export to PP) is 0.24 for the basin-wide SCS. The year-to-year variation of biological productivity in the SCS is weaker than the seasonal variation. The large phytoplankton group tends to dominate over the smaller phytoplankton group, and likely plays an important role in determining the interannual variability of primary and new production.

SIZE STRUCTURES OF MICROPLANKTON BIOMASS AND PRODUCTION IN JIAOZHOU BAY, CHINA

Seasonal investigations of size-fractionated biomass and production were carried out from February 1992 to May 1993 in Jiaozhou Bay, China. Microplankton assemblages were separated into three fractions: pico-(0.7-2 mu m), nano- (2-20 mu m) and netplankton (20-200 mu m). The biomass was measured as chlorophyll a (Chl a), particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON). The production was determined by C-14 and N-15 tracer techniques. The seasonal patterns in biomass, though variable, were characterized by higher values in spring and lower values in autumn and summer (for Chl a only). The seasonal patterns in production, on the other hand, were more clear with higher values occurring in summer and spring, and lower values occurring in autumn and winter. Averaged over the whole study period, the respective proportions of total biomass accounted for by net-, nano- and picoplankton were 26, 45 and 29% for Chl a, 32, 33 and 35% for POC, and 26, 32 and 42% for PON. The contributions to total primary production by net-, nano- and picoplankton were 31, 35 and 34%, respectively. The respective proportions of total NH4+-N uptake accounted for by net-, nano- and picoplankton were 28, 33 and 39% in the daytime, and 10, 29 and 61% at night. The respective contributions to total NO3--N uptake by net-, nano- and picoplankton were 37, 40 and 23% in the daytime, and 13, 23 and 64% at night. Some comprehensive ratios, including C/N biomass ratio, Chl a/C ratio, C uptake/Chl a ratio, C:N uptake ratio and the f-ratio, were also calculated size separately, and their biological and ecological meanings are discussed.

A two-stage process with temperature-shift for enhanced anthocyanin production in strawberry cell suspension cultures

A two-stage process with temperature-shift has been developed to enhance the anthocyanin yield in suspension cultures of strawberry cells. The effect of the temperature-shift interval and the shift-time point was investigated for the optimization of this strategy. In this process, strawberry cells were grown at 30 degrees C (the optimum temperature for cell growth) for a certain period as the first stage, with the temperature shifted to a lower temperature for the second stage. In response to the temperature shift-down, anthocyanin synthesis was stimulated and a higher content could be achieved than that at both boundary temperatures but cell growth was suppressed. When the lower boundary temperature was decreased, cell growth was lowered and a delayed, sustained maximum anthocyanin content was achieved. Anthocyanin synthesis was strongly influenced by the shift-time point but cell growth was not. Consequently, the maximum anthocyanin content of 2.7 mg.g-fresh cell(-1) was obtained on day 9 by a temperature-shift from 30 degrees C, after 3-d culture, to 15 degrees C. The highest anthocyanin yield of 318 mg.L-1 on day 12 was achieved when the temperature was shifted from 30 degrees C, after 5-d culture, to 20 degrees C. For a global optimization of both the yield and productivity, the optimum anthocyanin yield and productivity of 272 mg.L-1 and 30.2 mg.L-1.d(-1) on day 9 were achieved by a two-stage culture with a temperature-shift from 30 degrees C after 3 d to 20 degrees C.

Fully developed laminar flow and heat transfer in smooth trapezoidal microchannel

Numerical analysis of fully developed laminar slip flow and heat transfer in trapezoidal micro-channels has been studied with uniform wall heat flux boundary conditions. Through coordinate transformation, the governing equations are transformed from physical plane to computational domain, and the resulting equations are solved by a finite-difference scheme. The influences of velocity slip and temperature jump on friction coefficient and Nusselt number are investigated in detail. The calculation also shows that the aspect ratio and base angle have significant effect on flow and heat transfer in trapezoidal micro-channel. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outer Membrane Vesicle Production in Escherichia coli Relieves Envelope Stress and is Modulated by Changes in Peptidoglycan

Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical buds of the outer membrane (OM) containing periplasmic lumenal components. OMVs have been demonstrated to play a critical part in the transmission of virulence factors, immunologically active compounds, and bacterial survival, however vesiculation also appears to be a ubiquitous physiological process for Gram-negative bacteria. Despite their characterized biological roles, especially for pathogens, very little is known about their importance for the originating organism as well as regulation and mechanism of production. Only when we have established their biogenesis can we fully uncover their roles in pathogenesis and bacterial physiology. The overall goal of this research was to characterize bacterial mutants which display altered vesiculation phenotypes using genetic and biochemical techniques, and thereby begin to elucidate the mechanism of vesicle production and regulation. One part of this work elucidated a synthetic genetic growth defect for a strain with reduced OMV production (ΔnlpA, inner membrane lipoprotein with a minor role in methionine transport) and envelope stress (ΔdegP, dual function periplasmic chaperone/ protease responsible for managing proteinaceous waste). This research showed that the growth defect of ΔnlpAΔdegP correlated with reduced OMV production with respect to the hyprevesiculator ΔdegP and the accumulation of protein in the periplasm and DegP substrates in the lumen of OMVs. We further demonstrated that OMVs do not solely act as a stress response pathway to rid the periplasm of otherwise damaging misfolded protein but also of accumulated peptidoglycan (PG) fragments and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), elucidating OMVs as a general stress response pathway critical for bacterial well-being. The second part of this work, focused on the role of PG structure, turnover and covalent crosslinks to the OM in vesiculation. We established a direct link between PG degradation and vesiculation: Mutations in the OM lipoprotein nlpI had been previously established as a very strong hypervesiculation phenotype. In the literature NlpI had been associated with another OM lipoprotein, Spr that was recently identified as a PG hydrolase. The data presented here suggest that NlpI acts as a negative regulator of Spr and that the ΔnlpI hypervesiculation phenotype is a result of rampantly degraded PG by Spr. Additionally, we found that changes in PG structure and turnover correlate with altered vesiculation levels, as well as non-canonical D-amino acids, which are secreted by numerous bacteria on the onset of stationary phase, being a natural factor to increase OMV production. Furthermore, we discovered an inverse relationship between the concentration of Lpp-mediated, covalent crosslinks and the level of OMV production under conditions of modulated PG metabolism and structure. In contrast, situations that lead to periplasmic accumulation (protein, PG fragments, and LPS) and consequent hypervesiculation the overall OM-PG crosslink concentration appears to be unchanged. Form this work, we conclude that multiple pathways lead to OMV production: Lpp concentration-dependent and bulk driven, Lpp concentration-independent.

Precipitation predictability during summer crop production in the Pampas Region of Argentina

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Precipitation predictability during summer crop production in the Pampas Region of Argentina

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Pseudo-spectral solutions for fluid flow and heat transfer in electro-metallurgical applications

The pseudo-spectral solution method offers a flexible and fast alternative to the more usual finite element/volume/difference methods, particularly when the long-time transient behaviour of a system is of interest. Since the exact solution is obtained at the grid collocation points superior accuracy can be achieved on modest grid resolution. Furthermore, the grid can be freely adapted with time and in space, to particular flow conditions or geometric variations. This is especially advantageous where strongly coupled, time-dependent, multi-physics solutions are investigated. Examples include metallurgical applications involving the interaction of electromagnetic fields and conducting liquids with a free sutface. The electromagnetic field then determines the instantaneous liquid volume shape and the liquid shape affects in turn the electromagnetic field. In AC applications a thin "skin effect" region results on the free surface that dominates grid requirements. Infinitesimally thin boundary cells can be introduced using Chebyshev polynomial expansions without detriment to the numerical accuracy. This paper presents a general methodology of the pseudo-spectral approach and outlines the solution procedures used. Several instructive example applications are given: the aluminium electrolysis MHD problem, induction melting and stirring and the dynamics of magnetically levitated droplets in AC and DC fields. Comparisons to available analytical solutions and to experimental measurements will be discussed.

Pseudo-spectral solutions for fluid flow and heat transfer in electro-metallurgical applications

The pseudo-spectral solution method offers a flexible and fast alternative to the more usual finite element and volume methods, particularly when the long-time transient behaviour of a system is of interest. The exact solution is obtained at grid collocation points leading to superior accuracy on modest grids. Furthermore, the grid can be freely adapted in time and space to particular flow conditions or geometric variations, especially useful where strongly coupled, time-dependent, multi-physics solutions are investigated. Examples include metallurgical applications involving the interaction of electromagnetic fields and conducting liquids with a free surface. The electromagnetic field determines the instantaneous liquid volume shape, which then affects the electromagnetic field. A general methodology of the pseudo-spectral approach is presented, with several instructive example applications: the aluminium electrolysis MHD problem, induction melting in a cold crucible and the dynamics of AC/DC magnetically levitated droplets. Finally, comparisons with available analytical solutions and to experimental measurements are discussed.

Numerical simulation of heat transfer in rectangular microchannel

Numerical simulation of heat transfer in a high aspect ratio rectangular microchannel with heat sinks has been conducted, similar to an experimental study. Three channel heights measuring 0.3 mm, 0.6mmand 1mmare considered and the Reynolds number varies from 300 to 2360, based on the hydraulic diameter. Simulation starts with the validation study on the Nusselt number and the Poiseuille number variations along the channel streamwise direction. It is found that the predicted Nusselt number has shown very good agreement with the theoretical estimation, but some discrepancies are noted in the Poiseuille number comparison. This observation however is in consistent with conclusions made by other researchers for the same flow problem. Simulation continues on the evaluation of heat transfer characteristics, namely the friction factor and the thermal resistance. It is found that noticeable scaling effect happens at small channel height of 0.3 mm and the predicted friction factor agrees fairly well with an experimental based correlation. Present simulation further reveals that the thermal resistance is low at small channel height, indicating that the heat transfer performance can be enhanced with the decrease of the channel height.