Influence of shelf-break fronts on shellfish and fish stocks off Argentina [Contribution to ICES Annual Science Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, 27 Sep- 04 Oct 1996]

The general circulation pattern in the western boundary of the SW Atlantic is dominated by the opposite flows of Malvinas (-Falkland)and Brazil Current. In the Confluence region both currents separate from the continental slope and flow offshore creating an area of strong contracts and complex dynamics. The shelf-break fronts off Argentina mark the transition between shelf waters of mixed origin and nutrient rich Malvinas waters. Two areas deserve special attention due to the steep gradients introduced by the outflow of important sources of continental waters: the Rio de la Plata and the Magellan Strait to the north and south of the study area. Characteristics of the front is the high primary and secondary production, and the presence of important invertebrate and fish stocks that concentrate along the front to feed or spawn. The area comprises nearly 30 o/o (333 million U$S in 1995)of all Argentine catches of fish and squid. Resources in the area, beyond the EEZ limits, support international fisheries mainly of Russia, Poland and Spain. (Document contains 15 pages & figs)

Proposal for improving fishing opportunities off Pt. Loma by construction of an artificial reef

(Document pdf contains 42 pages)

Information concerning the pink shrimp trawl fishery off northern California

(PDF contains 25 pages.)

Optimization of Off-Null Ellipsometry for Optical Biosensor Applications

The optimization of off-null ellipsometry is described with emphasis on the improvement of resolution for visualizing biomolecule layers. For optical biosensor with layer thickness below 6.5 nm, a numerical simulation for the dependence of resolution on the azimuth settings of polarizer and analyzer is presented first. For comparison, three different resolutions are given at three azimuth settings which are near null and far away from null condition, respectively. Furthermore, the square or linear approximation relationship between the intensity and the layer thickness are also given at these settings. The difference among their accuracy is up to 100 times or so. Experimental results of the biosensor sample verify the optimization.

El contexto universitario español para la creación de spin-off académicas: la actividad de I+D+I en la universidad española

La creación, consolidación y proliferación de empresas de spin-offs académicas requiere que se cumplan una serie de requisitos previos:inversión en I+D que contribuya a crear nuevas oportunidades tecnológicas; capital-riesgo para financiar las primeras etapas de desarrollo de una spin-off; una cultura favorable al emprendizaje en el entorno universitario; programas específicos de apoyo a la creación de spin-offs; un marco regulatorio-institucional que favorezca la I+D, la protección de la propiedad intelectual y la aproximación de los investigadores al mundo empresarial. En este artículo se pretende analizar la actividad de I+D+I universitaria española. Se trata de resaltar las principales características diferenciadoras de la situación española con respecto a la Unión Europea, a algún país europeo significativo y a Estados Unidos, como país de referencia en la transferencia de tecnología a través de spin-off académicas.

Research on Q-Switched Nd : YAG laser engraving

IN this paper, the engraving process with Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser is investigated. High power density is the pre- requisition to vapor materials, and high repetition rate makes the engraving process highly efficient. An acousto- optic Q-Switch is applied in the cavity of CW 200 W Nd:YAG laser to achieve the high peak power density and the high pulse repetition rate. Different shape craters are formed in a patterned structure on the material surface when the laser beam irradiates on it by controlling power density, pulse repetition rate, pulse quantity and pulse interval. In addition, assisting oxygen gas is used for not only improving combustion to deepen the craters but also removing the plasma that generated on the top of craters. Off-focus length classified as negative and positive has a substantial effect on crater diameters. According to the message of rotating angle positions from material to be engraved and the information of graph pixels from computer, a special graph is imparted to the material by integrating the Q- Switched Nd:YAG laser with the computer graph manipulation and the numerically controlled worktable. The crater diameter depends on laser beam divergence and laser focal length. The crater diameter changes from 50 micrometers to 300 micrometers , and the maximum of crater depth reaches one millimeter.