A seakeeping analysis method for an air-lifted vessel

A seakeeping analysis in the frequency domain is presented to predict the motion response of an airlifted vessel (ALV) in waves. The ALV is supported by pressurised air in two separate cushion chambers; the pressure variation in the cushions has a significant effect on the motions of the vessel. The adiabatic gas law is used to couple cushion pressure and the free-surface elevation of water inside the chamber. Attention is focused on the waves generated by the pressure, and a method is presented to compute the corresponding free-surface elevation. New numerical schemes are proposed for calculating the threedimensional free-surface elevation for the four wave numbers. Numerical results of the free-surface elevation, escape area, escape volume and motion responses of the ALV are provided. & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Influence of water depth variation on the hydrodynamics of deep-water mooring characteristics

This paper studies the behaviour of a mooring system, in water depths from 300 m to 3000 m, using an indirect time-domain method. The boundary element method and lumped mass method are used to investigate the floating body hydrodynamics and mooring line characteristics, respectively. Results from coupled analysis are compared with experimental data in intermediate water depth. The results from coupled low frequency (LF) and fully coupled analysis are compared and discussed. Results from parametric studies are compared to offer guidance to mooring system designers on the suitability of particular approaches

An enhanced stiffness model for elastic lines and its application to the analysis of a moored floating offshore wind turbine

The performance of a polyester mooring line is non-linear and its elongation plays a significant role in the dynamic response of an offshore moored structure. However, unlike chain, the tension-elongation relationship and the overall behavior of elastic polyester ropes are complex. In this paper, by applying an enhanced stiffness model of the mooring line, the traditional elastic rod theory has been extended to allow for large elongations. One beneficial feature of the present method is that the tangent stiffness matrix is symmetric; in non-linear formulations the tangent stiffness matrix is often non-symmetric. The static problem was solved by Newton-Raphson iteration, whereas a direct integration method was used for the dynamic problem. The computed mooring line tension was validated against the proprietary OrcaFlex software. Results of mooring line top tension predicated by different elongations are compared and discussed. The present method was then used for a simulation of an offshore floating wind turbine moored with taut lines. From a comparison between linear and non-linear formulations, it is seen that a linear spring model under-estimates the mean position when the turbine is operating, but over-estimates the amplitude of the platform response at low frequencies when the turbine has shut down

Crassula invasion levels and success of recent eradication attempts at the Thompson Common pingo ponds

Crassula helmsii (New Zealand Pigmyweed) is an invasive aquatic plant in the UK which has caused considerable damage to native aquatic plant communities in ponds and lakes (Leach & Dawson, 1999). It is notoriously difficult to eradicate this species and much evidence suggests that success (which is rare) requires very early detection at the point of colonisation (Dawson, 1996; Willby, 2007)

Evaluation of NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligase of mycobacteria as a potential target for antibiotics

Mycobacteria contain genes for several DNA ligases, including ligA, which encodes a NAD+-dependent enzyme that has been postulated to be a target for novel antibacterial compounds. Using a homologous recombination system, direct evidence is presented that wild-type ligA cannot be deleted from the chromosome of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Deletions of native ligA in M. smegmatis could be obtained only after the integration of an extra copy of M. smegmatis or Mycobacterium tuberculosis ligA into the attB site of the chromosome, with expression controlled by chemically inducible promoters. The four ATP-dependent DNA ligases encoded by the M. smegmatis chromosome were unable to replace the function of LigA. Interestingly, the LigA protein from M. smegmatis could be substituted with the NAD+-dependent DNA ligase of Escherichia coli or the ATP-dependent ligase of bacteriophage T4. The conditional mutant strains allowed the analysis of the effect of LigA depletion on the growth of M. smegmatis. The protein level of the conditional mutants was estimated by Western blot analysis using antibodies raised against LigA of M. tuberculosis. This revealed that a strong overproduction or depletion of LigA did not affect the growth or survival of mycobacteria under standard laboratory conditions. In conclusion, although NAD+-dependent DNA ligase is essential for mycobacterial viability, only low levels of protein are required for growth. These findings suggest that very efficient inhibition of enzyme activity would be required if NAD+-dependent DNA ligase is to be useful as an antibiotic target in mycobacteria. The strains developed here will provide useful tools for the evaluation of the efficacy of any appropriate compounds in mycobacteria

Time-domain analysis of substructure of a floating offshore wind turbine in waves

This paper aims to analyze the dynamic response of a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) in waves. Instead of modeling the incident random wave by the traditional wave spectrum and superposition theory, an impulse response function method was used to simulate the incident wave. The incident wave kinematics were evaluated by a convolution of the wave elevation at the original point and the impulse response function in the domain. To check the validity of current wave simulation method, the calculated incident wave velocities were compared with analytical solutions; they showed good agreement. The developed method was then used for the hydrodynamic analysis of the substructure of the FOWT. A direct time-domain method was used to calculate the wave-rigid body interaction problem. The proposed numerical scheme offers an effective way of modeling the incident wave by an arbitrary time series

Links between soil microbial communities and plant traits in a species-rich grassland under long-term climate change

Climate change can influence soil microorganisms directly by altering their growth and activity but also indirectly via effects on the vegetation, which modifies the availability of resources. Direct impacts of climate change on soil microorganisms can occur rapidly, whereas indirect effects mediated by shifts in plant community composition are not immediately apparent and likely to increase over time. We used molecular fingerprinting of bacterial and fungal communities in the soil to investigate the effects of 17 years of temperature and rainfall manipulations in a species‐rich grassland near Buxton, UK. We compared shifts in microbial community structure to changes in plant species composition and key plant traits across 78 microsites within plots subjected to winter heating, rainfall supplementation, or summer drought. We observed marked shifts in soil fungal and bacterial community structure in response to chronic summer drought. Importantly, although dominant microbial taxa were largely unaffected by drought, there were substantial changes in the abundances of subordinate fungal and bacterial taxa. In contrast to short‐term studies that report high resistance of soil fungi to drought, we observed substantial losses of fungal taxa in the summer drought treatments. There was moderate concordance between soil microbial communities and plant species composition within microsites. Vector fitting of community‐weighted mean plant traits to ordinations of soil bacterial and fungal communities showed that shifts in soil microbial community structure were related to plant traits representing the quality of resources available to soil microorganisms: the construction cost of leaf material, foliar carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratios, and leaf dry matter content. Thus, our study provides evidence that climate change could affect soil microbial communities indirectly via changes in plant inputs and highlights the importance of considering long‐term climate change effects, especially in nutrient‐poor systems with slow‐growing vegetation

The diet of the Malham Tarn otters: understanding the impacts of a native predator

Otter (Lutra lutra) populations have been recovering in the UK and expanding into new and often isolated habitats. Otters were first sighted at Malham Tarn in 2009, and have since been observed on a regular basis. This study looks at the diet of the Malham Tarn otters and considers their possible impact on prey populations, such as fish, wading birds and white-clawed crayfish

Characterization of a temperature-sensitive DNA ligase from Escherichia coli

DNA ligases are essential enzymes in cells due to their ability to join DNA strand breaks formed during DNA replication. Several temperature-sensitive mutant strains of Escherichia coli, including strain GR501, have been described which can be complemented by functional DNA ligases. Here, it is shown that the ligA251 mutation in E. coli GR501 strain is a cytosine to thymine transition at base 43, which results in a substitution of leucine by phenylalanine at residue 15. The protein product of this gene (LigA251) is accumulated to a similar level at permissive and non-permissive temperatures. Compared to wild-type LigA, at 20 °C purified LigA251 has 20-fold lower ligation activity in vitro, and its activity is reduced further at 42 °C, resulting in 60-fold lower ligation activity than wild-type LigA. It is proposed that the mutation in LigA251 affects the structure of the N-terminal region of LigA. The resulting decrease in DNA ligase activity at the non-permissive temperature is likely to occur as the result of a conformational change that reduces the rate of adenylation of the ligase

Mission possible: diatoms can be used to infer past duckweed (lemnoid Araceae) dominance in ponds

Compared to larger lakes, ponds have rarely been the focus of palaeoecological studies. A common feature of ponds, especially those subject to eutrophication, is mass surface coverings of lemnoid Araceae (duckweed) which have severe implications for ecological processes in small waterbodies, in particular lowered oxygen content. To help understand the implications of duckweed dominance for the long-term ecology of ponds, and to determine the potential for palaeoecological studies in ponds more generally, we develop a new diatom-based Lemna-indicator metric. Recent studies of diatom host-plant relationships have shown significant associations between duckweed and the epiphytes Lemnicola hungarica and Sellaphora saugerresii (formally known as Sellaphora seminulum). To determine the potential of these species as palaeo-indicators of long-term duckweed dynamics in ponds, we investigated the diatom composition of surface sediment assemblages in sets of duckweed and non-duckweed-dominated ponds in Norfolk, eastern England. In addition, we undertook diatom analysis of two cores from a small farmland pond (Bodham Rail Pit) subject to a known duckweed dominance event (1999–2005). Both L. hungarica and S. saugerresii were significant predictors of past Lemna dominance in the surface sediments. Further, in the core study, both diatom species accurately and closely tracked the documented “on–off” duckweed cycle. Our study suggests huge potential for using ponds in palaeoecological studies and for diatom-based investigations of floating plant histories