Communal suckling in the cavy Galea musteloides

We quantified the extent of communal suckling in the cavy Galea musteloides. Six groups of animals were held in large indoor enclosures and suckling behavior was recorded over 113 h of observation. The groups contained 2–6 lactating females and 3–14 sucking pups. Due to the relative synchronization of births, 73% of the pups present in each group during lactation were non-offspring. Each of the 22 lactating females in the six groups suckled non-offspring in addition to her own offspring. On average, females suckled 86% of non-offspring present in their groups. Thus, 98% of all pups (n = 47) received milk from non-mothers. Although suckling frequencies were significantly higher for mothers with their own individual offspring than with non-offspring individuals, females invested more total time suckling all non-offspring than did suckling just their own; this was possible because for each mother many more non-offspring than offspring pups were present during lactation. Suckling bouts were significantly longer for mothers with their own individual offspring than with non-offspring individuals. The proportion of non-offspring suckling of mothers correlated negatively with the proportion of own young among the pups of a group. Non-offspring suckling did not affect future reproduction of females. Our observations demonstrate extensive practice of communal suckling in G. musteloides under laboratory conditions. Probably because all mothers of a group participated more or less equally in communal suckling behavior, the obvious cost of giving energetically expensive milk to non-offspring did not result in reduced (future) reproductive success. Potential benefits directly involved with communal suckling are unclear. More indirectly, communal suckling as well as birth synchrony might contribute to the formation of advantageous multi-litter kindergardens.     

An application of the theory of kinematics of mixing to the study of tropospheric dispersion

The most common technique used for numerical simulations of tracer mixing is that of the numerical solution of the advection–diffusion equation with the unresolved fluxes parameterized using the similarity theory. Despite correct predictions of the overall directions of transport, models based on a numerical solution of the advection–diffusion equation lack sufficient accuracy to correctly reproduce the coupling of mixing with small scale processes which are sensitive to the microstructure of the tracer distribution. The objective of this paper is to revisit the basic formalism employed in numerical models used to investigate atmospheric tracers. The main mathematical method proposed here is the theory of kinematics of mixing which could be applied effectively for simulations of atmospheric transport processes. At the beginning of the paper, we introduce simple mathematical transformations in order to demonstrate how complex topological structures are created by mixing processes. These idealistic flow systems are essential to explain transport properties of much more complex three-dimensional geophysical flows. An example of the application of the kinematics of mixing to the analysis of tracer transport on a planetary scale is presented in the following sections. The complex filamentary structures simulated in the numerical experiment are evaluated using some commonly applied statistical measures in order to compare the results with the data published in the literature. The results of the experiment are also analysed with the help of simple conceptual models of fluid filaments. The microstructure of the tracer distribution introduced in the paper is essential to increase our understanding of atmospheric transport and to develop more realistic parameterizations of small-scale mixing. The presented results could also be used to improve calculations of the coupling between microphysical processes and tracer mixing.     

湘江霞湾段汞环境容量模型研究

根据湘江霞湾段水力学特征及向家塘断面水质要求 ,在综合分析多年水文参数和相应环境监测数据的基础上 ,建立了一套适合该江段的汞环境容量模型。经检验 ,模型预测值与实测值吻合良好 ,该模型可用于预测预报该江段在不同水文条件下汞的环境容量及水体中汞的浓度分布变化规律 ,以利调控汞污染源的排放强度和总量     

Buoyancy-Driven Two-Layer Exchange Flows Across a Slowly Submerging Barrier

Results are presented from a combined analytical and laboratory study of unsteady, two-layer, density-driven, sub-maximal exchange over a slowly-descending estuarine barrier located very close to the junction of the river mouth and the near-shore coastal zone. As in the precursor study (Cuthbertson et al. 2004, Environ. Fluid Mech. 4, 127–155) that the present investigation extends, the rate of descent of the barrier is assumed to be sufficiently slow for the unsteady exchange flow to adjust continuously to the appropriate quasi-steady conditions at every stage of the descent. The results demonstrate that the thickness of each layer at the barrier crest can be predicted satisfactorily by a hydraulic analysis that (i) assumes the existence of a single control point at the barrier crest and (ii) incorporates the hydraulic losses arising from the sudden expansion and contraction of the upper and lower layers, respectively, at the channel exit. Predictions of the normalised elevations of the interface at the barrier and exit for the “inviscid” maximal exchange case are shown to coincide with the maximal exchange predictions of Zhu and Lawrence (2000, J. Hydraul. Eng. ASCE 126(12), 921–928).     

A Modelling Study of Transient,Buoyancy-Driven Exchange Flow over a Descending Barrier

Results are presented from a series of model studies of the transient exchange flow resulting from the steady descent of an impermeable barrier separating initially-quiescent fresh and saline water bodies having density ₀ and ₀+()₀, respectively. A set of parametric laboratory experiments has been carried out (i) to determine the characteristic features of the time-dependent exchange flow over the barrier crest and (ii) to quantify the temporal increase in the thickness and spatial extent of the brackish water reservoir formed behind the barrier by the outflowing, partly-mixed saline water. The results of the laboratory experiments have been compared with the predictions of a theoretical model adapted from the steady, so-called maximal exchange flow case and good qualitative agreement between theory and experiment has been demonstrated. The comparisons indicate that head losses of between 7% and 3% are applicable to the flow over the ridge crest in the early and late stages, respectively, of the barrier descent phase, with these losses being attributed to mixing processes associated with the counterflowing layers of fresh and saline water in the vicinity of the ridge crest. The experimental data show (and the theoretical model predictions confirm) that (i) the dimensionless time of detection t _det(g/H _b)^1/2 of the brackish water pool fed by the dense outflow increases (at a given distance from the barrier) with increasing values of the descent rate parameter g'H _b/(dh _b/dt)² and (ii) the normalised thickness (x,t)/H _b of the pool at a given reference station increases monotonically with increasing values of the modified time (t–t _det)/(H _b/g)^1/2, with the rate of thickening decreasing with increasing values of the descent rate parameter g'H _b(dh _b/dt)². Here, g=(g/₀)()₀ is the modified gravitational acceleration, H _b is the mean depth of the water and dh _b/dt denotes the rate of descent of the barrier height h _b with elapsed time t after the two water bodies are first brought into contact.     

一种SCR脱硝装置喷氨混合系统的结构优化设计

氮氧化合物是主要的大气污染物之一,已经成为我国大气污染控制的重点。SCR(selective catalytic reduction)烟气脱硝技术因其脱硝效率高、运行稳定而成为目前应用最为广泛的烟气脱硝技术。当前SCR烟气脱硝工程存在的主要问题之一是氨气的逃逸率过高,喷氨混合系统的混合强度和均匀度是影响氨气逃逸率的重要因素。针对该问题采用计算流体动力学的方法优化设计了一种SCR脱硝装置喷氨混合系统,采用该种喷氨混合系统可以有效提高氨气与烟气在催化剂表面的混合均匀度,使氨气与烟气中的氮氧化物在催化剂表面充分反应,有效降低氨气逃逸率,同时降低SCR脱硝工程成本。     

Air pollutant emissions from the asphalt industry in Beijing, China

Improving our understanding of air pollutant emissions from the asphalt industry is critical for the development and implementation of pollution control policies. In this study, the spatial distribution of potential maximum emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the complete life cycle of asphalt mixtures, as well as the particulate matter (PM), asphalt fume, nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), VOCs, and benzoapyrene (BaP) emissions from typical processes (e.g., asphalt and concrete mixing stations, asphalt heating boilers, and asphalt storage tanks) in asphalt mixing plants, were determined in Beijing in 2017. The results indicated that the potential maximum emissions of VOCs in the complete life cycle of asphalt mixtures were 18,001 ton, with a large contribution from the districts of Daxing, Changping, and Tongzhou. The total emissions of PM, asphalt fume, NMHC, VOCs, and BaP from asphalt mixing plants were 3.1, 12.6, 3.1, 23.5, and 1.9 × 10^?3 ton, respectively. The emissions of PM from asphalt and concrete mixing stations contributed the most to the total emissions. The asphalt storage tank was the dominant emission source of VOCs, accounting for 96.1% of the total VOCs emissions in asphalt mixing plants, followed by asphalt heating boilers. The districts of Daxing, Changping, and Shunyi were the dominant regions for the emissions of PM, asphalt fume, NMHC, and BaP, while the districts of Shunyi, Tongzhou, and Changping contributed the most emissions of VOCs.     

The Importance of Mixing Height in Characterising Pollution Levels from Aerosol Optical Thickness Derived by Satellite

In the present study the horizontal distribution of columnar aerosol optical thicknessderived at high spatial resolution from Earth observation satellite data in the Lombardy area (Italy) was converted to the horizontal distribution of optically effective aerosols concentration at the ground level. This was achieved by incorporating information on atmosphere's mixing height, at which pollutants released at ground level are vertically dispersed by convection or mechanical turbulence. The resulted fields compared favourably to pollutant concentration measurements provided by the ground stations. These results show that it is possible to calculate mean concentration fields by using the spatial distribution of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) measured by satellite normalized by the atmospheric mixing height. The advantage of satellites in measuring AOT is that they can capture all actual emissions compared to the models, which are based on inventoried data.     

光质对蛋白核小球藻（Chlorella pyrenoidosa）生长特征及生化组成的影响研究

采用发光二极管(light emitting diode,LED)调制光谱,研究了不同光质(红光、蓝光、白光、红蓝混光8∶1,红蓝混光8∶2,红蓝混光8∶3)对蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidosa)生长特性及生化组成的影响.结果表明,蓝光下蛋白核小球藻生长效果最佳,其接种后培养30 d,光密度为2.4,比生长速率为0.10 d-1,生物量为0.64 g·L-1,而其它光质下光密度、比生长速率和生物量分别在1.0~1.7、0.07~0.10 d-1和0.27~0.38 g·L-1之间,蓝光条件下其光密度、比生长速率和生物量分别约为红光下的2.05倍、1.33倍和2.06倍;红蓝混光有利于蛋白核小球藻叶绿素a和β-胡萝卜素的合成,蓝光可促进叶绿素b的合成,红蓝混光8∶1其叶绿素a和β-胡萝卜素的含量分别为13.5 mg·g-1和5.8 mg·g-1,而蓝光下分别为8.4 mg·g-1和3.6mg·g-1;红蓝混光更有利于蛋白核小球藻单位细胞干重蛋白质和总脂的积累,红蓝8∶3蛋白质含量为489.3 mg·g-1,红蓝8∶1总脂含量为311.2 mg·g-1,而蓝光下蛋白质和总脂含量均较低,分别为400.9 mg·g-1和231.9 mg·g-1.