Calculations and predications of combustion oscillations

The combustion oscillations are the phenomena which we may meet in developing the clean, safe and efficient power and propulsion systems. This paper summarizes authors' systematic work on fuel spray combustion oscillations in the recent years. Combining CFD calculations and stability analysis, a new approach of predicting combustion stabilities was developed. With this approach, detailed flow information and unstable modes can be obtained by CFD and solving perturbation equations, respectively. The results provide the guidance on understanding combustion instability mechanisms and developing the control strategies.

Increased toxicity of Karenia brevis during phosphate limited growth: ecological and evolutionary implications

Karenia brevis is the dominant toxic red tide algal species in the Gulf of Mexico. It produces potent neurotoxins (brevetoxins [PbTxs]), which negatively impact human and animal health, local economies, and ecosystem function. Field measurements have shown that cellular brevetoxin contents vary from 1–68 pg/cell but the source of this variability is uncertain. Increases in cellular toxicity caused by nutrient-limitation and inter-strain differences have been observed in many algal species. This study examined the effect of P-limitation of growth rate on cellular toxin concentrations in five Karenia brevis strains from different geographic locations. Phosphorous was selected because of evidence for regional P-limitation of algal growth in the Gulf of Mexico. Depending on the isolate, P-limited cells had 2.3- to 7.3-fold higher PbTx per cell than P-replete cells. The percent of cellular carbon associated with brevetoxins (%C-PbTx) was ~ 0.7 to 2.1% in P-replete cells, but increased to 1.6–5% under P-limitation. Because PbTxs are potent anti-grazing compounds, this increased investment in PbTxs should enhance cellular survival during periods of nutrient-limited growth. The %C-PbTx was inversely related to the specific growth rate in both the nutrient-replete and P-limited cultures of all strains. This inverse relationship is consistent with an evolutionary tradeoff between carbon investment in PbTxs and other grazing defenses, and C investment in growth and reproduction. In aquatic environments where nutrient supply and grazing pressure often vary on different temporal and spatial scales, this tradeoff would be selectively advantageous as it would result in increased net population growth rates. The variation in PbTx/cell values observed in this study can account for the range of values observed in the field, including the highest values, which are not observed under N-limitation. These results suggest P-limitation is an important factor regulating cellular toxicity and adverse impacts during at least some K. brevis blooms.

Distribution and biology of prowfish (Zaprora silenus) in the northeast Pacific

The prowfish (Zaprora silenus) is an infrequent component of bottom trawl catches collected on stock assessment surveys. Based on presence or absence in over 40,000 trawl catches taken throughout Alaskan waters southward to southern California, prowfish are most frequently encountered in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands at the edge of the continental shelf. Based on data from two trawl surveys, relative abundance indicated by catch per swept area reaches a maximum between 100 m and 200 m depth and is much higher in the Aleutian Islands than in the Gulf of Alaska. Females weigh 3.7% more than males of the same length. Weight-length functions are W (g) = 0.0164 L2.92 (males) and W = 0.0170 L2.92 (females). Length at age does not differ between sexes and is described by L = 89.3(1 – e–0.181(t+0.554)), where L is total length in cm and t is age in years. Females reached 50% maturity at a length of 57.0 cm and an age of 5.1 years. Prowfish diet is almost entirely composed of gelatinous zooplankton, primarily scyphozoa and salps.

Differences in diet of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) at five seasonal feeding grounds on the New England continental shelf

The stomachs of 819 Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) sampled from 1988 to 1992 were analyzed to compare dietary differences among five feeding grounds on the New England continental shelf (Jeffreys Ledge, Stellwagen Bank, Cape Cod Bay, Great South Channel, and South of Martha’s Vineyard) where a majority of the U.S. Atlantic commercial catch occurs. Spatial variation in prey was expected to be a primary influence on bluefin tuna distribution during seasonal feeding migrations. Sand lance (Ammodytes spp.), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), squid (Cephalopoda), and bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) were the top prey in terms of frequency of occurrence and percent prey weight for all areas combined. Prey composition was uncorrelated between study areas, with the exception of a significant association between Stellwagen Bank and Great South Channel, where sand lance and Atlantic herring occurred most frequently. Mean stomach-contents biomass varied significantly for all study areas, except for Great South Channel and Cape Cod Bay. Jeffreys Ledge had the highest mean stomach-contents biomass (2.0 kg) among the four Gulf of Maine areas and Cape Cod Bay had the lowest (0.4 kg). Diet at four of the five areas was dominated by one or two small pelagic prey and several other pelagic prey made minor contributions. In contrast, half of the prey species found in the Cape Cod Bay diet were demersal species, including the frequent occurrence of the sessile fig sponge (Suberites ficus). Prey size selection was consistent over a wide range of bluefin length. Age 2–4 sand lance and Atlantic herring and age 0–1 squid and Atlantic mackerel were common prey for all sizes of bluefin tuna. This is the first study to compare diet composition of western Atlantic bluefin tuna among discrete feeding grounds during their seasonal migration to the New England continental shelf and to evaluate predator-prey size relationships. Previous studies have not found a common occurrence of demersal species or a pre-dominance of Atlantic herring in the diet of bluefin tuna.

棕色固氮菌突变株DJ35 中钼铁蛋白和HBP59 蛋白的研究—纯化特性及晶体生长

我们从A. vinelandii突变株DJ35中纯化得到了ΔnifE Av1，并通过与OP Av1相比较对其特性进行了研究。虽然ΔnifE Av1以四聚体形式(α2β2)存在，但却表现出两种天然电泳行为。与OP Av1相比，ΔnifE Av1中的金属含量较低，每个蛋白分子仅含9.96个铁原子、0.36个钼原子。OP Av1和ΔnifE Av1的吸收光谱相似，均在280 nm附近出现蛋白吸收峰，在300-600 nm波长范围内光吸收普遍降低，并无特征峰出现。虽然ΔnifE Av1可见光区域CD谱的摩尔消光系数（Δε）总比OP Av1小，但在520nm区域附近摩尔消光系数减少的相对值明显大于在450nm附近摩尔消光系数减少的相对值。ΔnifE Av1的EPR信号明显与OP Av1不同，在g≈3.7处的EPR信号完全消失，在g≈4.3 和2.0处的EPR信号强度也分别降低了75%和50%以上。ΔnifE Av1不能与Fe蛋白组成活性单位，但被FeMoco激活后可与Fe蛋白组成活性单位。上述结果表明, ΔnifE Av1不含FeMoco，但具有与OP Av1相同的P-cluster。 我们在纯化ΔnifE Av1的过程中，发现一个类似OP Av1的β亚基的污染蛋白，经MALDI-TOF质谱鉴定这种蛋白是棕色固氮菌中一预测基因的产物。通过改进纯化方法, 我们首次得到80%电泳纯的蛋白，并将其命名为HBP59蛋白。HBP59为一单体蛋白，分子量约为59k Da。金属测定结果表明每个蛋白分子中含有0.42个铁原子。HBP59蛋白的可见光谱表现出典型的血红素蛋白光谱特征，还原态的HBP59蛋白在421nm处有最大吸收峰，同时在517nm、556nm处有两个伴随肩峰出现, A421/A280仅为0.146。HBP59蛋白氧化后，吸收峰发生蓝移，最大吸收峰从421nm移到413nm，517nm和556nm处的肩峰消失，A413/A280为0.168。HBP59蛋白的可见光区圆二色谱比较复杂，正峰出现在420nm, 406nm, 379nm 和364nm; 其摩尔消光系数分别为0.75, 0.94, 0.68 和 0.99;负峰出现在433 nm 和392nm，其摩尔消光系数分别为-1.13 和-0.78。血红素滴定实验结果说明每个HBP59蛋白分子结合了0.1个血红素，但每个蛋白分子具有最大结合1个血红素的能力。这低结合能力与这低比率的比率是非常一致的。该蛋白对温度相对敏感，高于40℃蛋白开始沉淀。上述结果说明HBP59是一个结合具有低自旋和不对称的血红素的蛋白，它在菌体内可能并未扮演贮藏血红素的角色，而是可能参与血红素的运输或附着。 此外，经过结晶条件的大量筛选后获得了ΔnifE Av1和ΔnifH Av1的优质小单晶,并对HBP59的晶体培养进行了初步探索。