ALBERT

Description: We discuss paleoenvironmental changes at the Dae-Am San high moor, located near the Demilitarized Zone at 38°N. This area has been reported to be the only high moor in the Korean peninsula. The 14C age of the bottom sediment (75–80 cm in depth) at this site is about 1900 BP. Since the radiocarbon ages for the intervals at 50–55 cm and 75–80 cm were almost the same, we conclude that the deep layers (55–80 cm) in the high moor were all part of the original soil. Low organic C and N contents in the deeper layers support this inference. The 50–55-cm layer consists of sandy material with very low organic content, suggesting erosion from the surrounding area. The surface layer (0–5 cm) was measured as 190 BP, and the middle layer (30–35 cm) was 870 BP. The bulk sedimentation rate was estimated to be about 0.4 mm yr−1 for the 0–30-cm interval. The δ13C value of organic carbon in the sediments fluctuated with depth. The δ13C profile of the Dae-Am San high moor may be explained by climatic changes which occurred during the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period.

Description: The dynamics of subgrid-scale energy transfer in turbulence is investigated in a database of a planar turbulent jet at Re(λ) 110, obtained by direct numerical simulation. In agreement with analytical predictions (Kraichnan 1976), subgrid-scale energy transfer is found to arise from two effects: one involving non-local interactions between the resolved scales and disparate subgrid scales, the other involving local interactions between the resolved and subgrid scales near the cutoff. The former gives rise to a positive, wavenumber-independent eddy-viscosity distribution in the spectral space, and is manifested as low-intensity, forward transfers of energy in the physical space. The latter gives rise to positive and negative cusps in the spectral eddy-viscosity distribution near the cutoff, and appears as intense and coherent regions of forward and reverse transfer of energy in the physical space. Only a narrow band of subgrid wavenumbers, on the order of a fraction of an octave, make the dominant contributions to the latter. A dynamic two-component subgrid-scale model (DTM), incorporating these effects, is proposed. In this model, the non-local forward transfers of energy are parameterized using an eddy-viscosity term, while the local interactions are modelled using the dynamics of the resolved scales near the cutoff. The model naturally accounts for backscatter and correctly predicts the breakdown of the net transfer into forward and reverse contributions in a priori tests. The inclusion of the local-interactions term in DTM significantly reduces the variability of the model coefficient compared to that in pure eddy-viscosity models. This eliminates the need for averaging the model coefficient, making DTM well-suited to computations of complex-geometry flows. The proposed model is evaluated in LES of transitional and turbulent jet and channel flows. The results show DTM provides more accurate predictions of the statistics, structure, and spectra than dynamic eddy-viscosity models and remains robust at marginal LES resolutions.

Description: SUMMARYThe current study was designed to determine the effect of roughage to concentrate ratio (R : C) on rumen pH, fermentation and bacterial population in dairy steers. Four rumen fistulated dairy steers (170±20 kg) were randomly assigned according to a 4×4 Latin square design, in which the steers were fed with four dietary treatments with different R : C ratios of 0·8 : 0·2, 0·6 : 0·4, 0·4 : 0·6 and 0·2 : 0·8, respectively. All animals were kept in individual pens and received feed according to the respective R : C ratios at 0·025 body weight (BW)/d; urea-treated rice straw (prepared using 3·5 kg urea+100 kg water sprayed onto 100 kg of rice straw) was used as a roughage source. The experiment was conducted for four periods of 21 days each. During the first 14 days, feed intake was measured and the animals were then moved to metabolism crates for total urine and faecal collection for 7 days. Total dry matter intake (DMI) was similar among treatments. Energy intake increased as the proportion of concentrate in the diet increased. Apparent digestibilities of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) were improved, while neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) were reduced when the levels of concentrate increased. A decreasing ratio of R : C reduced rumen pH linearly, from 6·4 to 5·9 at 0·2 : 0·8. High levels of concentrate impacted on volatile fatty acids (VFA) molar proportions and decreased acetate (C2) linearly, while propionate (C3) was increased, leading to decreased C2 : C3 ratio. Numbers of protozoa, fungi and proteolytic bacteria were not affected by R : C ratio. Cellulolytic bacteria decreased linearly while amylolytic bacteria increased linearly with 0·60 and 0·80 concentrates. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based on 16S RNA revealed thatFibrobacter succinogenesnumbers were increased when steers were fed with R : C ratio of 0·8 : 0·2. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)-producing bacteria, especially those ofButyrivibrio fibrisolvens, increased linearly with R : C ratios of 0·8 : 0·2 and 0·6 : 0·4, whileMegasphaera elsdenii, a lactate-utilizing bacterium and reported producer oftrans-10,cis-12 CLA increased linearly with R : C ratio of 0·8 : 0·2. In addition, microbial CP synthesis increased quadratically when steers were fed high levels of concentrate. However, the efficiency microbial N synthesis (EMNS) based on OM, truly digested in the rumen, was not affected by different R : C ratios. From the current study, it can be concluded that roughage to concentrate ratio of 0·4 : 0·6 had positive effects for the creation of healthy rumen (rumen pH and ecology), and improved energy intake and rumen fermentation, particularly propionic acid and microbial protein synthesis, in dairy steers fed urea-treated rice straw as a roughage source.