Phylogeography of the freshwater catfish Hemibagrus guttatus (Siluriformes, Bagridae): Implications for South China biogeography and influence of sea-level changes

National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) ; [2007CB411600]; [30530120]

Advanced modeling of periodic structures in SEA

The SEA properties of a periodic structure are computed from the FE analysis of a single periodic cell. The periodic theory is used in conjunction with FE so that any geometry can be considered. Some efficient algorithms have been implemented to get the subsystems intrinsic properties (modal density, damping, and equivalent mass), as well as the coupling properties of the subsystem with acoustic subsystems (radiation and transmission). Comparisons with analytical results validate the method. © (2006) by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Department of Mechanical Engineering All rights reserved.

Thermo-hydro-geomechanical simulations of methane gas production from deep sea methane hydrate formations

A new constitutive model called Methane Hydrate Critical State (MHCS) model was conducted to investigate the geomechanical response of the gas-hydrate-bearing sediments at the Nankai Trough during the wellbore construction process. The strength and dilatancy of gas-hydrate-bearing soil would gradually disappear when the bonds are destroyed because of excessively shearing, which are often observed in dense soils and also in bonded soils such as cemented soil and unsaturated soil. In this study, the MHCS model, which presents such softening features, would be incorporated into a staged-finite-element model in ABAQUS, which mainly considered the loading history of soils and the interaction between cement-casing-formation. This model shows the influence of gas-hydrate-bearing soil to the deformation and stability of a wellbore and the surrounding sediments during wellbore construction. At the same time, the conventional Mohr-Coulomb model was used in the model to show the advantages of MHCS model by comparing the results of the two models.

Photosynthetic utilization of inorganic carbon in the economic brown alga, Hizikia Fusiforme (Sargassaceae) from the South China Sea

The mechanism of inorganic carbon (C-i) acquisition by the economic brown macroalga, Hizikia fusiforme (Harv.) Okamura (Sargassaceae), was investigated to characterize its photosynthetic physiology. Both intracellular and extracellular carbonic anhydrase (CA) were detected, with the external CA activity accounting for about 5% of the total. Hizikia fusiforme showed higher rates of photosynthetic oxygen evolution at alkaline pH than those theoretically derived from the rates of uncatalyzed CO2 production from bicarbonate and exhibited a high pH compensation point (pH 9.66). The external CA inhibitor, acetazolamide, significantly depressed the photosynthetic oxygen evolution, whereas the anion-exchanger inhibitor 4,4'-diisothiocyano-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonate had no inhibitory effect on it, implying the alga was capable of using HCO3- as a source of C-i for its photosynthesis via the mediation of the external CA. CO2 concentrations in the culture media affected its photosynthetic properties. A high level of CO2 (10,000 ppmv) resulted in a decrease in the external CA activity; however, a low CO2 level (20 ppmv) led to no changes in the external CA activity but raised the intracellular CA activity. Parallel to the reduction in the external CA activity at the high CO2 was a reduction in the photosynthetic CO2 affinity. Decreased activity of the external CA in the high CO2 grown samples led to reduced sensitiveness of photosynthesis to the addition of acetazolamide at alkaline pH. It was clearly indicated that H. fusiforme, which showed CO2-limited photosynthesis with the half-saturating concentration of C-i exceeding that of seawater, did not operate active HCO3- uptake but used it via the extracellular CA for its photosynthetic carbon fixation.