Natural cone formation for fast ignition of laser fusion

We propose to utilize the leading pulse of a petawatt class laser to create a conic plasma channel in the dense plasmas. This plasma channel could serve as a natural cone to guide the main pulse to the cone tip, as behaves similarly to the physical Au cone. We estimate that the leading pulse of a petawatt laser could create a natural cone with cone tip only about 100 mu m away from the edge of compressed core plasma. The natural cone formation should be compatible for a good uniform compression and efficient fast heating of the imploded fuel.

Fast evolution of growth hormone receptor in primates and ruminants

Pituitary growth hormone (GH) evolves very slowly in most of mammals, but the evolutionary rates appear to have increased markedly on two occasions during the evolution of primates and ruminants. To investigate the evolutionary pattern of growth hormone receptor (GHR), we sequenced the extracellular domain of GHR genes from four primate species. Our results suggested that GHR in mammal also shows an episodic evolutionary pattern, which is consistent with that observed in pituitary growth hormone. Further analysis suggested that this pattern of rapid evolution observed in primates and ruminants is likely the result of coevolution between pituitary growth hormone and its receptor.

Detour behavior changes associated with prenatal morphine exposure in 11-day-old chicks

The central nervous system exhibits remarkable plasticity in early life. Prenatal morphine exposure may induce adverse behavioral effects on the neonate and the developing offspring. In the present study, we investigated the effect of prenatal morphine exposure (daily from embryonic days 12-16, 20 mg/kg) on 11-day-old chicks using two forms of spatial paradigms: one trial detour behavior task in which animals must bypass an obstacle to reach the desired goal without any training and detour learning task which required several trials of training to reach the detour criterion. The results showed that, on the condition that chicks could successfully detour in the first trial, morphine exposed chicks exhibited longer detour latency to finish the task, coupled by a preference for turning right versus turning left. In contrast, no significant difference in learning and memory was found in detour learning task between morphine exposed chicks and saline chicks. These findings suggest specific behavioral changes associated with prenatal exposure to opioids during mid to late gestation, also raise attention to the possible health hazard from pregnancy drug use in everyday life. (C) 2010 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Prenatal Exposure to a 50-Hz Magnetic Field on One-Trial Passive Avoidance Learning in 1-Day-Old Chicks

We investigated memory impairment in newly hatched chicks following in ovo exposure to a 50-Hz magnetic field (MF) of 2 mT (60 min/day) on embryonic days 12-18. Isolated and paired chicks were used to test the effect of stress during training, and memory retention was tested at 10, 30, and 120 min, following exposure to a bitter-tasting bead (100% methylanthranilate). Results showed that memory was intact at 10 min in both isolated and paired chicks with or without MF exposure. However, while isolated chicks had good memory retention levels at 30 and 120 min, those exposed to MF did not. The results suggest a potential disruption of memory formation following in ovo exposure to MF, with this effect only evident in the more stressed, isolated chicks. Bioelectromagnetics 31:150-155, 2010. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss. Inc.

Reduced swimming abilities in fast-growing transgenic common carp Cyprinus carpio associated with their morphological variations

Critical swimming speeds (U-crit) and morphological characters were compared between the F-4 generation of GH-transgenic common carp Cyprinus carpio and the non-transgenic controls. Transgenic fish displayed a mean absolute U-crit value 22.3% lower than the controls. Principal component analysis identified variations in body shape, with transgenic fish having significantly deeper head, longer caudal length of the dorsal region, longer standard length (L-S) and shallower body and caudal region, and shorter caudal length of the ventral region. Swimming speeds were related to the combination of deeper body and caudal region, longer caudal length of the ventral region, shallower head depth, shorter caudal length of dorsal region and L-S. These findings suggest that morphological variations which are poorly suited to produce maximum thrust and minimum drag in GH-transgenic C. carpio may be responsible for their lower swimming abilities in comparison with non-transgenic controls.

Diurnal changes of behavior and respiration of Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) in captivity

A preliminary study was carried out to investigate diurnal changes of behavior of three, one adult mate, one adult female, and one juvenile female, Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) in captivity. The respiration and behavior of the porpoises were recorded for 222 hr across 42 days. Behavioral data were recorded for eight general categories: aerial display and fast swimming, begging for fish, playing, nonsexual socializing, sexual behavior, resting, rubbing, and miscellaneous (i.e., other behaviors not included in the above categories). Each behavioral category was scored using one-zero sampling with 10-min intervals. The adult male showed shorter mean respiratory intervals at night (19:00-7:00 h), whereas the mean respiratory intervals of the females were shorter during the day (7:00-19:00 h). Begging for fish of all individuals, playing of the juvenile female, nonsexual socializing, and miscellaneous behavior of the adult female and resting of the male were observed more easily in the day, and aerial display and fast swimming of the adults and resting of the females were observed more easily at night. No significant diurnal difference was found, however, in the remaining categories of each individual. Each of the three porpoises therefore showed a distinct diurnal pattern, but none was obviously more active in the daytime than during the nighttime. Results suggest that daytime-only feeding schedules may be insufficient to meet the energetic needs of marine mammals that show a 24-hr activity cycle, and that nighttime feeding may be a worthwhile addition to husbandry routines.

Measurement of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand without sample dilution or bacterial and nutrient enhancement

A direct method for measuring the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BODS) of aquaculture samples that does not require sample dilution or bacterial and nutrient enrichment was evaluated. The regression coefficient (R-2) between the direct method and the standard method for the analyses of 32 samples from catfish ponds was 0.996. The slope of the regression line did not differ from 1.0 or the Y-intercept from 0.0 at P = 0.05. Thus, there was almost perfect agreement between the two methods. The control limits (three standard deviations of the mean) for a standard solution containing 15 mg/L each of glutamic acid and glucose were 17.4 and 20.4 mg/L. The precision of the two methods, based on eight replicate analyses of four pond water samples did not differ at P = 0.05. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Application of fast Pade approximation in simulating photonic crystal nanocavities by FDTD technology

The exact calculation of mode quality factor Q is a key problem in the design of high-Q photonic crystal nanocavity. On the basis of further investigation on conventional Pade approximation, FDM and DFT, Pade approximation with Baker's algorithm is enhanced through introducing multiple frequency search and parabola interpolation. Though Pade approximation is a nonlinear signal processing method and only short time sequence is needed, we find the different length of sequence requirements for 2D and 3D FDTD, which is very important to obtain convergent and accurate results. By using the modified Pade approximation method and 3D FDTD, the 2D slab photonic crystal nanocavity is analyzed and high-Q multimode can be solved quickly instead of large range high-resolution scanning. Monitor position has also been investigated. These results are very helpful to the design of photonic crystal nanocavity devices. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.