Abundance and distribution of larval fishes and shrimps in the Laguna Madre, Texas : a hypersaline lagoon

To Texas Water Development BoardContract nos. IAC (88-89)1636 and (90-91)0751October 1990Tidal inlets connecting the Gulf of Mexico with estuarine waters are widely spaced and relatively narrow along the Texas coast. These inlets provide the sole route for ingress of larvae to the estuary for estuarine-dependent marine species and the egress of juveniles and sub-adults of these species back to the ocean. This study was an investigation of the abundance and distribution of ichthyoplankton of selected fishes and shrimps in an area where the opening and maintenance of a new tidal pass has been proposed in the Laguna Madre, a sub-tropical, hypersaline lagoon along the southern Texas coast. Surface and bottom ichthyoplankton samples were taken bimonthly in four zones in the Laguna Madre in areas which were directly influenced by tidal inlets from the Gulf of Mexico and areas isolated from such connections. Seasonal composition of the ichthyoplankton was similar to that reported from other Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States estuaries with winter catches dominated by offshore spawners and summer catches dominated by inshore and estuarine spawners. The pelagic larvae of three species of estuarine spawners, bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), and black drum (Pogonias cromis), were common throughout the Laguna Madre at salinities up to 50°/00. Pelagic larvae of offshore spawners were abundant only in the area near the tidal inlet and only a few individuals were found dispersed throughout the lagoon. The majority of these species are distributed throughout the Laguna Madre as juveniles but the dispersion or advection of these species to areas not closely associated with tidal inlets occurs at development stages older than the pelagic larval stage. These data suggest that opening and maintaining a tidal inlet in the upper Laguna Madre would increase the opportunity for recruitment of larvae of offshore spawners into an area currently unoccupied by these life-history stages.Marine Scienc

Modelling and simulation on the tool wear in nanometric cutting

Tool wear is a significant factor affecting the machined surface quality. In this paper, a Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation approach is proposed to model the wear of the diamond tool in nanometric cutting. It includes the effects of the cutting heat on the workpiece property. MD simulation is carried out to simulate the nanometric cutting of a single crystal silicon plate with the diamond tip of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The wear mechanism is investigated by the calculation of the temperature, the stress in the diamond tip, and the analysis of the relationship between the temperature and sublimation energy of the diamond atoms and silicon atoms. Microstrength is used to characterize the wear resistance of the diamond tool. The machining trials on an AFM are performed to validate the results of the MD simulation. The results of MD simulation and AFM experiments all show that the thermo-chemical wear is the basic wear mechanism of the diamond cutting tool

Attachment system for silica tiles

An improved method for markedly increasing the bond strength between a rigid, porous refractory material and non-rigid substrate by densifying the face of the rigid material opposing the substrate is discussed. Densification is accomplished by wetting the refractory material and then impregnating it with a composite slurry having a particle size to fill voids of the porous material

Smoking and tooth discolouration: findings from a national cross-sectional study

Background: Smoking is a risk factor of a number of oral diseases; the extent to which tobacco products influence dental aesthetics has not been widely investigated. The aim of this study was to determine satisfaction with own tooth colour of smokers and non-smokers and to investigate whether smokers have higher levels of self-assessed tooth discolouration compared to nonsmokersMethods: A cross sectional national study was conducted on sample of 6,000 UK adults. A total of 3,384 adults was interviewed. Smoking behaviour was recorded together with satisfaction with own tooth colour. Prevalence of perceived discolouration was measured by asking respondents to match their own tooth colour to one of a set of seven photographs of differing severities of discolouration.Results: Twenty eight percent of smokers reported having moderate and severe levels of tooth discolouration compared to 15% in non-smokers. As well as more often perceiving discolouration smokers were also more likely to be dissatisfied with their own tooth colour compared to nonsmokers.Conclusion: The study provides further evidence of the negative impact of tobacco smoking on dental aesthetics in the general public. The evidence provided by the study may be of value in short interventions for smoking cessation in the dental setting

Spectra of cosmic X-ray sources

X-ray measurements provide the most direct probes of astrophysical environments with temperatures exceeding one million K. Progress in experimental research utilizing dispersive techniques (e.g., Bragg and grating spectroscopy) is considerably slower than that in areas utilizing photometric techniques, because of the relative inefficiency of the former for the weak X-ray signals from celestial sources. As a result, the term "spectroscopy" as applied to X-ray astronomy has traditionally satisfied a much less restrictive definition (in terms of resolving power) than it has in other wavebands. Until quite recently, resolving powers of order unity were perfectly respectable, and still provide (in most cases) the most useful spectroscopic data. In the broadest sense, X-ray photometric measurements are spectroscopic, insofar as they represent samples of the overall electromagnetic continua of celestial objects

Highly extinguished emission line outflows in the young radio source PKS 1345+12

(Abridged) We present new, intermediate resolution spectra (~4A) of the compact radio source PKS 1345+12. Our spectra clearly show extended line emission (~20kpc) consistent with the asymmetric halo of diffuse emission observed in optical and infra-red images. In the nucleus we observe complex emission line profiles requiring 3 Gaussian components (narrow, intermediate and broad). The broadest component (FWHM ~2000 km/s) is blue shifted by ~2000 km/s with respect to the galaxy halo and HI absorption. We interpret this as material in outflow. We find evidence for high reddening and measure E(B-V)>0.92 for the broadest component. From [S II]6716,6731 we estimate electron densities of n_e5300 cm^{-3} and n_{e}>4200 cm^{-3} for the regions emitting the narrow, intermediate and broad components respectively. We calculate a total mass of line emitting gas of M_{gas}<10^6 solar masses. Not all emission line profiles can be reproduced by the same model: [O I]6300,6363 and [S II] require separate, unique models. We argue that PKS 1345+12 is a young radio source whose nuclear regions are enshrouded in a dense cocoon of gas and dust. The radio jets are expanding, sweeping material out of the nuclear regions. Emission originates from three kinematically distinct regions though gradients (e.g. density, ionisation potential, acceleration) must exist across the regions responsible for the emission of the intermediate and broad components.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 8 postscript figure

Past and Ongoing Tsetse and Animal Trypanosomiasis Control Operations in Five African Countries: A Systematic Review

Background Control operations targeting Animal African Trypanosomiasis and its primary vector, the tsetse, were covering approximately 128,000 km2 of Africa in 2001, which is a mere 1.3% of the tsetse infested area. Although extensive trypanosomiasis and tsetse (T&T) control operations have been running since the beginning of the 20th century, Animal African Trypanosomiasis is still a major constraint of livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa. Methodology/Principal Findings We performed a systematic review of the existing literature describing T&T control programmes conducted in a selection of five African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia, between 1980 and 2015. Sixty-eight documents were eventually selected from those identified by the database search. This was supplemented with information gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve key informants recruited in the study countries and selected based on their experience and knowledge of T&T control. The combined information from these two sources was used to describe the inputs, processes and outcomes from 23 major T&T control programmes implemented in the study countries. Although there were some data gaps, involvement of the target communities and sustainability of the control activities were identified as the two main issues faced by these programmes. Further, there was a lack of evaluation of these control programmes, as well as a lack of a standardised methodology to conduct such evaluations. Conclusions/Significance Past experiences demonstrated that coordinated and sustained control activities require careful planning, and evidence of successes, failures and setbacks from past control programmes represent a mine of information. As there is a lack of evaluation of these programmes, these data have not been fully exploited for the design, analyses and justification of future control programmes