Scale structure, age and growth in the freshwater carp, Labeo calbasu (Pisces/Cyprinidae) from Harike wetland, India

Age structure and growth profile based on the scale studies of 468 specimens ranging from 17-62 cm total length of Labeo calbasu (Hamilton) from Harike wetland (30°13'N, 75°12'E), Punjab, India have been described, the present study showed better growth in terms of two important growth parameters namely index of species average size and population weight-growth intensity. Two distinct phases in its life history have been described that indicates the optimum exploitation of this species from this water body. Harvestable size is found to be fish of 34 cm total length. The detailed structural elaboration of scale (normal, regenerated, lateral line) has also been done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Early developmental stages of two Secutor species (Family: Leiognathidae) collected from the Bak-khali river estuary of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Early developmental stages of two Secutor species, Secutor insidiator (Bloch) (11.9-36.0 mm standard length, SL) and Secutor ruconius (Hamilton-Buchanan) (14.0-33.0 mm SL) collected by ichthyoplankton net from the Bak-khali river estuary of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh are described and illustrated. All of the fins with supporting spines and rays were present in the smallest collected sizes of both species. With growth of the specimens, significant changes in melanophore patterns were found. S. insidiator is similar to S. ruconius in having upward protracting mouth parts and body colouration, but can be distinguished easily by its more elongate body shape (body depth 38-47% of SL compared with 46-52% of SL in Secutor ruconius). Both the species occurred round the year from August 1998 to July 1999. The surface water temperature and salinity during the study period varied from 22.0-32) C and 10-37 ppt respectively.

Biology of Bombay duck, Harpodon nehereus (Ham., 1822), from Mumbai waters, India

Morphometric and meristic study of Harpodon nehereus (Hamilton, 1822) from Mumbai waters indicated that the specimens belonged to a homogenous population. Based on the meristic study, the fin formula can be written as B sub(23-269), D sub(12-139), P sub(11-139), V sub(9), A sub(13-15), C sub(19), L sub(40). Length-weight study revealed an allometric relationship, presented as Log W= -3.1362 + 3.6059 Log L. The analysis of food and feeding habits revealed the species to be voracious, carnivorous and cannibalistic, feeding mainly on Acetes spp., juveniles of H. nehereus itself, prawns and Coilia dussumieri. The feeding intensity was found to be the maximum during September and November, and also in mature specimens which may be the preparation for the ensuing spawning activity. Reproductive biology indicated two peak spawning seasons in November and March. However, the species as a whole has prolonged breeding season and spawning occurs throughout the year. Average fecundity was estimated as 314 ova/g body weight of fish and the length at which 50% of female specimens mature (Lc sub (50)) was calculated as 255 mm.

Reproductive biology of Catla catla in the Udawalawe reservoir, Sri Lanka

The reproductive biology of Catla catla (Hamilton-Buchanan) in the Udawalawe reservoir was studied from June 2007 to December 2008. Samples of eggs from Indian major carp C. catla were collected from fish landed in the reservoir and analysed in the laboratory to assess the reproductive characteristics. C. catla. Cirrhinus mrigala, exotic Cichlids and Labeo rohita accounted for 62.2%, 21.0%, 12% and 1.0% respectively of the total landings in the Udawalawe reservoir during the study period. Gonads of C. catla were collected in the field and examined in the laboratory to determine the stage of maturity and fecundity. Data on fish length and gonad weight were collected to estimate the gonado-somatic indices (OSI). Landed catches were also examined in the field to determine the sex ratio of C. catla in the catch and was found to be 1:5.6 male to female. Results of fecundity estimates revealed that C. catla females in the Udawalwe reservoir were fully mature in June and October of the year. From the monthly variation of OSI, two recruitment pulses per year were evident. The length of the body at first maturity in female C. catla in the Udawalwe reservoir was estimated to be 74.2 cm.

A new species of the genus Tor from Yunnan, China (Teleostei : Cyprinidae)

A new species of the subfamily Barbinae, Tor yingjiangensis, is recognized from Yunnan province, China. It can be distinguished from other Tor species by the following combination of characters: last simple dorsal-fin ray osseous and non-serrated; no forward directed predorsal procumbent spine; head length considerably longer than body depth; no tubercles on the snout or sides of the face; 18-20 gill rakers on the outside of first gill arch; 24-26 lateral line scales; median lobe of lower lip short, its posterior margin truncate, not extending to the vertical across the inner corners of the mouth; and the condition of the lower lip consistent in individuals of different sizes. The new species has been misidentified previously as Tor putitora (Hamilton, F. 1822. An account of the fishes found in the River Ganges and its Branches. Edinburgh & London. 405 pp), which occurs in the Ganges and Indus River basins. The new species can easily be distinguished from T. putitora by having 3-3.5 (vs. 2.5) scales from lateral line to pelvic-fin origin, shorter caudal peduncle length (13.0% vs. 17.2% of standard length), lesser body depth (26.4% vs. 24.0% of standard length) and longer caudal peduncle depth (12.0% vs. 10.9% of standard length), no longitudinal stripe present along side of body, and eyes visible in ventral view of head.

CHANGES IN PREDICTED MOS DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS DUE TO THE USE OF TWO DIMENSIONAL SOURCE/DRAIN PROFILES.

Two-dimensional MOS device simulation programs such as MINIMOS left bracket 1 right bracket are limited in their validity due to assumptions made in defining the initial two-dimensional source/drain profiles. The two options available to define source/drain regions both construct a two-dimensional profile from one-dimensional profiles normal to the surface. Inaccuracies in forming these source/drain profiles can be expected to effect predicted device characteristics as channel dimensions of the device are reduced. This paper examines these changes by interfacing numerically similated two dimensional source/drain profiles to MINIMOS and comparing predicted I//D-V//D characteristics with 2-D interfacing, 2-D profiles constructed from interfaced 1-D profiles and MINIMOS self generated profiles. Data obtained for simulations of 3 mu m N and P channel devices are presented.

On the stability of a rod adhering to a rigid surface: Shear-induced stable adhesion and the instability of peeling

Using variational methods, we establish conditions for the nonlinear stability of adhesive states between an elastica and a rigid halfspace. The treatment produces coupled criteria for adhesion and buckling instabilities by exploiting classical techniques from Legendre and Jacobi. Three examples that arise in a broad range of engineered systems, from microelectronics to biologically inspired fiber array adhesion, are used to illuminate the stability criteria. The first example illustrates buckling instabilities in adhered rods, while the second shows the instability of a peeling process and the third illustrates the stability of a shear-induced adhesion. The latter examples can also be used to explain how microfiber array adhesives can be activated by shearing and deactivated by peeling. The nonlinear stability criteria developed in this paper are also compared to other treatments. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Large-eddy simulation of complex geometry jets

Computations are made for chevron and coflowing jet nozzles. The latter has a bypass ratio of 6:1. Also, unlike the chevron nozzle, the core flow is heated, making the inlet conditions reminiscent of those for a real engine. A large-eddy resolving approach is used with circa 12 × 10 6 cell meshes. Because the codes being used tend toward being dissipative the subgrid scale model is abandoned, giving what can be termed numerical large-eddy simulation. To overcome near-wall modeling problems a hybrid numerical large-eddy simulation-Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes related method is used. For y + ≤ 60 a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes model is used. Blending between the two regions makes use of the differential Hamilton-Jabobi equation, an extension of the eikonal equation. For both nozzles, results show encouraging agreement with measurements of other workers. The eikonal equation is also used for ray tracing to explore the effect of the mean flow on acoustic ray trajectories, thus yielding a coherent solution strategy. © 2011 by Cambridge University.

Large eddy simulation of a hot, high speed coflowing jet

Computations are made of a short cowl coflowing jet nozzle with a bypass ratio 8 : 1. The core flow is heated, making the inlet conditions reminiscent of those for a real engine. A large eddy resolving approach is used with a 12 × 106 cell mesh. Since the code being used tends towards being dissipative the sub-grid scale (SGS) model is abandoned giving what can be termed Numerical Large Eddy Simulation (NLES). To overcome near wall modelling problems a hybrid NLES-RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) related method is used. For y+ ≤ 60 a κ-l model is used. Blending between the two regions makes use of the differential Hamilton-Jabobi (HJ) equation, an extension of the eikonal equation. Results show encouraging agreement with existing measurements of other workers. The eikonal equation is also used for acoustic ray tracing to explore the effect of the mean flow on acoustic ray trajectories, thus yielding a coherent solution strategy. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.

Optimization on the orthogonal group for independent component analysis

This paper derives a new algorithm that performs independent component analysis (ICA) by optimizing the contrast function of the RADICAL algorithm. The core idea of the proposed optimization method is to combine the global search of a good initial condition with a gradient-descent algorithm. This new ICA algorithm performs faster than the RADICAL algorithm (based on Jacobi rotations) while still preserving, and even enhancing, the strong robustness properties that result from its contrast. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.

Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analysis of two Saprolegnia sp (Oomycetes) isolated from silver crucian carp and zebra fish

Two Saprolegnia isolates, JY isolated from silver crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio Bloch) and BMY isolated from zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio Hamilton) came from infections occurring concurrently in different locations in China. To confirm whether the two isolates were from the same Saprolegnia clone, comparative studies have been carried out based on their morphological, physiological and molecular characteristics. Observations showed that morphologically (both asexual and sexual organs) the two isolates were broadly similar and both isolates under-went repeated zoospore emergence. Comparing 704 base pairs of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the 5.8S rDNA, we found isolates JY and BMY shared an identical ITS sequence with a minor variation (99.6 % similarity). Forty available sequences for representatives Saprolegnia spp. belonged to four phylogenetically separate clades. The two studied isolates fell within clade I that comprised a group of isolates which showed almost an identical ITS sequence but had been identified as a number of different morphological species. our findings suggest that isolates JY and BMY appear to belong to the S. ferax clade and this clade (1) contains a number of closely related phylogenetic species. This is distinct from the more common fish pathogenic isolates, which belong to the S. parasitica clade (III) and are characterized by having cysts decorated by bundles of long hooked hairs and two further clades (II and IV) containing largely saprotrophic or soil born species. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Mycological Society.