Spectroscopic properties of Nd3+:(La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O-3 crystal

A new laser crystal Nd3+:(La, Sr)(Al, Ta)O-3 (abbreviated as Nd3+:LSAT) has been grown by the conventional Czochralski method. The absorption and luminescence spectra of trivalent neodymium in Nd3+:LSAT crystal were measured at room temperature. The value of absorption and emission cross-section was calculated. The Judd-Ofelt analysis was applied to the crystal to get the phenomenological parameters (Omega(i), i = 2,4,6), the line strengths, the radiative transition rates, the branching ratios and the radiative lifetime. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Troca do ponto pela vírgula e da vírgula pelo ponto em redações de vestibular

A presente pesquisa objetiva investigar em que contextos ocorrem a troca do ponto pela vírgula e da vírgula pelo ponto em redações de vestibular. Este estudo foi buscar seu referencial teórico-metodológico numa teoria gramatical cientificamente fundamentada, bem como na Linguística do Texto, Análise do Discurso e Estilística. As perspectivas em relação à linguagem advindas do movimento teórico no interior da linguística tiveram consequências diretas na questão do ensino, motivando a construção deste estudo. Para fins de análise, serviram como corpus duzentas redações do vestibular da UERJ 2007/2008, além de alguns poucos textos de alunos de primeiro período de uma instituição de ensino particular em que a autora trabalha que mostraram-se interessantes para a análise. A pesquisa evidenciou que a troca da vírgula pelo ponto, de maneira geral, acarretou erro, possibilitando a formulação de regras; e a do ponto pela vírgula concentrou-se na esfera do estilisticamente desejável, favorecendo a formulação de conselhos. Os dados da análise serviram como referente básico para sugestões metodológicas com ressonância prática para os docentes em sala de aula

高性能193nm反射膜的制备与误差分析

分析了膜厚控制误差对反射膜设计曲线的影响，发现高低折射率材料厚度反方向变化时（高折射率膜层厚度增加，低折射率膜层厚度减小），反射膜的反射率变化不明显，设计的膜系结构对这种膜厚变化方式的制造误差宽容。在此基础上制备了193nm反射膜，结果表明退火前光学损耗相对较大，实验结果与理论计算结果存在一定差距，并且散射损耗在总的光学损耗中所占比例很小，而吸收损耗占光学损耗的主要部分，起主导作用。退火后光学损耗明显下降，实验结果与理论计算结果更为接近，193nm反射膜的反射率达98％以上。散射损耗增加至接近吸收损耗的水平，不过在总的光学损耗中仍然占比较小的比例。说明当吸收损耗下降到一定程度时，散射损耗所起的作用也是不可忽视的。

Seasonal variability in ichthyoplankton abundance and assemblage composition in the northern Gulf of Mexico off Alabama

Multiyear ichthyoplankton surveys used to monitor larval fish seasonality, abundance, and assemblage structure can provide early indicators of regional ecosystem changes. Numerous ichthyoplankton surveys have been conducted in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but few have had high levels of temporal resolution and sample replication. In this study, ichthyoplankton samples were collected monthly (October 2004–October 2006) at a single station off the coast of Alabama as part of a long-term biological survey. Four seasonal periods were identified from observed and historic water temperatures, including a relatively long (June–October) “summer” period (water temperature >26°C). Fish egg abundance, total larval abundance, and larval taxonomic diversity were significantly related to water temperature (but not salinity), with peaks in the spring, spring–summer, and summer periods, respectively. Larvae collected during the survey represented 58 different families, of which engraulids, sciaenids, carangids, and clupeids were the most prominent. The most abundant taxa collected were unidentified engraulids (50%), sand seatrout (Cynoscion arenarius, 7.5%), Atlantic bumper (Chloroscombrus chrysurus, 5.4%), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus, 4.4%), Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus, 3.8%), and unidentified gobiids (3.6%). Larval concentrations for dominant taxa were highly variable between years, but the timing of seasonal occurrence for these taxa was relatively consistent. Documented increases in sea surface temperature on the Alabama shelf may have various implications for larval fish dynamics, as indicated by the presence of tropical larval forms (e.g., fistularids, labrids, scarids, and acanthurids) in our ichthyoplankton collections and in recent juvenile surveys of Alabama and northern Gulf of Mexico seagrass habitats.

Changes in body composition and fatty acid profile during embryogenesis of quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger)

We investigated developmental changes in the body compositions and fatty acid (FA) profiles of embryos and preparturition larvae of the quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger). Comparisons of proximate composition data from early-stage embryos with data from hatched preparturition larvae taken from wild-caught gravid females indicated that embryos gain over one-third their weight in moisture while consuming 20% of their dry tissue mass for energy as they develop into larvae. Lipid contributed 60% of the energy consumed and was depleted more rapidly than protein, indicating a protein-sparing effect. Oil globule volume was strongly correlated with lipid levels, affirming its utility as an indicator of energetic status. FA profiles of early embryos differed significantly from those of hatched larvae. Differences in the relative abundances of FAs between early embryos and hatched larvae indicated different FA depletion rates during embryonic development. We conclude that some metabolically important FAs may prove useful in assessing the condition of embryos and preparturition larvae, particularly 20:4n-6, which cannot be synthesized by many marine fish and which is conserved during embryogenesis. Variability in body composition and energy use among rockfish species should be considered when interpreting any measures of condition.

Review of the crevalle jacks, Caranx hippos complex (Teleostei: Carangidae), with a description of a new species from West Africa

The Caranx hippos species complex comprises three extant species: crevalle jack (Caranx hippos) (Linnaeus, 1766) from both the western and eastern Atlantic oceans; Pacific crevalle jack (Caranx caninus) Günther, 1868 from the eastern Pacific Ocean; and longfin crevalle jack (Caranx fischeri) new species, from the eastern Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea and Ascension Island. Adults of all three species are superficially similar with a black blotch on the lower half of the pectoral fin, a black spot on the upper margin of opercle, one or two pairs of enlarged symphyseal canines on the lower jaw, and a similar pattern of breast squamation. Each species has a different pattern of hyperostotic bone development and anal-fin color. The two sympatric eastern Atlantic species also differ from each other in number of dorsal-and anal-fin rays, and in large adults of C. fischeri the lobes of these fins are longer and the body is deeper. Caranx hippos from opposite sides of the Atlantic are virtually indistinguishable externally but differ consistently in the expression of hyperostosis of the first dorsalfin pterygiophore. The fossil species Caranx carangopsis Steindachner 1859 appears to have been based on composite material of Trachurus sp. and a fourth species of the Caranx hippos complex. Patterns of hyperostotic bone development are compared in the nine (of 15 total) species of Caranx sensu stricto that exhibit hyperostosis.

Growth and maturity of salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) in the eastern and western North Pacific, and comments on back-calculation methods

Age and growth estimates for salmon sharks (Lamna ditropis) in the eastern North Pacific were derived from 182 vertebral centra collected from sharks ranging in length from 62.2 to 213.4 cm pre-caudal length (PCL) and compared to previously published age and growth data for salmon sharks in the western North Pacific. Eastern North Pacific female and male salmon sharks were aged up to 20 and 17 years, respectively. Relative marginal increment (RMI) analysis showed that postnatal rings form annually between January and March. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters derived from vertebral length-at-age data are L∞ =207.4 cm PCL, k=0.17/yr, and t0=−2.3 years for females (n=166), and L∞ =182.8 cm PCL, k=0.23/yr , and t0=−1.9 years for males (n=16). Age at maturity was estimated to range from six to nine years for females (median pre-caudal length of 164.7 cm PCL) and from three to five years old for males (median precaudal length of 124.0 cm PCL). Weight-length relationships for females and males in the eastern North Pacific are W=8.2 × 10_05 × L2.759 –06 × L3.383 (r2 =0.99) and W=3.2 × 10 (r2 =0.99), respectively. Our results show that female and male salmon sharks in the eastern North Pacific possess a faster growth rate, reach sexual maturity earlier, and attain greater weight-at-length than their same-sex counterparts living in the western North Pacific.