Length-weight relationships of fish from the lagoon of New Caledonia

Length-weight relationships of 335 species of fish of New Caledonia, belonging to 65 families of coral reef fishes, were computed (80%) or assembled from the literature (20% of all cases) to facilitate, among other things, estimation of coral reef fish biomass from visual census

Length-weight relationships of fish from the lagoon of New Caledonia

Reef fisheries, Length-weight relationships, Lagoons, New Caledonia,

Ultimate pH values and bacteriological condition of meat and stress metabolites in blood of transported reindeer bulls

Twenty-three reindeer bulls, aged 2-3 years, fed during two winter months at the Vuolda reindeer research station in Arjeplog, Sweden, were used in the study. The first group of eight reindeer was moved from their feeding corral to a selection corral, captured by lasso and stunned with a captive bolt outside the selection corral. The second group of seven reindeer was moved to the selection corral, captured by lasso and restrained, after which they were loaded onto a lorry- and transported for 1 hour and then slaughtered. The third group of eight reindeer was moved to the selection corral and herded directly onto the lorry, without any manual handling. They were transported for 5 h and then slaughtered. In both transport groups, four reindeer were fitted with pre-programmed automatic blood sampling equipment (ABSE). ABSE sampled blood at predetermined times via a jugular vein catheter. Ultimate pH-values in three muscles (Mm. longissimus, triceps brachii and biceps femoris) were significantly lower in the group carefully handled and transported for 5 h compared with the other two groups. The physiological mechanisms behind these results are discussed. Samples from M. semimembranosus were collected at slaughter and after 2, 6 and 10 days of refrigerated storage (+4 °C). The samples were analysed for total counts of aerobic bacteria (pour-plated in Tryptone Glucose Extract Agar, Difco, incubated at 20 °C and 30 °C, respectively for 72 h), coliform bacteria 37 °C (pour-plated in Violet Red Bile Agar, Oxoid, incubated at 37 °C for 24 h), Enterococci (surface-plated onto Slantez and Bartley Agar, Oxoid, incubated at 44 °C for 48 h) and Bacillus cereus (surface-plated onto Blood Agar Plates (Blood Agar Base, Difco, supplemented with 5% defibrinated horse blood) 30 °C for 24 h). All samples fell in the range 'fit for consumption'. At slaughter, there was no difference in ASAT activity, urea and Cortisol concentrations between the two transported groups. However, the plasma ASAT activity and urea concentrations at slaughter were significantly lower in the non-transported group. In both transport groups, the plasma Cortisol concentrations increased during loading onto and unloading from the lorry. Abomasal lesions were observed in all treatment groups. It was concluded that reindeer showed an acute stress response to manual handling and transport

THE THERMO-HYDRODYNAMICS OF A CONCENTRIC OHMIC HEATER FOR PROCESSING DAIRY FLUIDS

The thermo-hydraulic performance of a 300W concentric annular ohmic heater was investigated. To minimize possible electrochemical reactions and corrosion, a higher frequency was applied and factors of field strength and frequency were studied. 2D computer simulation solving momentum, thermal and electrical energy was performed using the FlexPDE software. A good agreement between experimental and analytical analysis of static heating was obtained. There were significant differences between calculated and measured wall temperature near the entrance. The calculated outlet temperature was however in reasonable agreement with the experiment value

A Field Test Study on under Water Vacuum Preloading Method

Vacuum preloading technique incorporating prefabricated vertical drains is one of the most widely used ground improvement methods in the world for improving the engineering properties of soft clays. Although many successful on-shore cases on application of the technique have been reported, the effectiveness of applying the technique under water has not yet been investigated. Moreover, many technical and operation factors, that are playing important roles in vacuum consolidation, are also not yet fully understood. To study the feasibility of under water vacuum preloading, a large-scale field test was conducted. A 50 m by 50 m geo-membrane was laid under water in an 80 m wide by 100 m long pond. The geo-membrane was custom made with drainage outlet pipes to release the trapped air bubbles during the placement under water. Prefabricated vertical drains were installed on an equilateral triangular grid at a spacing of 1.2 m to a depth of 7 m. Internal drainage pipes were provided in the sand cushion layers to provide a passage for the prefabricated vertical drains with the external vacuum pumps. Instruments such as piezometers, vacuum sensors, inclinometers, settlement plates and extensometers were installed to monitor the performance of the system. An automatic and remote wireless monitoring system was installed for data collection because of difficult access. Vane shear tests and cone penetration tests were conducted before and after vacuum preloading to determine the effectiveness of the operation. This paper documents the constructions of the field test and reports the major observations from the monitored readings. The operation has demonstrated that under water vacuum preloading is feasible and that with proper design and construction procedure, a very tight seal can be provided by the geo-membrane separating the water and the underlying prefabricated vertical drains through out the test. The monitored results demonstrate that the stiffness and strength of the soft clay can be improved effectively

Exploring the action landscape with trial world-lines

The Hamilton action principle, also known as the principle of least action, and Lagrange equations are an integral part of advanced undergraduate mechanics. At present, substantial efforts are ongoing to suitably incorporate the action principle in introductory physics courses. Although the Hamilton principle is oft stated as "the action for any nearby trial world-line is greater than the action for the classical world-line", the landscape of action in the space of world-lines is rarely explored. Here, for three common problems in introductory physics - a free particle, a uniformly accelerating particle, and a simple harmonic oscillator - we present families of trial world-lines, characterized by a few parameters, that evolve continuously from their respective classical world-lines. With explicit analytical expressions available for the action, they permit a graphical visualization of the action landscape in the space of nearby world-lines. Although these trial world-lines form only a subset of the space of all nearby world-lines, they provide a pedagogical tool that complements the traditional Lagrange equation approach and is well-suited for advanced undergraduate students.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, significant structural revisio

Controlled Wetting Test of a Soil Nailed Loose Fill Slope: Case Study

For an in-depth understanding of the failure mechanism of loose fill slopes and the strengthening effect by soil nails, a comprehensive field study program has been carried out at a specially built slope. The test slope was constructed by end-tipping of completely decomposed granitic soils almost without any compaction. The controlled failure test program was mainly composed of surcharge at the crest, wetting with surcharge, and wetting without surcharge. This paper is aimed at a case study of the coupled hydro-mechanical response of the test slope during the recharge process with surcharge. Through a comprehensive instrumentation system, abundant monitoring data with regards to the complex performance of the loose fill and soil nails were collected. It was found that redistribution of water content within the loose fill was well consistent with the recharge program, and nonlinear deformation developed significantly in the loose fill by the reduction of shear strength due to increased pore pressure and diminished suction when subjected to large wetting loads. Also a two-dimensional simplified finite element model is established and some preliminary simulation results are presented

Empowering Non-Terrestrial Networks with Artificial Intelligence: A Survey

6G networks can support global, ubiquitous and seamless connectivity through the convergence of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Unlike terrestrial scenarios, NTNs pose unique challenges including propagation characteristics, latency and mobility, owing to the operations in spaceborne and airborne platforms. To overcome all these technical hurdles, this survey paper presents the use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in learning and adapting to the complex NTN environments. We begin by providing an overview of NTNs in the context of 6G, highlighting the potential security and privacy issues. Next, we review the existing AI methods adopted for 6G NTN optimization, starting from machine learning (ML), through deep learning (DL) to deep reinforcement learning (DRL). All these AI techniques have paved the way towards more intelligent network planning, resource allocation (RA), and interference management. Furthermore, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in AI-powered NTN for 6G networks. Finally, we conclude by providing insights and recommendations on the key enabling technologies for future AI-powered 6G NTNs

Epidemiology of Subpatent Plasmodium Falciparum Infection: Implications for Detection of Hotspots with Imperfect Diagnostics.

At the local level, malaria transmission clusters in hotspots, which may be a group of households that experience higher than average exposure to infectious mosquitoes. Active case detection often relying on rapid diagnostic tests for mass screen and treat campaigns has been proposed as a method to detect and treat individuals in hotspots. Data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in north-western Tanzania were used to examine the spatial distribution of Plasmodium falciparum and the relationship between household exposure and parasite density. Dried blood spots were collected from consenting individuals from four villages during a survey conducted in 2010. These were analysed by PCR for the presence of P. falciparum, with the parasite density of positive samples being estimated by quantitative PCR. Household exposure was estimated using the distance-weighted PCR prevalence of infection. Parasite density simulations were used to estimate the proportion of infections that would be treated using a screen and treat approach with rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) compared to targeted mass drug administration (tMDA) and Mass Drug Administration (MDA). Polymerase chain reaction PCR analysis revealed that of the 3,057 blood samples analysed, 1,078 were positive. Mean distance-weighted PCR prevalence per household was 34.5%. Parasite density was negatively associated with transmission intensity with the odds of an infection being subpatent increasing with household exposure (OR 1.09 per 1% increase in exposure). Parasite density was also related to age, being highest in children five to ten years old and lowest in those > 40 years. Simulations of different tMDA strategies showed that treating all individuals in households where RDT prevalence was above 20% increased the number of infections that would have been treated from 43 to 55%. However, even with this strategy, 45% of infections remained untreated. The negative relationship between household exposure and parasite density suggests that DNA-based detection of parasites is needed to provide adequate sensitivity in hotspots. Targeting MDA only to households with RDT-positive individuals may allow a larger fraction of infections to be treated. These results suggest that community-wide MDA, instead of screen and treat strategies, may be needed to successfully treat the asymptomatic, subpatent parasite reservoir and reduce transmission in similar settings

Author Correction: Cross-ancestry genome-wide association analysis of corneal thickness strengthens link between complex and Mendelian eye diseases.

Emmanuelle Souzeau, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this Article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article