Marine Ranching: Proceedings of the Eighteenth U.S.-Japan Meeting on Aquaculture Port Ludlow, Washington, 18-19 September 1989

Female reproduction in penaeid shrimp is carefully regulated by several different endocrine factors. Their precise modes of action have not yet been fully elucidated. Three endocrine factors, each representing a different chemical class of hormones, have been investigated in the penaeid shrimp Sicyonia ingentis in our laboratory: ecdysteroids, vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) , and methyl farnesoate (MF). Ecdysteroids (the steroid molting hormones of arthropods; predominantly 20-hydroxyecdysone), are initially present in low levels (<10 ng/mg) in shrimp embryos. As development of the embryos nears time of hatch, the ecdysteroid levels increase to approximately 150 ng/ mg, indicating that they may be of embryonic origin and involved in embryonic development. An assay was developed for shrimp VIH, which presumably is a protein. Delay of onset of the next reproductive cycle was observed following injection of sinus gland extracts into shrimp that had previously had their eyestalks removed. A photoaffinity analog was synthesized for the putative shrimp reproductive hormone MF-a terpenoid. This analog, farnesyl diazomethyl ketone (FDK) , was used to demonstrate the presence of specific binding proteins for MF in shrimp hemolymph. (PDF file contains 136 pages.)

Enabling Sensor* Interoperability, Portland, Maine, October 16-18 2006: workshop proceedings

The ACT workshop "Enabling Sensor Interoperability" addressed the need for protocols at the hardware, firmware, and higher levels in order to attain instrument interoperability within and between ocean observing systems. For the purpose of the workshop, participants spoke in tern of "instruments" rather than "sensors," defining an instrument as a device that contains one or more sensors or actuators and can convert signals from analog to digital. An increase in the abundance, variety, and complexity of instruments and observing systems suggests that effective standards would greatly improve "plug-and-work" capabilities. However, there are few standards or standards bodies that currently address instrument interoperability and configuration. Instrument interoperability issues span the length and breadth of these systems, from the measurement to the end user, including middleware services. There are three major components of instrument interoperability including physical, communication, and application/control layers. Participants identified the essential issues, current obstacles, and enabling technologies and standards, then came up with a series of short and long term solutions. The top three recommended actions, deemed achievable within 6 months of the release of this report are: A list of recommendations for enabling instrument interoperability should be put together and distributed to instrument developers. A recommendation for funding sources to achieve instrument interoperability should be drafted. Funding should be provided (for example through NOPP or an IOOS request for proposals) to develop and demonstrate instrument interoperability technologies involving instrument manufacturers, observing system operators, and cyberinfrastructure groups. Program managers should be identified and made to understand that milestones for achieving instrument interoperability include a) selection of a methodology for uniquely identifying an instrument, b) development of a common protocol for automatic instrument discovery, c) agreement on uniform methods for measurements, d) enablement of end user controlled power cycling, and e) implementation of a registry component for IDS and attributes. The top three recommended actions, deemed achievable within S years of the release of this report are: An ocean observing interoperability standards body should be established that addresses standards for a) metadata, b) commands, c) protocols, d) processes, e) exclusivity, and f) naming authorities.[PDF contains 48 pages]

Trans-Sierran climatic contacts during the last 12,000 years [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): The early-Holocene warm period, ca. 9000 years ago, is a realistic analog for the possible effects of greenhouse warming. At that time the vegetation of the western Sierra Nevada resembled that currently found east of the crest. ... Tourism, water supply, and the logging industry will be negatively effected if climate changes during the next century are in the direction and magnitude of those of the early Holocene. Increased precipitation in the eastern Sierra could offset some of the effects.

Stable isotopes in paleosols and origins of the Asian monsoon

The stable isotopic composition of buried soil carbonate and organic matter from northern Pakistan and Nepal can be used to reconstruct aspects of the paleoecology of riverine floodplain ecosystems over the past 17 Myr. Probable dry woodland dominated the floodplain biomass of large rivers ancestral to the modern Indus and Ganges up to 7.3 Myr. Between 7.3 and about 6 Myr, tropical grasses gradually displaced woodland and have dominated floodplain biomasses to the present. The paleovegetational transition beginning about 7.3 Myr likely signals the onset of the strongly seasonal precipitation pattern that typifies the monsoonal climate of the region today. One possible analog to the dry woodland soils of the Miocene are found under the Sal woodlands of the northern Indian subcontinent, while undisturbed modern analogs to the Plio-Pleistocene floodplain grasslands can still be found in the Chitwan area of southern Nepal.

Effect of water washing on biochemical and gel characteristics of minced meat from croaker fish (Johnius gangeticus)

Quality of analog fishery products invariably depends on the gel characteristics and nutritional status of minced meat. With an objective to find out the effect of water washing on kamaboko gel, the minced meat from Croaker fish was washed for four times (5 minutes each) using chilled water at a temperature of 8-10°C. Results reflected noticeable improvement in folding test and SSN% of kamaboko with essential decrease in fat content, water soluble proteins, expressible water and quality parameters like NPN, VBN, TMA, FFA and PV denoting superior gel quality than control sample after repeated washing. The results indicated that there was a definite improvement in functional properties such as gel forming ability, expressible water content of the croaker minced meat essential decrease in fat content, water soluble proteins, expressible water and quality parameters after each wash, but two washes of 5 minutes duration each was necessary to achieve satisfactory results.