Commercial studies on radiation preservation of fish and shell-fish in Canada

The author describes work being undertaken at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada's Laboratory at Halifax (Nova Scotia). These studies relate particularly to the irradiation of fish and shellfish for storage, and bacterial analysis of irradiated products.

Preservation of Sardinella longiceps in iced and chilled seawater. Part 1 - Changes during storage with particular reference to bacterial load and nitrogenous compounds

Oil sardines in prime condition were subjected to onboard chilling. Two lots were chilled in CSW (samples C and CI), a third lot was chilled in crushed ice (sample I) and a fourth lot left not iced on deck (Sample AI). Upon landing sample AI was iced and sample CI was removed from the CSW and iced. All the four samples were kept in a chilled room for storage studies. The fish chilled and stored in CSW recorded the least, and the fish subjected to delayed icing, the highest values for all the indices of spoilage namely, free amino nitrogen, trimethylamine (TMA) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN). The total psychrophilic bacterial number also showed a similar trend. The organoleptic assessment of the cooked samples revealed C I, CI, AI to be the order of preference throughout the storage. This assessment was found to hold good for the rest of the parameters as well. The CSW held fishes were found to be distinctly superior to the iced ones for the first five days of storage. Such a marked prevalence in quality for five days would suffice for the fish to fetch a premium in the market over other landings of the same fish whether chilled or not chilled. Chilling on board in CSW and icing the same after landings, did not show encouraging results.

Preservation of Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) in iced and chilled seawater. Part 2 - Changes during storage with particular reference to salt penetration and lipid deterioration during CSW holding

Oil sardines in prime condition were chilled on board. Two lots were chilled in CSW (samples C & CI), one lot ice (sample I) and a fourth lot was left un-iced on deck (sample AI). Sample AI was iced after landing and sample CI was taken out of the chilled seawater and. iced. All the four samples were kept in a chilled room for storage studies. Sample C, chilled and stored in CSW, recorded a gradual gain in weight and an increase in salt content of the muscle. Presence of salt did not seem to cause any excessive protein denaturation. Salt extractability decreased at a gradual rate in all cases. Presence of salt seemed to wield no noticeable influence on lipid hydrolysis and subsequent peroxidation. Results of chemical and sensory evaluations highlight this. Holding sardines in CSW gave a product of excellent quality for the first four to five days of storage. Beyond the fifth day of storage quality deteriorated rapidly and there was no noticeable superiority for this sample (sample C) over the on board iced fish. This was evident in the sensory evaluation as well. However, a storage life of five days in a readily acceptable state is sufficient for the fish to be disposed in the market at a premium sale price over other landings of the same species.

The preservation of some Indian freshwater fish

Quality changes in Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala and Tilapia mossambica were studied during storage in ice and at ambient temperature (29-32°C). After 10h at ambient temperature L. rohita and T. mossambica were completely spoiled, while C. mrigala became unacceptable within 11h. Organoleptic examination, total volatile base nitrogen and total bacterial counts showed that L. rohita (0.5 kg and above) and C. mrigala (0.5 kg and above) were acceptable up to 7 to 8 days of storage in ice in popular container (Bamboo basket) lined with palmyrah mat) at ambient temperature while T. mossambica (30-40 g) was acceptable up to 6 days. Influence of size of fish on shelf life in ice studied with reference to L. rohita showed that fishes below 500 g were acceptable up to 6 days of storage in ice in popular container at ambient temperature while those above 1000 g size were acceptable up to 8 days. Provision of an alkathene lining to the popular container extended the storage life of L. rohita from 6 days to 8 days. Pre-chilled and iced L. rohita had a longer shel flife (9 days) than merely iced sample (7 days).

Measurement-Integrated simulations and Kalman filter applied to a co-flowing jet

This paper deals with the experimental evaluation of a flow analysis system based on the integration between an under-resolved Navier-Stokes simulation and experimental measurements with the mechanism of feedback (referred to as Measurement-Integrated simulation), applied to the case of a planar turbulent co-flowing jet. The experiments are performed with inner-to-outer-jet velocity ratio around 2 and the Reynolds number based on the inner-jet heights about 10000. The measurement system is a high-speed PIV, which provides time-resolved data of the flow-field, on a field of view which extends to 20 jet heights downstream the jet outlet. The experimental data can thus be used both for providing the feedback data for the simulations and for validation of the MI-simulations over a wide region. The effect of reduced data-rate and spatial extent of the feedback (i.e. measurements are not available at each simulation time-step or discretization point) was investigated. At first simulations were run with full information in order to obtain an upper limit of the MI-simulations performance. The results show the potential of this methodology of reproducing first and second order statistics of the turbulent flow with good accuracy. Then, to deal with the reduced data different feedback strategies were tested. It was found that for small data-rate reduction the results are basically equivalent to the case of full-information feedback but as the feedback data-rate is reduced further the error increases and tend to be localized in regions of high turbulent activity. Moreover, it is found that the spatial distribution of the error looks qualitatively different for different feedback strategies. Feedback gain distributions calculated by optimal control theory are presented and proposed as a mean to make it possible to perform MI-simulations based on localized measurements only. So far, we have not been able to low error between measurements and simulations by using these gain distributions.

Methods of harvesting and preservation of the diatom Chaetoceros calcitrans

Diatom culture and larval feeding experiments were conducted to test the viability and acceptability of preserved algal concentrates. C. calcitrans is characterised by the presence of setae which keep them suspended in cultures and make autoflocculation very difficult. Flocculation was induced by the addition of a floc-forming chemical. Using the optimum conditions, it was possible to harvest the algae within 1-h settling time and with about 84% recovery. The viability of frozen Chaetoceros was determined by actual cell reproduction. Preliminary feeding experiments showed that Chaetoceros can be successfully used as a substitute for fresh diatoms as feed for Penaeus monodon larvae. Simple freezing techniques, with or without the use of protectants has been found convenient for preserving algal concentrates in small volumes for both feeding and culture purposes.

Integrated billing mechanisms in the Internet of Things to support information sharing and enable new business opportunities

The Internet of Things (IOT) concept and enabling technologies such as RFID offer the prospect of linking the real world of physical objects with the virtual world of information technology to improve visibility and traceability information within supply chains and across the entire lifecycles of products, as well as enabling more intuitive interactions and greater automation possibilities. There is a huge potential for savings through process optimization and profit generation within the IOT, but the sharing of financial benefits across companies remains an unsolved issue. Existing approaches towards sharing of costs and benefits have failed to scale so far. The integration of payment solutions into the IOT architecture could solve this problem. We have reviewed different possible levels of integration. Multiple payment solutions have been researched. Finally we have developed a model that meets the requirements of the IOT in relation to openness and scalability. It supports both hardware-centric and software-centric approaches to integration of payment solutions with the IOT. Different requirements concerning payment solutions within the IOT have been defined and considered in the proposed model. Possible solution providers include telcos, e-payment service providers and new players such as banks and standardization bodies. The proposed model of integrating the Internet of Things with payment solutions will lower the barrier to invoicing for the more granular visibility information generated using the IOT. Thus, it has the potential to enable recovery of the necessary investments in IOT infrastructure and accelerate adoption of the IOT, especially for projects that are only viable when multiple benefits throughout the supply chain need to be accumulated in order to achieve a Return on Investment (ROI). In a long-term perspective, it may enable IT-departments to become profit centres instead of cost centres. © 2010 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of various extenders of milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forsskal) sperm preservation

Four chemical extenders in 7 different concentrations (potassium chloride, sodium chloride, glucose, sodium citrate, Ringer s solution, cow serum and milkfish (Chanos chanos) serum) were compared in the preservation of milkfish sperm. Results showed milkfish serum to be the most suitable of the various extenders tested. This may be attributed to suitable osmotic potential and/or presence of proteins which may have directly or indirectly influenced sperm viability. The effects of milkfish serum on the motility and fertilizing capacity of sperm at different durations of storage however need to be investigated.

Integrated cage-cum-pond culture systems with high valued climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) in cages and low-valued carps in open ponds

An on-farm trial was conducted over 150 days to determine appropriate stocking ratio, growth and production of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) in cages and carps in open water of ponds in eighteen farmers' ponds from Haluaghat Upazila at Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. One or two 1 m super(3) cage was suspended in each of 12 earthen ponds and other 6 ponds served as control without cages. Climbing perch of 2-3 g in size were stocked in cages while fingerlings of silver carp (Hypophthalmicthys molitrix), catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), mirgal (Cirhinus cirrhosus), rajputi (Puntius sarana) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were stocked at 1 fish/m super(2) with a species ratio of 5:4:4:4:2:1 in open water of all ponds to give cage to open-pond fish ratios of 1:1 (T sub(1:1)) and 2:1 (T sub(2:1)) and 0:1 (T sub(0:1)) as three treatments with six replicates each. Survival of climbing perch was higher in T sub(1:1) (61.67%) than that of T sub(2:1) (29.5%) and was significantly different (p>0.05) between the treatments. Stocking of small size climbing perch fry increased the mortality rate in cages. The net yields of Thai koi were 0.13±0.01 (t/ha) and 0.10±0.01 (t/ha) in treatments T sub(1:1) and T sub(2:1), respectively and both were significantly different (p>0.05). Survival of-open-pond carps was high, ranging from 50 to 91.67% with significantly lower in T sub(0:1) than that of T sub(1:1) and T sub(2:1) treatment. Net and gross yield of each carp species were significantly higher in the T sub(1:1) and T sub(2:1) treatment than that in T sub(0:1) treatment. Net revenues were positive but low in all treatments. Therefore, bigger size climbing perch with lower stocking ratio (T sub(1:1)) is suitable for integrated cage-pond culture of climbing perch and carps. However, more on-farm trials in different ecosystem with scientific interventions are necessary to develop the technology for further dissemination among the rural farmers.

Fisheries, marine environment, and integrated coastal management policy processes, content and implementation in the BOBLME countries: regional synthesis and country questionnaires

This paper examines policy processes, policy trends and policy implementation with regards to capture fisheries, the marine environment and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in BOBLME countries. Individual country information was analyzed to generate a regional synthesis.

Report of the postgraduate certificate course on integrated coastal management, Bangkok, Thailand, 21 January - 1 March, 2013

Student projects included: conservation and protection of critical coral habitats in Phuket; assessing the carrying capacity on conservation and protection strategies; proactive stakeholder strategy to tackle an environmental threat; improving the environmental management through participation and sustainable freshwater management. All of these projects were conducted on Racha Yai Island in Phuket.

Towards the development of an integrated design framework using the Blackboard model

Current research into the process of engineering design is extending the use of computers towards the acquisition, representation and application of design process knowledge in addition to the existing storage and manipulation of product-based models of design objects. This is a difficult task because the design of mechanical systems is a complex, often unpredictable process involving ill-structured problem solving skills and large amounts of knowledge, some which may be of an incomplete and subjective nature. Design problems require the integration of a variety of modes of working such as numerical, graphical, algorithmic or heuristic and demand products through synthesis, analysis and evaluation activities.

This report presents the results of a feasibility study into the blackboard approach and discusses the development of an initial prototype system that will enable an alphanumeric design dialogue between a designer and an expert to be analysed in a formal way, thus providing real-life protocol data on which to base the blackboard message structures.

Report of the training course on integrated coastal management in the Bay of Bengal, Chonburi, Thailand, 20-24 October, 2014

Participants consisted of 25 middle and junior level personnel from BOBLME countries. Modules included: Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) concept and principles; ICM development and implementation; indicators of good practice; and action planning.