Differences in stress tolerance and brood size between a non-indigenous and an indigenous gammarid in the northern Baltic Sea

Differences in stress tolerance and reproductive traits may drive the competitive hierarchy between nonindigenous and indigenous species and turn the former ones into successful invaders. In the northern Baltic Sea, the non-indigenous Gammarus tigrinus is a recent invader of littoral ecosystems and now occupies comparable ecological niches as the indigenous G. zaddachi. In laboratory experiments on specimens collected between June and August 2009 around Tva¨rminne in southern Finland (59°500N/23°150E), the tolerances towards heat stress and hypoxia were determined for the two species using lethal time, LT50, as response variable. The brood size of the two species was also studied and some observations were made on maturation of juveniles. Gammarus tigrinus was more resistant to hypoxia and survived at higher temperatures than G. zaddachi. Brood size was also greater in G. tigrinus than in G. zaddachi and G. tigrinus matured at a smaller size and earlier than G. zaddachi. Hence, there are clear competitive advantages for the non-indigenous G. tigrinus compared to the indigenous G. zaddachi, and these may be further strengthened through ongoing environmental changes related to increased eutrophication and a warming climate in the Baltic Sea region

Hydrogen Kinetics and Hydride Formation Effect on Zr-1Nb and Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe Alloys for Nuclear Application

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetics of hydrogen absorption and hydride formation and their effect on the mechanical properties in Zr-1Nb and Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe alloys, which were thermomechanically processed and gaseously hydrided at 320ºC under 10 bar hydrogen pressure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of α-Zr matrix after final heat treatment. The alloys absorbed almost the same amount of hydrogen, although with different kinetics. Absorption began almost immediately in Zr-1Nb alloy whilst in Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe hydrogen absorption started after 11 h besides a faster hydrogen kinetics. Results showed that tensile strengths for both alloys were nearly independent of absorbed hydrogen. Fractographic examinations indicated ductile fractures for unhydrided condition whereas quasi-cleavage features were observed for all hydrided specimens.</div

Geležinkelio riedmenų automatinės sankabos SA-3 ilgaamžiškumo nustatymas.

The paper presents lifetime analysis for railway carriages automatic coupler. The loading of automatic coupler, predetermined by the weight of a train, train speed and railway relief, is time-dependent variable. By the calculation of strain stress state in the body of automatic coupler it was determined, that automatic coupler is under static, low cycle and high cycle loading. Therefore, to calculate lifetime of automatic coupler the dependencies for low cycle nonstationary stress limited loading, evaluating low cycle quasistatic and fatigue damages, has been proposed. To evaluate high cycle fatigue damage a linear law for the summation of loading cycles has been proposed. For low cycle damage summation a calculation method was proposed for the evaluation of fatigue and quasistatic damages created at one loading cycle, taking into account loading level and neglecting sequence of cycles. Therefore, working on calculations of automatic coupler for each specific case it is necessary to determine number of loading cycles at each loading level and calculate lifetime by presented in this work dependencies

Estuarine macrofauna affects benthic biogeochemistry in a hypertrophic lagoon

Coastal lagoons display a wide range of physico-chemical conditions that shape benthic macrofauna communities. In turn, benthic macrofauna affects a wide array of biogeochemical processes as a consequence of feeding, bioirrigation, ventilation, and excretion activities. In this work, we have measured benthic respiration and solute fluxes in intact sediment cores with natural macrofauna communities collected from four distinct areas within the Sacca di Goro Lagoon (NE Adriatic Sea). The macrofauna community was characterized at the end of the incubations. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to quantify and test the interactions between the dominant macrofauna species and solute fluxes. Moreover, the relevance of macrofauna as driver of benthic nitrogen (N) redundancy analysis revealed that up to 66% of the benthic fluxes and metabolism variance was explained by macrofauna microbial-mediated N processes. Nitrification was stimulated by the presence of shallow (corophiids) in combination with deep burrowers (spionids, oligochaetes) or ammonium-excreting clams. Deep burrowers and clams increase ammonium availability in burrows actively ventilated by corophiids, which creates optimal conditions to nitrifiers. However, the stimulatory effect of burrowing macrofauna on nitrification does not necessarily result in higher denitrification as processes are spatially separated

Principles for modelling technological processes investigation into the strength and durability of automatic coupler SA-3 in railway carriages

The paper presents the durability analysis of the automatic coupler in railway carriages. The loading of the automatic coupler predetermined by the weight of a train, train speed and railway relief is a time-dependent variable. The finite element method was used for stress-strain state calculation taking into account acting forces. In order to reduce stress concentration, the geometry of the automatic coupler’s body was modified. Modelling results for different rounded radii demonstrated it was possible to reduce stress concentration up to 34%. Under maximum forces, plastic strain occurs in the automatic coupler’s body. The calculation of strain and stress state in the body of the automatic coupler shows it is under a static, low and high cycle loading. Therefore, to calculate the durability of the automatic coupler, the dependencies for low cycle nonstationary stress limited loading has been proposed evaluating low cycle quasi-static and fatigue damages. In order to evaluate high cycle fatigue damage, a linear law for the summation of loading cycles has been suggested. For low cycle damage evaluation, the calculation method for the summation of fatigue and quasi-static damages created at one loading cycle taking into account loading level and neglecting the sequence of cycles has been put forward. Thus, to calculate the automatic coupler for each specific case, it is necessary to determine the number of loading cycles at each loading level and to evaluate durability considering dependencies presented in this paper