Minimum weight design of fiber-reinforced laminated composite structures with maximum stress and Tsai-Wu failure criteria

In this article, a minimum weight design of carbon/epoxy laminates is carried out using genetic algorithms. New failure envelopes have been developed by the combination of two commonly used phenomenological failure criteria, namely Maximum Stress (MS) and Tsai-Wu (TW) are used to obtain the minimum weight of the laminate. These failure envelopes are the most conservative failure envelope (MCFE) and the least conservative failure envelope (LCFE). Uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions are considered for the study and the differences in the optimal weight of the laminate are compared for the MCFE and LCFE. The MCFE can be used for design of critical load-carrying composites, while the LCFE could be used for the design of composite structures where weight reduction is much more important than safety such as unmanned air vehicles.

Collecção das Leis do Brazil de 1819

Parte 1 - Cartas de Lei, Alvarás, Decretos e Cartas Régias

Taxonomic review of the genus Sinocrossocheilus Wu (Teleostei : Cyprinidae), with a description of four new species

All Sinocrossocheilus species, except S. microstomatus, are reviewed. Four new species, S. labiata, S. papillolabra, S. nigrovittata, and S. longibulla, are described. The genus Sinocrossocheilus differs from other genera of Cyprinidae by the last simple dorsal fin ray being unserrated and unossified, the last unbranched anal fin ray being unserrated and unossified, the 5-branched anal fin rays, the mouth gap being inferior, the rostral cap covering the lower jaw and connecting directly with the lower lip, a row of fleshy lobes on the lower jaw, and a cloudy black spot above the pectoral fin. Sinocrossocheilus labiata is small and has 22 predorsal scales; S. longibulla has a very large air bladder; S. papillolabra possesses a well-developed ventral fin and a wide band covered by fleshy papillae on the lower lip; and S. nigrovittata possesses black longitudinal stripes along the lateral line. Crossocheilus bamaensis and Crossocheilus liuchengensis are transferred to the genus Sinocrossocheilus. Sinocrossocheilus species are endemic to the central and eastern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of China, where river systems are anfractuous, including seasonal rivers, cave rivers, underground rivers, and streamlets between mountains. These separated rivers probably provide conditions for the allopatric speciation of the Sinocrossocheilus.

The decline of Alestes baremose Boulenger, 1901 and Hydrocynus forskahlii (Cuvier, 1819) stocks in Lake Albert: implications for sustainable management of their fisheries

The fish stocks of Lake Albert face immense exploitation pressure which has led to “fishingdown” of their fisheries, with some larger species having been driven to near-extinction, while others such as Citharinus citharus have almost disappeared. Both A. baremose (Angara) and H. forskahlii (Ngassia) historically formed the most important commercial species in Lake Albert until the early 2000s but recent Catch Assessment Surveys (2007-2013) revealed a sweeping decline in their contribution to the commercial catch from 72.7% in 1971 to less than 6% in 2013. The catch per unit effort also registered a two-fold decline from 45.6 and 36.1 kg/boat/day to 22.6 and 18.1 kg/boat/day for A. baremose and H. forskahlii respective between 1971 and 2007. Over 50% of illegal gillnets, below the legal minimum limit of four inches (101.6 mm) used on Lake Albert target the two species. Gillnet experiments found the three inch (76.2 mm) gill net mesh size suitable for sustained harvest of the two species. The study concludes that optimal utilization of the two species and probably other non target fish species is achievable through species specific management strategies, coupling species specific licensing, and controlling harvest of juvenile individuals, overall fishing effort and fish catch on Lake Albert and protecting the vulnerable fish habitats.

Revision of the cyprinid genus Placocheilus Wu, 1977 in China, with description of a new species from Yunnan

Placocheilus is re-diagnosed on the basis of oromandibular structures compared to those of closely related groups. It is represented in China by three species restricted to Yunnan, namely P. caudofasciatus from the Tengtiaohe River (Nam Na), P. cryptonemus from the Nujiang Rive ( upper Salween River basin), and P. robustus, herein described as a new species from the Yuanjiang River ( Red River basin). P. robustus n. sp. is differentiated from its congeners in having a stout caudal peduncle ( depth 72.4-82.5% of its length) and the medium-sized scaleless midventral region of belly extended slightly beyond halfway from the pectoral- to pelvic-fin origin. It is further distinguished from P. caudofasciatus in having a coarsely crenulated rostral fold with 18-23 indentations on its distal margin and a smaller mental adhesive disc ( length 66.7-71.4% of its width and 37.0-43.1% of the head length).

Genetic linkage map of bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians (Lamarck 1819)

The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck 1819) has become one of the most important aquaculture species in China. Genetic improvement of cultured bay scallop can benefit greatly from a better understanding of its genome. In this study, we developed amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and simple sequence repeat markers from expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs) for linkage analysis in bay scallop. Segregation of 390 AFLP and eight SSR markers was analysed in a mapping population of 97 progeny. Of the AFLP markers analysed, 326 segregated in the expected 1:1 Mendelian ratio, while the remaining 74 (or 19.0%) showed significant deviation, with 33 (44.6%) being deficient in heterozygotes (A/a). Among the eight polymorphic EST-SSR loci, one marker (12.5%) was found skewing from its expected Mendelian ratios. Eighteen per cent of the markers segregating from female parent were distorted compared with 21% of the markers segregating from male parent. The female map included 147 markers in 17 linkage groups (LGs) and covered 1892.4 cM of the genome. In the male map, totally 146 AFLP and SSR markers were grouped in 18 LGs spanning 1937.1 cM. The average inter-marker spacing in female and male map was 12.9 and 13.3 cM respectively. The AFLP and SSR markers were distributed evenly throughout the genome except for a few large gaps over 20 cM. Although preliminary, the genetic maps presented here provide a starting point for the mapping of the bay scallop genome.

Effect of parental stock size on F-1 genetic structure in the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians (Lamarck, 1819)

Three F-1 families of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, were produced from one, two and 10 individuals. The genetic changes in these populations, which suffered recent and different levels of bottleneck, were analysed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) techniques. In the parental stock, a total of 330 bands were detected using seven AFLP primer pairs, and 70% of the loci were polymorphic. All F-1 groups had a significantly lower proportion of polymorphic loci when compared with the initial stock, and loss of the rare loci and reduction in heterozygosity both occurred. The progeny of the larger population (i.e., N=10) exhibited a lesser amount of genetic differentiation compared with the progeny from N=2, which showed lesser differentiation than progeny from N=1. The effective population sizes (N-e) in N=1, 2 and 10 were estimated as 1.50, 1.61 and 2.49. Based on regression analysis, we recommend that at least 340 individuals be used in hatchery populations to maintain genetic variation.

Production of a base population and its responses to F-1 selection in the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck (1819)

A base population of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck, was produced by crossing two cultured bay scallop populations. After 1 year of rearing, the top 10% truncation selection of the top 10% (i=1.755) was carried out in the base population of about 1300 adults. A control parental group with a an identical number to the select parental group was randomly selected from the entire population before isolation of the select parental group. The result showed that, at the larval stage, the growth rate of larvae in the selected line was significantly higher than that of the control (P < 0.05), and that the genetic gain was 6.78%. Owing to the lower density of control at the spat stage, the mean shell length of the control line was larger than that of the select line at day 100. When the same density was adjusted between two lines in the grow-out stage (from day 100 to 160), the daily growth rate of the selected line was significantly higher than that of the control line (P < 0.05). Survival of the select line was significantly larger than that of the control line in the grow-out stage. In conclusion, the results obtained from this experiment indicate that selective breeding from a base population with a high genetic diversity established by mass spawning between different populations appears to be a promising method of genetic improvement in bay scallop, A. irradians irradians Lamarck.

Different responses to selection in two stocks of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck (1819)

Two different stocks (A and B) of the bay scallop Argopecten irradialls irradians (Lamarck, 1819) were used to test mass selection on growth. Stock A was a descending stock from the initial introduction from U.S.A. in 1982, which had been cultured in China for about 20 years. Stock B was the third generation from a recent introduction from U.S.A. in 1999. Truncation selection was conducted by selecting the largest 11% scallops in shell length from Stock A and the largest 12.7% scallops from Stock B as parents for the respective selected groups. Before the removal of parents for truncation selection, equal numbers of scallops were randomly chosen from Stock A and B to serve as parents for the control groups. Offspring from the four groups were reared under the same hatchery, nursery, and grow-out conditions. Values of response to selection and realized heritability at larvae, spat and grow-out stages for Stock B were all significantly (P < 0.001) higher than its counterpart for Stock A. For Stock A, no significant response to selection was observed (P > 0.05) at any stage, and the realized heritability for shell length was 0.015 +/- 0.024 for larvae, 0.040 +/- 0.027 for spat, and 0.080 +/- 0.009 for grow-out, respectively. For Stock B, however, significant (P < 0.05) response to selection was observed, and the realized heritability for shell length was 0.511 +/- 0.010 for larvae, 0.341 +/- 0.022 for spat, and 0.338 +/- 0.015 for grow-out. On average, responses to selection at the three stages for Stock B was 30 x, 7.1 x, and 3 x higher than its counterpart for Stock A, respectively. Accordingly, realized heritability at above stages for Stock B was 33 X, 7.5 x, and 3.2 X higher than its counterpart for Stock A, respectively. Differences in response to selection and realized heritability between the two stocks are presumably due to differences in genetic variability. As the 20th generation from the initial introduction consisted of only 26 scallops, Stock A is known to be highly inbred, while inbreeding in Stock B is negligible. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification and mapping of amplified fragment length polymorphism markers linked to shell color in bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians (Lamarck, 1819)

Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) were used to study the inheritance of shell color in Argopecten irradians. Two scallops, one with orange and the other with white shells, were used as parents to produce four F-1 families by selfing and outcrossing. Eighty-eight progeny, 37 orange and 51 white, were randomly selected from one of the families for segregation and mapping analysis with AFLP and microsatellite markers. Twenty-five AFLP primer pairs were screened, yielding 1138 fragments, among which 148 (13.0%) were polymorphic in two parents and segregated in progeny. Six AFLP markers showed significant (P < 0.05) association with shell color. All six loci were mapped to one linkage group. One of the markers, F1f335, is completely linked to the gene for orange shell, which we designated as Orange1, without any recombination in the progeny we sampled. The marker was amplified in the orange parent and all orange progeny, but absent in the white parent and all the white progeny. The close linkage between F1f335 and Orange1 was validated using bulk segregation analysis in two natural populations, and all our data indicate that F1f335 is specific for the shell color gene, Orange1. The genomic mapping of a shell color gene in bay scallop improves our understanding of shell color inheritance and may contribute to the breeding of molluscs with desired shell colors.