Comparison of genetic diversity and growth traits among Fangzheng silver crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) gynogenetic clones

The silver crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio), a gynogenetic teleost, is a promising model for the study of evolutionary genetics in vertebrates. We identified ten gynogenetic clones (FZ-I~FZ-X) from triploid silver crucian carp, collected from Fangzheng County in Heilongjiang Province, China, using microsatellite markers. The genetic diversity of these gynogenetic clones was analyzed using 52 microsatellite markers. A total of 413 alleles were detected and the length of fragments ranged from 96 to 340 bp. The number of alleles per locus varied from 2~19 (mean=7.9423). The observed heterozygosity at polymorphic loci ranged from 0.10~1.00 (mean=0.80). The average allele count per gynogenetic clone ranged from 1.9423~2.1923. The ratio of the polymorphic locus was from 71.15% (VII) to 84.61% (IX) per clone. The number of genotypes ranged from 2~10 per locus. Ten genotypes were observed by analyzing each of 14 microsatellites. As a result, each gynogenetic clone could be accurately identified. In addition, the growth traits, including body weight, length, and height, among five gynogenetic clones were compared. There was a significant difference among gynogenetic clones. Clone FZ-V exhibited the best growth traits, with the largest body weight (53.17±5.24 g), length (11.38±0.37 cm) and height (4.69±0.18 cm). Our results provide basic data for the identification of silver crucian carp gynogenetic clones and can be used as a guide genetic breeding programs

Accessibility-as-a-service an open-source reading assistive tool for education

As technology evolves, more and more articles and materials are readily available on the internet for the world to use. This project proposes and demonstrates the implementation of an application to further increase the accessibility of web pages, through the use of image recognition techniques, object detection, and optical character recognition (OCR). The proposed application allows users to input URLs and the application will process the web page in under a minute and outputs a modified web page with translated words detected from images

Narrow ridge waveguide high power single mode 1.3-μm InAs/InGaAs ten-layer quantum dot lasers

Ten-layer InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As quantum dot (QD) laser structures have been grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs (001) substrate. Using the pulsed anodic oxidation technique, narrow (2 μm) ridge waveguide (RWG) InAs QD lasers have been fabricated. Under continuous wave operation, the InAs QD laser (2 × 2,000 μm2) delivered total output power of up to 272.6 mW at 10 °C at 1.3 μm. Under pulsed operation, where the device heating is greatly minimized, the InAs QD laser (2 × 2,000 μm2) delivered extremely high output power (both facets) of up to 1.22 W at 20 °C, at high external differential quantum efficiency of 96%. Far field pattern measurement of the 2-μm RWG InAs QD lasers showed single lateral mode operation

New mechanism and improved kinetics of hydrogen absorption and desorption of Mg(In) solid solution alloy milling with CeF 3

Abstract(#br)This paper presents improving the hydrogen absorption and desorption of Mg(In) solid solution alloy through doped with CeF 3 . A nanocomposite of Mg 0.95 In 0.05 -5 wt% CeF 3 was prepared by mechanical ball milling. The microstructures were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy. And the hydrogen storage properties were evaluated by isothermal hydrogen absorption and desorption, and pressure-composition-isothermal measurements in a temperature range of 230 °C–320 °C. The mechanism of hydrogen absorption and desorption of Mg 0.95 In 0.05 solid solution is changed by the addition of CeF 3 . Mg 0.95 In 0.05 -5 wt% CeF 3 nanocomposite transforms to MgH 2 , MgF 2 and intermetallic compounds of MgIn and CeIn 3 by hydrogenation. Upon dehydrogenation, MgH 2 reacts with the intermetallic compounds of MgIn and CeIn 3 forming a pseudo-ternary Mg(In, Ce) solid solution, which is a fully reversible reaction with a reversible hydrogen capacity～4.0 wt%. The symbiotic nanostructured CeIn 3 impedes the agglomeration of MgIn compound, thus improving the dispersibility of element In, and finally improving the reversibility of hydrogen absorption and desorption of Mg(In) solution alloy. For Mg 0.95 In 0.05 -5 wt% CeF 3 nanocomposite, the dehydriding enthalpy is reduced to about 66.1 ± 3.2 kJ⋅mol −1 ⋅H 2 , and the apparent activation energy of dehydrogenation is significantly lowered to 71.9 ± 10.0 kJ⋅mol −1 ⋅H 2 , a reduction of ～73 kJ⋅mol −1 ⋅H 2 relative to that for Mg 0.95 In 0.05 solid solution. As a result, Mg 0.95 In 0.05 -5 wt% CeF 3 nanocomposite can release ～57% H 2 in 10 min at 260 °C. The improvements of hydrogen absorption and desorption properties are mainly attributed to the reversible phase transition of Mg(In, Ce) solid solution combing with the multiphase nanostructure

The effects of zero grazing in Ethiopia

In the high lands of Ethiopia, almost every plot of farmland is allotted for crop husbandry, leaving no or only road sides and marginal lands for grazing. However, land is scarce in these areas and this limits the role of crop production in poverty alleviation and it also limits the availability of local off-farm employment. Moreover, with the years, livestock feed has become scarce and crop residues are the major feed source for the animals. This feed problem also potentially affects crop production, if the straw is eaten for example, this affects soil quality negatively. Therefore, a potentially useful innovation against low productivity and limited availability of feed is a zero grazing approach. The aim of this approach is to reduce the number of animals to a level that can be supported by the available resources. This means shifting from the traditional type of livestock husbandry to a system that focuses on the quality and performance of the livestock. An Ethiopian NGO implemented a project that focuses on zero grazing and improved heifer production targeted towards 1,700 farm households in Akaki and Ada’a districts and East Shoa Zone of Oromia National Regional State. In these areas a further motivation to implement the zero grazing is the high potential for dairy production, given that a market (the capital Addis Ababa) is relatively close and accessible. The main goal of this paper is to understand if zero grazing is a way out of poverty and if dairy production is a good and feasible strategy to reduce poverty in Ethiopia

The Ricci flow on noncommutative two-tori

In this paper we construct a version of Ricci flow for noncommutative 2-tori, based on a spectral formulation in terms of the eigenvalues and eigenfunction of the Laplacian and recent results on the Gauss-Bonnet theorem for noncommutative tori.Comment: 18 pages, LaTe

The ARGO-YBJ Experiment Progresses and Future Extension

Gamma ray source detection above 30TeV is an encouraging approach for finding galactic cosmic ray origins. All sky survey for gamma ray sources using wide field of view detector is essential for population accumulation for various types of sources above 100GeV. To target the goals, the ARGO-YBJ experiment has been established. Significant progresses have been made in the experiment. A large air shower detector array in an area of 1km2 is proposed to boost the sensitivity. Hybrid detection with multi-techniques will allow a good discrimination between different types of primary particles, including photons and protons, thus enable an energy spectrum measurement for individual specie. Fluorescence light detector array will extend the spectrum measurement above 100PeV where the second knee is located. An energy scale determined by balloon experiments at 10TeV will be propagated to ultra high energy cosmic ray experiments

High Altitude test of RPCs for the ARGO-YBJ experiment

A 50 m**2 RPC carpet was operated at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Laboratory (Tibet) located 4300 m a.s.l. The performance of RPCs in detecting Extensive Air Showers was studied. Efficiency and time resolution measurements at the pressure and temperature conditions typical of high mountain laboratories, are reported.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. Met

Nonlinear wave transmission and pressure on the fixed truncated breakwater using NURBS numerical wave tank

Fully nonlinear wave interaction with a fixed breakwater is investigated in a numerical wave tank (NWT). The potential theory and high-order boundary element method are used to solve the boundary value problem. Time domain simulation by a mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian (MEL) formulation and high-order boundary integral method based on non uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) formulation is employed to solve the equations. At each time step, Laplace equation is solved in Eulerian frame and fully non-linear free-surface conditions are updated in Lagrangian manner through material node approach and fourth order Runge-Kutta time integration scheme. Incident wave is fed by specifying the normal flux of appropriate wave potential on the fixed inflow boundary. To ensure the open water condition and to reduce the reflected wave energy into the computational domain, two damping zones are provided on both ends of the numerical wave tank. The convergence and stability of the presented numerical procedure are examined and compared with the analytical solutions. Wave reflection and transmission of nonlinear waves with different steepness are investigated. Also, the calculation of wave load on the breakwater is evaluated by first and second order time derivatives of the potential

A Comparative Modeling Analysis of Risk-Based Lung Cancer Screening Strategies

Background: Risk-prediction models have been proposed to select individuals for lung cancer screening. However, their longterm effects are uncertain. This study evaluates long-term benefits and harms of risk-based screening compared with current United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations. Methods: Four independent natural history models were used to perform a comparative modeling study evaluating longterm benefits and harms of selecting individuals for lung cancer screening through risk-prediction models. In total, 363 riskbased screening strategies varying by screening starting and stopping age, risk-prediction model used for eligibility (Bach, PLCOm2012, or Lung Cancer Death Risk Assessment Tool [LCDRAT]), and risk threshold were evaluated for a 1950 US birth cohort. Among the evaluated outcomes were percentage of individuals ever screened, screens required, lung cancer deaths averted, life-years gained, and overdiagnosis. Results: Risk-based screening strategies requiring sim