Development and growth of hatchery-reared larval Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)

Although the Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) is a prime candidate for aquaculture, the problematic production of juveniles remains a major impediment to commercial culture of this species. In order to improve the understanding of larval development and to refine hatchery production techniques, this study was conducted to characterize development and growth of Florida pompano from hatching through metamorphosis by using digital photography and image analysis. Newly hatched larvae were transparent and had a large, elongate yolk sac and single oil globule. The lower and upper jaws as well as the digestive tract were not fully developed at hatching. Rotifers were observed in the stomach of larvae at three days after hatching (DAH), and Artemia spp. were observed in the stomach of larvae at 14 DAH. Growth rates calculated from total length measurements were 0.22 ±0.04, 0.23 ±0.12, and 0.35 ±0.09 mm/d for each of the larval rearing trials. The mouth gape of larvae was 0.266 ±0.075 mm at first feeding and increased with a growth rate of 0.13 ± 0.04 mm/d. Predicted values for optimal prey sizes ranged from 80 to 130 μm at 3 DAH, 160 to 267 μm at 5 DAH, and 454 to 757 μm at 10 DAH. Based on the findings of this study, a refined feeding regime was developed to provide stage- and size-specific guidelines for feeding Florida pompano larvae reared under hatchery co

In-situ growth optimization in focused electron-beam induced deposition

We present the application of an evolutionary genetic algorithm for the in-situ optimization of nanostructures prepared by focused electron-beam-induced deposition. It allows us to tune the properties of the deposits towards highest conductivity by using the time gradient of the measured in-situ rate of change of conductance as fitness parameter for the algorithm. The effectiveness of the procedure is presented for the precursor W(CO)6 as well as for post-treatment of Pt-C deposits obtained by dissociation of MeCpPt(Me)3. For W(CO)6-based structures an increase of conductivity by one order of magnitude can be achieved, whereas the effect for MeCpPt(Me)3 is largely suppressed. The presented technique can be applied to all beam-induced deposition processes and has great potential for further optimization or tuning of parameters for nanostrucures prepared by FEBID or related techniques

RepLib: A library for derivable type classes

Some type class instances can be automatically derived from the structure of types. As a result, the Haskell language includes the deriving mechanism to automatic generates such instances for a small number of built-in type classes. In this paper, we present RepLib, a GHC library that enables a similar mechanism for arbitrary type classes. Users of RepLib can define the relationship between the structure of a datatype and the associated instance declaration by a normal Haskell functions that pattern-matches a representation types. Furthermore, operations defined in this manner are extensible-instances for specific types not defined by type structure may also be incorporated. Finally, this library also supports the definition of operations defined by parameterized types

Pursing the Guilty and Protecting the Innocent Through Smart Prosecution

Transcript of a presentation given during the 2017 Symposium by General Amy Weirich, who serves as the District Attorney General for the 30th Judicial District in Memphis, Tennessee. She speaks about what district attorneys do and also, the big question posed: “If I could change one thing about the criminal justice system, what would that be?”. She starts by providing background on how the office in Shelby County, Tennessee, works and how most DA’s offices work around the nation and moves on to Shelby County\u27s pilot of vertical prosecution including community policing, community prosecution and hopeful implementation of community probation

Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxin Ecology in Lakes and Drinking Water

Freshwater harmful algal blooms (FHABs) present a threat to ecological and public health in inland lakes. Problems associated with FHABs include human and animal illness, production of taste and odor compounds, and declining water quality and property values. Despite increased awareness and research on FHABs in recent decades, questions remain regarding long-term growth and diversity of FHABs in lakes that have taken measures toward slowing or reversing eutrophication, environmental factors impacting toxin occurrence, the most appropriate toxin analysis methods for protecting public health, and evidence for cyanotoxins detected in finished drinking water as a connection to exposure for potentially causing disease; this dissertation research seeks to add evidence to the field for answering such questions. Chapter 1 proposes maximum acceptable concentrations for a variety of cyanotoxins, in advance of recent US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, and reviews childrens’ risk to cyanotoxin exposure, as well as possible clinical biomarkers. A long-term analysis of major FHAB-forming cyanobacteria and cyanobacterial community composition (CCC) in Chapter 2 demonstrates connections to organic nitrogen, changes in ice cover, total phosphorus, Schmidt stability and rainfall correlating with cyanobacterial abundance and CCC. Chapter 3 presents novel preservation methods for cyanotoxins in lake water samples for intercontinental shipping or storage, as well as describes patterns of occurrence for 13 cyanopeptides (e.g. microcystins, anabaenopeptins, cyanopeptolins, nodularin, microginin) in 22 lakes on a semi-global scale using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry quantification methods. These patterns in cyanotoxin occurrence are then analyzed based on characteristics of their lakes, including mussel invasion, dominant surrounding land usage, trophic status, and lake size. Finally, Chapter 4 characterizes amounts and types of cyanopeptides in raw and finished drinking water and efficiency of their removal among four drinking water treatment process trains. The resulting work demonstrates that other peptides are as common as microcystins in lakes and drinking water, and a variety of cyanopeptides at low doses are detectable in finished water from modern water treatment plants, while providing novel storage, extraction, and detection methods and defining parameters of interannual cyanobacterial dominance in a eutrophic lake with suggested future directions for monitoring

The Past and the Present: Two Paradigms of the Sino-African Investment

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has obvious economic and political connections between the recipient and donor countries. Such investment can benefit both sides and carry certain costs to both, whether through global scrutiny or domestic struggles. This these seeks to add to the ongoing discussion of China\u27s OFDI to Africa by comparing China\u27s investment during its socialist period (1949-1976) and its post-socialist era (1977 – present). This comparison reveals that China\u27s foreign policy has transitioned from a socialist paradigm to a capitalist one in the last seven decades, which brought significant changes in its OFDI policies and practice. In the socialist paradigm, the case study is focused on Tanzania and Zambia, and for the capitalist paradigm, the focus is Zambia and Sudan. The thesis argues that China\u27s OFDI strongly connects to its foreign policy, which in turn correlates to China\u27s economic and political agenda. Researching the paradigms then reveals how economic and political agendas impact the recipient OFDI country, depending on China\u27s motives