Survey of biosystematic and sexual reproductive physiology in Holothuroidea on Hormozgan Province

Sea cucumbers belong to phylum Echinodermata, order Holothuroidea are an abundant and diverse group of Invertebrates, with over 1400 species occuring from the intertidal to the deepest oceanic trenches. Sea cucumbers are important components of the food chain in temperate and coral reef ecosystems and they play an important role as deposite feeders and suspension feeders. Rapid decline in populations may have serious consequences for the survival of other species that are part of the same complex food web,as the eggs, larve and juveniles constitute an important food source for the other marine species including crustaceans, fish and mollusks. In addition sea cucumbers are often called the earthworms of the sea, because they are responsible for the extensive shifting and mixing of the substrate, and recycling of detrital matter. Sea cucumbers consume and grind sediment and organic material into finer particles , turning over the top layers of sediment in lagoons , reefs and other habitats and allowing the penetration of oxygen. While the taxonomy of the holothurian families is generally well known , the distinction of similar species is difficult. There are relatively few holothurian taxonomist.Most sea cucumber species can be identified by Holothurin taxonomists by using the calcareous skeletal ossicles found in the body wall. In this study , at first a sea cucumber from Kish island in Persian gulf has recognized. Individuals collected from west and east extend far away into north and south of coral reefs by diving. I have checked them morphologically and anatomically.Then with key to the orders of the Holothuroidea, They belong to the Aspidochirotida with key to the families of Aspidochirotida, they were in Stichopodidae families and with key to the genus of Stchopodidae, they were Stichopus. Then ossicles were extracted at National Museum of Natural History, by Dr David Pawson. The ossicles were measured on a transect across a slide prepared from the mid-dorsal region of each specimen.The one we have in the shallow waters of Kish island, is Stichopus hermanni, a massive holothurian, body broad, considerably flattened ventraly ,the dorsal side slightly arched and the lateral sides almost vertical; body wall fairy thick and soft ; mouth subterminal; anus central; tentacles usually 20 in number of length and leaf shaped. Numerous ossicles consisting of table with large discs having usually 7 to 15 peripheral holes, but often irregular or incomplete and spire of moderate height ending in a group of spinelets, rosettes of variable development, and c-shaped rods. Color (exept papillae)partly remained after preservation in alcohol which is found at the depth of 4 to 8 meters, on coral reef. Furthermore, the sexual reproductive cycle was described using standard methods. Gonads were removed and transferred to Bouin's fixative for four weeks and then processed according to standard embedding technique. To prevent the loss of tubule contents during embedding, the tubule sections, were cut well beyond the segment selected for sectioning. For each individual, six sections, each section with 5µm diameter by microtome were cut from tubules. These sections were first placed on gelatin coated slides (the gelatin was heated to 42°c) and then transferred to the oven at 37°c for one hour. This technique usually prevents the fragil tubules from breaking and the loss of gametes. The slides were stained with Eosin and Hematoxylin, and good resolution of the various cell types achieved.A second series of slides was stained with the Periodic Acid Schiff(PAS) to identify polysaccharides(glycogen). Monthly sampling was occurred.The sexual reproductive cycle was defined through the combined use of these criteria: Monthly percentages of the gonad stages for each sex, the monthly gonad index (GI) , given as the ratio of the wet gonad weight (G) to the dray weight (DW)and the monthly percentage of individuals that undetermined sex. The gonad consists of two tufts of tubules on which saccules develop. Gonadal development was classified into five stages: post spawning, recovery, growth, advanced growth, and mature stage that were adapted from the earlier studies of holothurians. Histological preparations showed that the sex of larger individuals could be identified by the presence of oogonia and young oocytes in females, and spermatogonic stages in males.The mean diameter of the tubules and gonadal mass follow annual cycles, increasing from late winter through spring, and dropping abruptly after spawning in the summer. Gametogenesis is generally a prolongate process and begins in March. By summer the ovarian tubules contain oocytes with diameter of 120-240 pm and the testicular tubules contain an abundance of spermatozoa (diameter 5-6 gm ).Following spawning the predominant activity within the spent tubules is phagocytosis of the residual gamets.The active phase of gametogenesis (March to July), coincides with an increasing photoperiod regim, and an accelerated gametogenesis occurs in July when temperature is high. Throughout the year, the gonad of Stichopus hermanni is larger in males than in females, and this is due to the number of tubules in the testis rather than to tubules length or diameter.

Perspectives of impacts of international fish trade in Kenya

There has been tremendous growth in international trade on fish and fisheries products in the last four decades. In 1970 the value of internationally traded fish was estimated at 3 billion; this increased to US$ 15 billion in 1980, US$ 36 billion in 1990 and US$ 55 billion in 2000 (Ahmed, 2003). Recent statistics show that fish trade has surpassed other agricultural commodities that have traditionally been traded internationally such as coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, cereals, meat, oils and milk. In 2000, fish contributed 22% of the value of all agricultural exports, making it the highest internationally traded food product (Ahmed, 2003). In another perspective, nearly 40% of the world's fish is now sold in the international market. The flow of fish in the international market is highly lopsided. About 50% of fish exportscomefromthedevelopingworld ,ofwhich 20%arefrom low-incomefood deficient countries. Most of this fish, however, is consumed by the developed countries, which account for nearly 80% of all imported fish. The EU, USA and Japan are the major importers, accounting for over 77% of global fish imports. Thus, while developing countries playa big role in fish production , they consume very little of it, instead preferring to sell for the hard currency. In some fish exporting countries, especially those in Asia, there is some link between fish exports and imports of substitute and complementary foods. Much of the increased earning from fish exports in those countries is explained by a corresponding rise in expenditure on imported foods. This is not the case in many of the fish exporter nations in Africa. In their case, fish exports generate foreign exchange that they use to meet other socio-political objectives; hardly is it aimed at solving the wider food needs. Therefore, one of the most immediate concerns of international fish trade is its impact on food security in the poor exporter nations.

SIMPLE REMESHING SCHEME FOR THE FINITE ELEMENT BASED SIMULATION OF DOPANT DIFFUSION IN SILICON.

Process simulation programs are valuable in generating accurate impurity profiles. Apart from accuracy the programs should also be efficient so as not to consume vast computer memory. This is especially true for devices and circuits of VLSI complexity. In this paper a remeshing scheme to make the finite element based solution of the non-linear diffusion equation more efficient is proposed. A remeshing scheme based on comparing the concentration values of adjacent node was then implemented and found to remove the problems of oscillation.

Performance and power dissipation comparisons between 28 Gb/s NRZ, PAM, CAP and optical OFDM systems for data communication applications

Theoretical investigations have been carried out to analyze and compare the link power budget and power dissipation of non-return-to-zero (NRZ), pulse amplitude modulation-4 (PAM-4), carrierless amplitude and phase modulation-16 (CAP-16) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (16-QAM-OFDM) systems for data center interconnect scenarios. It is shown that for multimode fiber (MMF) links, NRZ modulation schemes with electronic equalization offer the best link power budget margins with the least power dissipation for short transmission distances up to 200 m; while OOFDM is the only scheme which can support a distance of 300 m albeit with power dissipation as high as 4 times that of NRZ. For short single mode fiber (SMF) links, all the modulation schemes offer similar link power budget margins for fiber lengths up to 15 km, but NRZ and PAM-4 are preferable due to their system simplicity and low power consumption. For lengths of up to 30 km, CAP-16 and OOFDM are required although the schemes consume 2 and 4 times as much power respectively compared to that of NRZ. OOFDM alone allows link operation up to 35 km distances. © 1983-2012 IEEE.

Comparisons between gigabit NRZ, CAP and optical OFDM systems over FEC enhanced POF links using LEDs

Simulations have been performed to compare the link power budget and power dissipation of carrierless amplitude and phase modulation-64 (CAP-64) and 64-quadrature amplitude modulation-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (64-QAM-OFDM) systems over feedforward error correction (FEC) enhanced plastic optical fibre (POF) links using light emitting diodes (LEDs). It is shown that CAP-64 outperforms 64-QAM-OFDM and supports record high 2.1Gb/s over 50m POF transmission. The CAP-64 and 64-QAM-OFDM links consume similar powers which are 2 (2.5) times of that of NRZ for the single POF link (twin POF links) case. © 2012 IEEE.

Predictive neural coding of reward preference involves dissociable responses in human ventral midbrain and ventral striatum.

Food preferences are acquired through experience and can exert strong influence on choice behavior. In order to choose which food to consume, it is necessary to maintain a predictive representation of the subjective value of the associated food stimulus. Here, we explore the neural mechanisms by which such predictive representations are learned through classical conditioning. Human subjects were scanned using fMRI while learning associations between arbitrary visual stimuli and subsequent delivery of one of five different food flavors. Using a temporal difference algorithm to model learning, we found predictive responses in the ventral midbrain and a part of ventral striatum (ventral putamen) that were related directly to subjects' actual behavioral preferences. These brain structures demonstrated divergent response profiles, with the ventral midbrain showing a linear response profile with preference, and the ventral striatum a bivalent response. These results provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying human preference behavior.

Distribution and bioaccumulation of microcystins in water columns: A systematic investigation into the environmental fate and the risks associated with microcystins in Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu

For the purpose of understanding the environmental fate of microcystins (MCs) and the potential health risks caused by toxic cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Taihu, a systematic investigation was carried out from February 2005 to January 2006. The distribution of MCs in the water column, and toxin bioaccumulations in aquatic organisms were surveyed. The results suggested that Lake Taihu is heavily polluted during summer months by toxic cyanobacterial blooms (with a maximum biovolume of 6.7 x 10(8) cells/L) and MCs. The maximum concentration of cell-bound toxins was 1.81 mg/g (DW) and the dissolved MCs reached a maximum level of 6.69 mu g/L. Dissolved MCs were always found in the entire water column at all sampling sites throughout the year. Our results emphasized the need for tracking MCs not only in the entire water column but also at the interface between water and sediment. Seasonal changes of MC concentrations in four species of hydrophytes (Eichhornic crassipes, Potamogeton maackianus, Alternanthera philoxeroides and Myriophyllum spicatum) ranged from 129 to 1317, 147 to 1534, 169 to 3945 and 124 to 956 ng/g (DW), respectively. Toxin accumulations in four aquatic species (Carassius auratus auratu, Macrobrachium nipponensis, Bellamya aeruginosa and Cristaria plicata) were also analyzed. Maximum toxin concentrations in the edible organs and non-edible visceral organs ranged from 378 to 730 and 754 to 3629 ng/g (DW), respectively. Based on field studies in Lake Taihu, risk assessments were carried out, taking into account the WHO guidelines and the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for MCs. Our findings suggest that the third largest lake in China poses serious health threats when serving as a source of drinking water and for recreational use. In addition, it is likely to be unsafe to consume aquatic species harvested in Lake Taihu due to the high-concentrations of accumulated MCs. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linear multi-modal actuation through discrete coupling

Due to technological limitations robot actuators are often designed for specific tasks with narrow performance goals, whereas a wide range of output and behaviours is necessary for robots to operate autonomously in uncertain complex environments. We present a design framework that employs dynamic couplings in the form of brakes and clutches to increase the performance and diversity of linear actuators. The couplings are used to switch between a diverse range of discrete modes of operation within a single actuator. We also provide a design solution for miniaturized couplings that use dry friction to produce rapid switching and high braking forces. The couplings are designed so that once engaged or disengaged no extra energy is consumed. We apply the design framework and coupling design to a linear series elastic actuator (SEA) and show that this relatively simple implementation increases the performance and adds new behaviours to the standard design. Through a number of performance tests we are able to show rapid switching between a high and a low impedance output mode; that the actuator's spring can be charged to produce short bursts of high output power; and that the actuator has additional passive and rigid modes that consume no power once activated. Robots using actuators from this design framework would see a vast increase in their behavioural diversity and improvements in their performance not yet possible with conventional actuator design. © 2012 IEEE.

A wide-band front-end for terrestrial and cable receptions

In this paper, a wide-band low noise amplifier, two mixers and a VCO with its buffers implemented in 50GHz 0.35 mu m SiGe BiCMOS technology for dual-conversion digital TV tuner front-end is presented. The LNA and up-converting mixer utilizes current injection technology to achieve high linearity. Without using inductors, the LNA achieves 0.1-1GHz wide bandwidth and 18.8-dB gain with less than 1.4-dB gain variation. The noise figure of the LNA is less than 5dB and its 1dB compression point is -2 dBm. The IIP3 of two mixers is 25-dBm. The measurement results show that the VCO has -127.27-dBc/Hz phase noise at 1-MHz offset and a linear gain of 32.4-MHz/V between 990-MHz and 1.14-GHz. The whole chip consume 253mW power with 5-V supply.

The wideband high-linearity mixers for cable television tuner application

The wideband high-linearity mixers for a double conversion cable TV tuner is presented. The up-conversion mixer converts the input signal from 100MHz to 1000 MHz to the intermediate frequency (IF) of I GHz above. And the down-conversion mixer converts the frequency back. The degeneration resistors are used to Improve the linearity. The tuner is implemented in a 0.35 mu m SiGe technology. Input power at 1dB compression point can reach +14.23dBm. The lowest noise figure is 17.5dB. The two mixers consume 103mW under a supply voltage of 5 V.

Simulation on Gain Recovery of Quantum Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers by Rate Equation

The gain recoveries in quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers are numerically studied by rate equation models. Similar to the optical pump-probe experiment, the injection of double optical pulses is used to simulate the gain recovery of a weak continuous signal for the QD SOAs. The gain recoveries are fitted by a response function with multiple exponential terms. For the pulses duration of 10 ps, the gain recovery can be described by three exponential terms with the time constants, and for the pulse with the width of 150 fs, the gain recovery can be described by two exponential terms, the reason is that the short pulse does not consume lot of carriers.

A new structure of In-based ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs

Electrical, structural and reaction characteristics of In-based ohmic contacts to n-GaAs were studied. Attempts were made to form a low-band-gap interfacial phase of InGaAs to reduce the barrier height at the metal/semiconductor junction, thus yielding low-resistance, highly reliable contacts. The contacts were fabricated by e-beam sputtering Ni, NiIn and Ge targets on VPE-grown n(+)-GaAs film (approximate to 1 mu m, 2 x 10(18) cm(-3)) in ultrahigh vacuum as the structure of Ni(200 Angstrom)/NiIn(100 Angstrom)/Ge(40 Angstrom)/n(+)-GaAs/SI-GaAs, followed by rapid thermal annealing at various temperatures (500-900 degrees C). In this structure, a very thin layer of Ge was employed to play the role of heavily doping donors and diffusion limiters between In and the GaAs substrate. Indium was deposited by sputtering NiIn alloy instead of pure In in order to ensure In atoms to be distributed uniformly in the substrate; nickel was chosen to consume the excess indium and form a high-temperature alloy of Ni3In. The lowest specific contact resistivity (rho(c)) of (1.5 +/- 0.5)x 10(-6) cm(2) measured by the Transmission Line Method (TLM) was obtained after annealing at 700 degrees C for 10 s. Auger sputtering depth profile and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the interfacial microstructure. By correlating the interfacial microstructure to the electronical properties, InxGa1-xAs phases with a large fractional area grown epitaxially on GaAs were found to be essential for reduction of the contact resistance.

厌氧好氧一体化生物反应器处理发酵废水的中试研究

一体化反应器由于投资少、占地小、管理运行方便等优点而备受青睐。但现有的一体化反应器大都适用于处理中低浓度废水，耐受负荷普遍偏低。本课题研制出新型高效的厌氧好氧一体化生物反应器，旨在通过反应器结构优化、高效微生物载体研制、配合高效微生物菌剂技术处理中高浓度有机废水，实现高效和低耗，降低设备造价，提高反应器运行稳定性。 首先开展了菌剂对废水的适配试验。采用15种不同的微生物菌剂，以葡萄糖配水、中药提取废水、啤酒废水、氨氮配水为基质，分别测定了微生物菌剂的耗氧速率和厌氧比产甲烷速率，以其为指标比较了各菌剂对废水的适配性。根据结果选择活性高的14＃、8＃、10＃菌剂，在试验室进行了菌剂对废水的连续处理试验，取得良好的处理效果，为菌剂在厌氧好氧一体化生物反应器的小试、中试中的应用奠定了基础。 经小试研究后，又对厌氧好氧一体化生物反应器进行了处理发酵废水的中试研究。试验结果表明，反应器启动快，系统有机负荷2.72 kgCODm-3d-1时整个反应器去除率保持在84.5％～93.19％，在30多天内一次启动成功。冲击负荷试验中，系统总有机负荷最高可达到8.88 kgCODm-3d-1，系统去除率稳定在88.10％～96.88%，说明反应器处理效率高，抗冲击能力强。稳定运行期间，COD去除率可达90％以上，各项指标都能达到国家排放标准。 此外，对反应器配套系统高效菌剂、高分子复合颗粒载体进行了研究。结果显示，菌剂与反应器适配良好，各功能区形成了丰富、高活性的微生物，厌氧区颗粒污泥TS高达83.9 gL-1，VS/TS为56.9％～57.4％，比产甲烷活性为280～350 mLCH4 gvss-1d-1；好氧区固定化微生物TS高达1.921 gL-1，VS/TS为94.02～94.30％。对载体性能的研究表明，此高分子复合颗粒载体密度适中，易于流化，不易流失；粗糙多空，易于挂膜；且无生物毒害作用，稳定安全，是一种优良的生物载体。反应器各功能区对废水的降解过程分析，说明了反应器、菌剂、载体适配良好，在其协同作用下，实现了污染物的高效降解。 The integrated reactors were popular because of their characteristics such as little investment, small occupation of land, convenient of manage and running etc. But the present integrated reactors were mostly applied for treating wastewater of low concentration, the load tolerance was generally on the low side. A new type integrated anaerobic-aerobic bio-reactor was developed, which was conducted to treating organic wastewater of middle or high concentration by optimization of reactor structure, development of efficient microbe carrier and adaptation of high active microbial blends, to achieve high efficiency and low consume, reduce equipment cost, enhance running stabilization of reactor. The adaptability test of microbial blends on different wastewater was carried on firstly. Oxygen consumption rate and anaerobic specific activity of methane producing of 15 different microbial blends were measured separately taking glucose artificial wastewater, Chinese herb extracting wastewater, brewery wastewater and ammonia nitrogen artificial wastewater as substrate, by which the adaptabilities of different microbial blends to wastewater were compared. According to the results high active microbial blends 14#, 8# and 10# were selected and used in the continuous treatment of wastewater in the laboratory and had obtained good effect, which had laid a foundation for application microbial blends to small scale test and pilot test of integrated anaerobic-aerobic bio-reactor. After the small scale test, the pilot test of the integrated anaerobic-aerobic bio-reactor treating fermentation wastewater was carried on. The test results showed fast initiation of the reactor. When system organic load reached 2.72 kgCODm-3d-1the COD removal rate of the reactor was stable between 84.5%～93.19% and it initiated successfully in more than 30 days at a time. In the load shock test the maximum organic load of system could reach to 8.88 kgCODm-3d-1 and the COD removal rate could be stable between 88.10%~96.88% which indicated that the reactor was efficient for treating wastewater and had strong resistance to shock load. At stable running period the COD removal rate of the reactor was over 90% and each index of wastewater could reach to the national discharge standards. In addition, the high active microbial blends and the macromolecule compound granule carrier, the matching system of the reactor was studied. It showed that the microbial blends adapted well to the reactor and abundant and high active microbes were formed in each functional field. The TS of granule sludge in anaerobic field was as high as 83.9 gL-1, the VS/TS was 56.9%~57.4%, the specific activity of methane producing was 280~350 mLCH4 gvss-1d-1. And the TS of immobilized biological granule was as high as 1.921 gL-1, the VS/TS was 94.02%~94.30%. Study on the carrier showed that the self-made macromolecular compound granule carrier was moderate of density, easy of fluidization, unease of running off, rough and porous, easy of films fixation, no bio-toxic, stable and safe, was a kind of superior carrier. Analysis of degradation process in each functional field confirmed the reactor, microbial blends and carriers were in good adaptation and wastewater was decontaminated by their cooperation.

Ammonia-treated activated carbon as support of a Ru-Ba catalyst for ammonia synthesis

Ammonia-treated activated carbon has been studied as a support of Ru-Ba catalyst for ammonia synthesis. It is shown that the introduction of nitrogen leads to a decrease of ammonia synthesis activity for the catalysts with a low Ba/Ru molar ratio, while no significant changes are obtained for the catalysts with a high Ba/Ru molar ratio, confirming that electronegative impurities suppress the activity in ammonia synthesis and consume part of the promoters.

黄土塬区3种豆科牧草对土壤水分的消耗利用研究

在田间完全旱作条件下采用3个密度和2种播种方式观察了3种多年生豆科牧草生长第2年对土壤水分的消耗利用情况。结果表明:苜蓿主要耗水深度在2~3 m,最深可达5 m,其中、高密度处理3 m以上土壤水分含量都在稳定田间持水量之下,已经开始形成土壤下伏干层;沙打旺耗水深度在0~2 m,最低含水量(11.61%)处于80~100 cm,在雨季可以恢复到稳定田间持水量之上;达乌里胡枝子主要耗水深度在1 m以上,最低含水量也在稳定田间持水量之上。单播沙打旺、苜蓿和达乌里胡枝子全生长期内对土壤水分的消耗分别为249.9、180.2和136.6 mm,水分利用效率分别是29.39、26.04和8.91 kg.mm-1.hm-2。混播、加大播种密度都会增加3种牧草土壤水分消耗,降低土壤储水量,提高干草产量和水分利用效率,但影响程度因牧草种类、播种方式以及不同的生长时段而异。