Mineralogical and geochemical features of sulfide chimneys from the 49°39′E hydrothermal field on the Southwest Indian Ridge and their geological inferences

During January–May in 2007,the Chinese research cruise DY115-19 discovered an active hydrothermal field at 49°39′E/37°47′S on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR).This was also the first active hydrothermal field found along an ultraslow-spreading ridge.We analyzed mineralogical,textural and geochemical compositions of the sulfide chimneys obtained from the 49°39′E field.Chimney samples show a concentric mineral zone around the fluid channel.The mineral assemblages of the interiors consist ...     

DNA damage,signaling and repair: Protecting genomic integrity and reducing the risk of human disease

DNA is the genetic material that contains the instructions to not only guide the continuation of life but also govern the development, metabolism and functioning of living organisms. DNA damage occurs daily due to various exogenous (environ-     

Understanding atomic-scale phase separation of liquid Fe-Cu alloy

Using liquid Fe 60 Cu 40 alloy as a model, the structure of liquid Fe-Cu alloy systems is investigated in the temperature range 1200 2200 K, covering a large metastable undercooled regime, to understand the phase separation of liquid Fe-Cu alloys on the atomic scale. The total pair distribution functions (PDFs) indicate that liquid Fe 60 Cu 40 alloy is ordered in the short range and disordered in the long range. If the atom types are ignored, the total atom number densities and PDFs demonstrate that the atoms are distributed homogenously in the liquid alloy. However, the segregation of Fe and Cu atoms is very obvious with decreasing temperature. The partial PDFs and coordination numbers show that the Cu and Fe atoms are not apt to get together on the atomic scale at low temperatures; this will lead to large fluctuations and phase separation in liquid Fe-Cu alloy.     

Evaluation of humic acid removal by a flat submerged membrane photoreactor

A flat submerged membrane combined with a TiO 2 /UV photocatalytic reactor (FSMPR) was employed in batch mode to remove humic acid (HA). HA removal efficiency was characterized by UV 254 absorbance, UV-vis spectra, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, specific UV absorbance (SUVA), and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP). The FSMPR process was effective in removing more than 86% of DOC and nearly 100% of UV 254 absorbance, while the THMFPs of samples were reduced to < 19 μ g/L after 150 min of treatment. In addition, changes in transmembrane pressure (TMP) with and without UV were evaluated; TiO 2 /UV was effective at controlling membrane fouling by HA. Analysis of the molecular weight (MW) distributions and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectra of HAs revealed that the effectiveness in membrane fouling control is a result of changes in HA molecular characteristics. The TiO 2 /UV photocatalytic reactor caused the degradation of high MW, hydrophobic humic-like molecules to low MW, hydrophilic protein-like molecules, although this fraction was not completely removed during 150 min of treatment and was less responsible for membrane fouling.     

Identification of AtSM34, a novel tonoplast intrinsic protein-interacting polypeptide expressed in response to osmotic stress in germinating seedlings

Aquaporins are implicated in a wide variety of plant physiological processes, although the mechanisms involved in their regulation are not fully understood. To gain further insight into the regulatory factors involved in this process, we used a yeast two-hybrid system to screen for potential binding partners to the Arabidopsis tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) AtTIP1;1. This was the first protein identified to be associated with high water permeability in vacuolar membranes from Arabidopsis thaliana. Using ...     

Angular dependent NEXAFS study of the molecular orientation of PTCDA multilayers on Au （111） surface

The molecular orientation of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) multilayers adsorbed on Au (111) surface has been investigated using angular dependent O K-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The significant angular dependence of important resonant structures (π* and σ*) reveals that PTCDA molecules adopt an ordered geometry on the substrate surface. The average tilt angle of the PTCDA molecular planes is 27°±10° from the Au (111) surface.     

Revisit the K-segment of the Southeast Indian Ridge for new evidence of hydrothermal plumes

During the first leg of a Chinese research cruise to the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) in 2007, we revisited the K-segment of the SEIR and observed a water column turbidity anomaly at a CTD cast station. This station was located ~400 m from a dredge site on a plume anomaly detected in 1996 by US scientists. The characteristics of the turbidity anomaly detected in our survey are different from those observed 11 years previously, implying that either the detected anomalies have distinct and different plume sources or the robustness of the plume has changed in the intervening time. In addition, turbidity anomalies were observed at two localities on the K-segment in a deep tow-yo profile. If these two anomalies are not connected, the plume incidence calculated would be about 0.28, larger than the predicted value of 0.25 for a 65 mm/a spreading rate. This increase in plume incidence on the K-segment seems to be related to the influence of the St. Paul-Amsterdam hotspot, located about 300 km to the northwest.     

Parametric effects on the combustion flow field of a typical strut-based scramjet combustor

The flame-holding mechanism in hypersonic propulsion technology is the most important factor in prolonging the duration time of hypersonic vehicles.The two-dimensional coupled implicit Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations,the shear-stress transport k-ω turbulence model and the finite-rate/eddy-dissipation reaction models were used to simulate the combustion flow field of a typical strut-based scramjet combustor.We investigated the effects of the hydrogen-air reaction mechanism and fuel injection temperature and pressure on the parametric distributions in the combustor.The numerical results show qualitative agreement with the experimental data.The hydrogen-air reaction mechanism makes only a slight difference in parametric distributions along the walls of the combustor,and the expansion waves and shock waves exist in the combustor simultaneously.Furthermore,the expansion wave is formed ahead of the shock wave.A transition occurs from the shock wave to the normal shock wave when the injection pressure or temperature increases,and the reaction zone becomes broader.When the injection pressure and temperature both increase,the waves are pushed out of the combustor with subsonic flows.When the waves are generated ahead of the strut,the separation zone is formed in double near the walls of the combustor because of the interaction of the shock wave and the boundary layer.The separation zone becomes smaller and disappears with the disappearance of the shock wave.Because of the horizontal fuel injection,the vorticity is generated near the base face of the strut,and this region is the main origin for turbulent combustion.     

Influence of B,Al and Nb addition on the glass forming ability and stability of mechanically alloyed Zr-Ni amorphous alloys

We investigated the influence of minor additions of B,Al and Nb that have representative atomic sizes on the glass forming ability (GFA) and stability of Zr-Ni amorphous alloys during mechanical alloying. The results show that the minor addition of B,Al or Nb does not shorten the initial time of the full amorphization reaction or improve the glass forming ability of the Zr-Ni alloys at a low rotation speed. However,B addition can effectively improve the mechanical stability of the amorphous phase against me...     

Effect of Ni addition on the glass-forming ability and soft-magnetic properties of FeNiBPNb metallic glasses

The effect of Ni addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA) and soft-magnetic properties of an (Fe1-xNix)75.5B14.5P7Nb3 (x=0-0.6) alloy system were investigated. We found that the addition of Ni was effective in allowing the alloy to approach a eutectic point as well as increasing the thermal stability of the supercooled liquid. By increasing the amount of Ni,the supercooled liquid region (ΔTx),the reduced glass transition temperature Trg (Tg/Tl) and the Y parameter [Tx/(Tg+Tl)] increased from 49 to 75 K,0...