火烧、施肥、刈割及其交互作用对草原土壤净氮矿化的影响

我国北方温带草原地处干旱半干旱区，是欧亚大陆草原生物区系的重要组成部分，也是我国重要的畜牧业生产基地。土壤氮素作为陆地植物生长和生态系统初级生产力的主要限制因子之一，了解其矿化和可利用性对各种人为干扰因素的响应，有助于我们充分认识草地退化机理，维持草场生产力并进一步促进畜牧业的可持续发展，为草地恢复、重建和维护提供理论依据。本实验在中国科学院内蒙古草原生态系统定位研究站的多年围封退化样地，分别实施了火烧、施肥、刈割及其交互作用的人为干扰处理，利用原状土野外培养的方法，在两年时间中，研究不同的人为干扰因素（火烧、施肥、刈割及其交互处理）对土壤净氮矿化作用的影响。 火烧显著影响草原的氮循环过程，季节和年际的气候变化参与调节氮循环对火烧处理的响应。多年围封后的初次人工火烧处理显著降低了第一个生长季（2006 年生长季）和其后冬季的土壤净氮矿化速率，但是，火烧处理仅在冬季对土壤无机氮含量产生显著降低作用；2007 年生长季，火烧处理对土壤净氮矿化速率和土壤无机氮含量没有显著作用，但是在个别月份，不同的火烧频率对土壤净氮矿化速率和无机氮含量的影响表现出差异。2006 年生长季，未火烧样地和火烧样地净氮矿化积累量分别为3.07±0.26 g N m-2 和2.18±0.21 g N m-2；冬季，未火烧样地和火烧样地净氮矿化积累量分别为1.18±0.25 g N m-2 和0.51±0.08 g N m-2；2007 年生长季，未火烧样地（BC）、每年火烧样地（B1）和两年一烧样地（B2）净氮矿化积累量分别为1.32±0.21 g N m-2、0.54±0.30 g N m-2 和 0.77±0.24 g N m-2。较为湿润的2006 年生长季的净氮矿化积累量显著高于较为干旱的2007 年生长季，冬季也存在相当丰富的净氮矿化积累量。我们推论，长时间围封后的单次火烧处理对土壤净氮矿化作用的影响可能是短效的，但是年际间气候变化对土壤净氮矿化作用影响显著。 施肥显著提高了土壤的无机氮含量，并且与施肥梯度呈显著正相关关系。施肥对土壤无机氮含量的影响具有累加效应，第一次施肥和第二次施肥后的首次取样，+N5.25 、+N17.5 、+N28.0 三个施肥梯度的样地土壤无机氮含量比未施肥样地分别高出56%、219%、1054%和514%、891%、1811%。施肥处理在2006 年和2007 年对土壤净氮矿化作用都没有显著影响，仅在2007 年的个别月份有一定效果。以上结果说明，无机氮肥的添加可以明显提高土壤中无机氮的含量，满足植物生长的需求，但对于土壤氮转化过程的影响可能还要受其它环境和生物因子的制约。 刈割对土壤无机氮含量和净硝化速率没有显著作用，对土壤净氮矿化速率仅在个别月份表现显著效果。2007 年生长季，未刈割样地和刈割样地净氮矿化积累量分别为1.32±0.21 g N m-2 和1.08±0.35 g N m-2，不存在显著差异。我们推论，长期围封后的单次刈割处理在短期内对生长季的土壤氮动态仅有微弱影响，并且这种效果还可能受水分因素的制约。 火烧、施肥、刈割的交互处理在2007 年生长季对土壤无机氮含量产生显著作用，但是，对土壤净氮矿化速率和净硝化速率没有显著效果，然而，在不同的取样时间，火烧、施肥、刈割的交互处理对土壤无机氮含量、净氮矿化速率和净硝化速率的影响存在显著差异，说明火烧、施肥、刈割的交互处理对土壤无机氮和净氮矿化作用的影响可能受各种环境因子的制约，尤其是在水分相对缺乏的半干旱内蒙古草原，非生物因子和生物因子可能共同影响着土壤中的氮平衡。 本研究初步分析了长期围封后火烧、施肥、刈割及其交互处理对土壤净氮矿化的影响，初步探究了人为干扰和环境气候变化对土壤可利用性氮的调节作用，为科学地进行禁牧、割草、人工养份添加等草原管理提供了数据支持。

A survey of the microbiological quality of commercial frozen prawn products

The paper presents the results of a bacteriological survey carried out on 2,917 samples of frozen prawn, 55 samples of raw material, 35 samples of water, 4 samples of ice and 42 samples of various equipment used for processing. The survey covered a period of three years (1960-63) and comprised of samples collected from five of the leading processing factories in Cochin. Frozen products tested consisted of headless (marine and fresh water), peeled and deveined and cooked frozen samples. Statistical analysis of the data shows that there is no significant variation between samples and between factories with respect to product quality. The standard plate count varied between 1.0x10(4 superscript) and 1.0x10(6 superscript) per gram for headless and between 1.0x10(4 superscript) and 1.0x10(7 superscript) for peeled and deveined and cooked frozen samples. Majority of the samples had bacterial load well within the limits prescribed for such products.

Gain-switched dynamics of tapered waveguide bow-tie lasers

The use of tapered waveguide lasers and amplifiers for enhanced picosecond pulse generation has led to order-of-magnitude peak power and pulse energy improvements. Monolithic pulse generation schemes have so far relied on a double-tapered bow-tie structure. The modeling of tapered lasers has so far been limited to steady-state operation or has lacked experimental comparison. This paper considers both experimentally and theoretically the gain-switched performance of bow-tie lasers of various taper angles. The role of transverse-mode spatial hole burning in tapered waveguide lasers is thereby investigated.

Application of a laminar flamelet model to confined explosion hazards

The majority of computational studies of confined explosion hazards apply simple and inaccurate combustion models, requiring ad hoc corrections to obtain realistic flame shapes and often predicting an order of magnitude error in the overpressures. This work describes the application of a laminar flamelet model to a series of two-dimensional test cases. The model is computationally efficient applying an algebraic expression to calculate the flame surface area, an empirical correlation for the laminar flame speed and a novel unstructured, solution adaptive numerical grid system which allows important features of the solution to be resolved close to the flame. Accurate flame shapes are predicted, the correct burning rate is predicted near the walls, and an improvement in the predicted overpressures is obtained. However, in these fully turbulent calculations the overpressures are still too high and the flame arrival times too low, indicating the need for a model for the early laminar burning phase. Due to the computational expense, it is unrealistic to model a laminar flame in the complex geometries involved and therefore a pragmatic approach is employed which constrains the flame to propagate at the laminar flame speed. Transition to turbulent burning occurs at a specified turbulent Reynolds number. With the laminar phase model included, the predicted flame arrival times increase significantly, but are still too low. However, this has no significant effect on the overpressures, which are predicted accurately for a baffled channel test case where rapid transition occurs once the flame reaches the first pair of baffles. In a channel with obstacles on the centreline, transition is more gradual and the accuracy of the predicted overpressures is reduced. However, although the accuracy is still less than desirable in some cases, it is much better than the order of magnitude error previously expected.

Intermittency transport modeling of separated flow transition

An intermittency transport model is proposed for modeling separated-flow transition. The model is based on earlier work on prediction of attached flow bypass transition and is applied for the first time to model transition in a separation bubble at various degrees of free-stream turbulence. The model has been developed so that it takes into account the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. Experimental investigations suggest that it is this phenomena which ultimately determines the extent of the separation bubble. Transition onset is determined via a boundary layer correlation based on momentum thickness at the point of separation. The intermittent flow characteristic of the transition process is modeled via an intermittency transport equation. This accounts for both normal and streamwise variation of intermittency and hence models the entrainment of surrounding flow in a more accurate manner than alternative prescribed intermittency models. The model has been validated against the well established T3L semicircular leading edge flat plate test case for three different degrees of free-stream turbulence characteristic of turbomachinery blade applications.

Investigation of extinction in unsteady flames in turbulent combustion by 2D-LIF of OH radials and flamelet analysis

An experimental and theoretical investigation of premixed turbulent combustion in an engine simulator is presented. The distribution of hydroxyl radicals formed in the combustion of propane/air mixtures was visualized by 2D-LIF and used to monitor the progress of the combustion process. For stoichiometric mixtures, images showed a continuous wrinkled flame front, while in lean (λ=1.5) mixtures, local flame extinction was observed as discontinuities in the reaction zone. A bright active reaction zone was still observed in flame inlets and closed concave structures. The effects of self-absorption and of collisional quenching on the fluorescence signal are considered and appear to have only a minor net influence on the shape and width of the flame front. The images are evaluated and interpreted in terms of the Lewis number effect and the laminar flamelet model. Analysis was performed by determining the contour lines of the images (specifically, the ratios of average maximum to equilibrium OH concentration) and comparing with corresponding ratios from unstrained flame simulations. The results show that although the degree of turbulence is not high enough for straining effects to be important, flamelet curvature does play a significant role in the combustion of lean mixtures; this is manifested by a mean effective flame velocity that is less than the laminar burning velocity. © 1991 Combustion Institute.

Stabilization of carbon nanotube field emitters

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been determined to be field emitters of high quality, but CNTs produced by chemical vapour deposition can produce emission currents with high instability and noise. This work finds that adsorbates and amorphous carbon deposited during the growth process are the primary contributors to field emission instability, and shows that burning off the amorphous carbon in air at 450 °C removes the amorphous carbon, resulting in stabilities of better than 3 per cent over 1 h. This work removes one of the major barriers to the use of CNTs in field emission devices.

Utilization of frog waste

Commercial frog waste samples have been converted into meals by cooking at 0.7 kg/sq. cm for 30 min, draining off the stick water and drying the press cake either in the sun, tunnel dryer under controlled conditions or hot air oven. Yield of the meal varied between 18.6 to 21.5% of the fresh frog waste. Chemical analyses of the meals have shown that the meals prepared from frog waste conform to standards prescribed for fish meal and livestock feed and can therefore be used for supplementation of poultry/animal feed.

Preparation and keeping quality of hot smoked mackerel

A method has been standardised for the production of smoke cured mackerel by dry salting in the ratio of 1:8 salt to fish followed by smoking in a traditional smoke chamber at 70±5°C for 5h. The smoke was generated by burning moist coconut husk and saw dust. The product obtained by this method had shelf-lives of 105, 95 and 6 days in chilled storage (0 to 2°C) refrigerated storage (10±2°C) and at room temperature (29±2°C) respectively.

Texturised meat from low cost fish

A comparative study of the suitability of five species of fish, namely, threadfin bream (Nemipterous [sic] japonicus), cat fish (Tachysurus fella), ribbon fish (Trichiurus spp.), barracuda (Sphyraena jello) and jew fish (Pseudosciaena spp.) for the production of texturised meat has indicated that all these species are good source for the purpose. Protein content of the final product from all the species was higher than that prescribed for FPC type A. The product had excellent rehydration capacity and firm and elastic texture. No significant difference was observed in the rehydration capacity of the texturised meat from all the species studied. Salt concentration was found to influence the texture and salt content of 1.5 to 2% was found to result in the desirable firm and elastic texture. Rehydration capacity was not influenced to any significant extent by the salt content.

Nutritional evaluation of texturised meat from Nemipterus japonicus

Evaluation of the nutritional quality of texturised fish meat from threadfin bream (Nemipterus japonicus) is reported. Proximate composition and amino acid analysis showed that its protein content is very high with all the essential amino acids present in higher levels than those prescribed for man in the 1973 FAO/WHO amino acid scoring pattern. Lysine amounted to 11.0 g per 16 g N of which 75 percent is biologically available. Studies on PER and NPU also corroborate the excellent nutritional quality of the texturised meat.

Application of scalar dissipation rate modelling to industrial burners in partially premixed regimes

The objective of this paper is to test various available turbulent burning velocity models on an experimental version of Siemens small scale combustor using the commercial CFD code. Failure of burning velocity model with different expressions for turbulent burning velocity is observed with an unphysical flame flashback into the swirler. Eddy Dissipation Model/Finite Rate Chemistry is found to over-predict mean temperature and species concentrations. Solving for reaction progress equation with its variance using scalar dissipation rate modelling produced reasonably good agreement with the available experimental data. Two different turbulence models Shear Stress Transport (SST) and Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) SST are tested and results from transient SST simulations are observed to be predicting well. SAS-SST is found to under-predict with temperature and species distribution.

Studies on two unexploited fish species: Peristedion adeni and Peristedion weberi

The chemical composition and nutritional quality of Peristedion adeni and Peristedion weberi, two unexploited fish species available in abundance in the Exclusive Economic Zone of India are reported. Size of the fish is small and separation of edible meat is difficult. Best method of utilization of the fish is conversion into meal. Meals having crude protein content varying from 55.0 to 57.0%, ash content from 17.0 to 19.6% and fat content from 17.7 to 18.1% can be prepared from the two species of fish. PER values of the meals are lower than that of casein. Amino acid analysis showed that isoleucine, leucine and valine are not present in the meals in adequate quantities compared to the FAO/WHO (1973) prescribed pattern.

Fish sauce from two species of unexploited deep sea fish Peristedion adeni and Peristedion weberi

Two species of unexploited deep sea fish Peristedion adeni and Peristedion weberi caught from the Exclusive Economic Zone of India were subjected to fermentation at ambient temperature (30 ± 2°C) in the presence of salt in 4:1 ratio. Periodical analysis of the fermented product was carried out up to one year. The sauces had brownish yellow colour and conformed to special grade of the standards prescribed by the Food and Drug Administration. Further solubilization of protein after 9 month's maturation was not appreciable.

Nutrient loading and eutrophication of coastal waters of the South Asian Seas: a scoping study

This study looked at nutrient pollution and how it is affecting coastal and marine ecosystems in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Causes it addressed included: agricultural practices; aquaculture; domestic sewage; industrial actions; and the burning of fossil fuels.