Long-term changes in crustacean zooplankton and water quality in a shallow, eutrophic Chinese lake densely stocked with fish

From surveys made in 1962-1963, 1973-1974, 1979-1996 at two Stations in Lake Donghu, a shallow eutrophic water body near Wuhan, P. R. China, the authors, derive long-term changes in species composition, standing crop and body-size of planktonic crustaceans. The species number decreased from the 1960s to the 1990s. The cladocerans dropped from 46 (1960s) to 26 (1980s) to 13 (1990s); the copepods decreased from 14 (1960s) to 10 (1980s) to 7 (1990s). From the mid-1980s on, the dominant crustaceans also changed: Daphnia hyalina and D. carinata ssp. were replaced by Moina micrura and Diaphanosoma brachyurum at Stations 1 and 2, respectively; Cyclops vicinus replaced Mesocyclops leuckarti. Densities and biomass of Cladocera decreased markedly after 1987. Annual average densities and biomass of cladocerans were statistically differences between 1962-1986 and 1987-1996 (P < 0.01). Annual average densities of Daphnia (Station 1 + Station 2) were negatively correlated with fish yield. Since the 1980s, annual average body length of Cladocera and Calanoida decreased, while annual average body length of Cyclopoida increased. In the same years, average body length of copepods was lower during May-October than during January-April and November-December. A 12-yr data analysis showed annual average concentration of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) to be negatively correlated with annual average density of Daphnia, whilst lake transparency was positively correlated with annual average densities of Daphnia. The results imply that, since Daphnia feeds efficiently on phytoplankton, it could decrease concentration of Chl-a, and enhance water transparency.

STUDY OF THE LONG-TERM STABILITY OF THE EFFECTIVE CONCENTRATION OF IONIZED SPACE CHARGES (N-EFF) OF NEUTRON-IRRADIATED SILICON DETECTORS FABRICATED BY VARIOUS THERMAL-OXIDATION PROCESSES

Experimental study of the reverse annealing of the effective concentration of ionized space charges (N-eff, also called effective doping or impurity concentration) of neutron irradiated high resistivity silicon detectors fabricated on wafers with various thermal oxides has been conducted at room temperature (RT) and elevated temperature (ET). Various thermal oxidations with temperatures ranging from 975 degrees C to 1200 degrees C with and without trichlorethane (TCA), which result in different concentrations of oxygen and carbon impurities, have been used. It has been found that, the RT annealing of the N-eff is hindered initially (t < 42 days after the radiation) for detectors made on the oxides with high carbon concentrations, and there was no carbon effect on the long term (t > 42 days after the radiation) N-eff reverse annealing. No apparent effect of oxygen on the stability of N-eff has been observed at RT. At elevated temperature (80 degrees C), no significant difference in annealing behavior has been found for detectors fabricated on silicon wafers with various thermal oxides. It is apparent that for the initial stages (first and/or second) of N-eff reverse annealing, there may tie no dependence on the oxygen and carbon concentrations in the ranges studied.

The development of long - Term ambulatory pH monitoring system and its clinical application

This paper introduced a long-term ambulatory intragastric pH monitoring system, which is designed for prolonged ambulatory studies of Gastroesophageal Reflux Diseases. The whole system is composed of the gastric catheter with two pH sensors, a small data logger (Microdatalog), and a notebook PC. In this paper, the design of monitoring system hardware and software are described in detail. Clinical applications reveal good results.