Relationships between individual movement,trophic position and growth of juvenile pike (Esox lucius)

Variation in movement between individuals can have important ecological effects on populations and ecosystems, yet the factors driving differences in movement and their consequences remain poorly understood. Here, individual variability in the movements of juvenile (age 0 +  and 1 +  year) pike Esox lucius was assessed using passive integrated transponder (PIT) telemetry in off‐channel nursery areas over a 26‐ month period. Differences in the movement patterns of individuals were tested against their body sizes, ages, growth rates and trophic positions using data collected through a combination of catch‐and‐release sampling and stable isotope analyses. Results revealed that variation in movement between individuals was affected by age, with 1 +  individuals moving more than individuals of age 0 + , but not length. Individuals whose TP was low on their initial capture event moved significantly less than those with a higher initial TP. Individuals that moved more grew faster and achieved a higher final TP. These results suggest that higher activity (i.e., increased movement) increases resource acquisition that enhances growth rates, which could ultimately maximise individual performances.     

Detection of Frozen-Thawed Cycles for Frozen Tilapia (Oreochromis) Fillets Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Due to the ambient temperature fluctuation during the process of storage, transportation, and sale, frozen fillets may go through frozen-thawed cycles that result in quality changes. In order to detect the frozen-thawed cycles in frozen tilapia fillets, near infrared spectroscopy was applied. The thawing loss, cooking loss, moisture content, total volatile basic nitrogen, and texture profile of fillets in seven frozen-thawed cycles were analyzed to reflect the change of quality. A total of 60 fillets were used to collect the spectra on both dorsal and belly flesh in frozen and thawed state from the first to the seventh cycle. The results showed that there is a better discrimination among the once and the repeated frozen-thawed samples in the frozen state than the thawed state. Frozen samples were still conducive to the differentiation and had higher classification accuracy, ranging from 80% to 93.33%. Dorsal flesh was more beneficial for the differentiation than belly flesh and had the highest accuracy, ranging from 86.67% to 93.33% in the frozen state. These results showed that the nondestructive and fast detection of repeated frozen-thawed cycles in frozen tilapia fillets can be accomplished by near infrared spectroscopy, which has enormous potential for practical application.     

发动机配气机构弹簧有限元分析

气门弹簧是发动机配气机构的重要组件之一,气门弹簧是否符合技术要求是发动机能否正常工作的关键。对弹簧进行强度、刚度、抗疲劳强度以及模态分析,分别采用耦合式有限元分析法和夹板式有限元分析法对弹簧进行了对比分析,发现弹簧内侧为弹簧的易疲劳区,弹簧的强度、刚度、抗疲劳强度满足技术要求,没有共振现象。研究还表明,夹板式有限元分析法比耦合式准确。     

Evaluation of bermuda and paspalum grass types for urban landscapes under saline water irrigation

In the arid regions, turfgrass cover is an integral part of landscape to protect the soil from erosion, enhance the aesthetic value, and improve the microclimate. The salinity and the scarcity of fresh water of the arid region are the major challenging factors in turfgrass production. Therefore, the need for salt tolerant turfgrass with functional quality is necessary to improve the turf performance. The detrimental effects of salinity include growth suppression, and lowered osmotic potential ultimately leading to firing of the leaf blades. In this context, the study was undertaken to determine the relative salt tolerance and growth response of turfgrass genotypes in order to recommend turfgrass cultivars that can tolerate high salinity irrigation and maintain excellent visual and functional qualities under United Arab Emirates (UAE) condition. The paspalum cultivars maintained the highest succulence percentage compared to the bermudagrass cultivars under enhanced salinity levels. The shoots count, fresh weight (FW), and dry weight (DW) were found highest in paspalum types. The chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and the total chlorophyll content was found higher in bermuda grass types under high salinity levels. The bermudagrass cultivars showed significantly higher carotenoids, anthocyanins and proline compared to the paspalum types under salt stress condition. In the case of princess 77 and Yukon, an inherently high amount of proline was recorded which confirmed an increase up to 10,000 ppm and drastically declined beyond this concentration. Sea Dwarf paspalum and Sea Isle 2000 maintained uniformity in the proline level at all levels of salinity without significant variation. These findings point to the fact that both paspalum and bermuda types exhibited varied responses to different physiological and biochemical parameters under the saline conditions. Paspalum types have an edge over the bermudagrass in terms of shoot density, which is a potential factor in determining the high-quality turfs. Bermudagrass types can be applied in lower salinity conditions based on the responses as evidenced from the present results.     

基于模态置信度准则的插秧机支撑臂模态分析与结构优化

针对高速插秧机栽插机构动力传输过程中的振动问题,该文以2ZG-6DK插秧机为研究对象,分析了栽插系统动力传输方式及工作原理;利用Solid Works软件对插秧机动力传输系统中关键部件支撑臂进行建模,将模型导入ANSYS Workbench并结合Lanczos Method解算方法求解模态固有频率和振型,在此基础上开展基于MAC(modal assurance criterion)准则优化的模态试验,验证了有限元理论分析的准确性。为使支撑臂固有频率避开外部激振频率,在分析外部频率激振特点的基础上,基于ISIGHT多学科软件平台,采用序列二次规划法对支撑臂结构参数进行优化。研究结果表明:优化后支撑臂侧壁腔体厚度5.7 mm、横梁宽度42.0 mm、臂长497.0 mm,前4阶模态频率分别调整至135.17、204.23、483.14和702.32 Hz,均可避开插秧机汽油发动机激振频率范围86.67~120 Hz。优化后1阶频率下振动幅度衰减最为明显,振动幅值最高下降9.4%,支撑臂低频振动特性得到明显改善。研究结果可为插秧机的振动特性分析与减振设计提供参考。     

Direct and maternal additive effects are not the main determinants of Iberian piglet perinatal mortality

Data of 127,800 Iberian piglets were used to study genetic parameters of mortality at birth at the piglet level. These records proceed from three data sets: 4,987 litter of 2,156 sows of a dam line, 2,768 litter of 817 sows of a complete diallel cross between four Iberian strains and 7,153 litter of 2,113 sows of the Torbiscal composite line. Perinatal mortality was considered as a binary trait, and Bayesian threshold animal models were fitted to separately analyse the three data sets. The posterior means of direct heritability were 0.010, 0.004 and 0.003, and those of maternal heritability were 0.034, 0.011 and 0.014 for dam line, diallel cross and Torbiscal line, respectively. Important effects of litter size and parity order were inferred in the three data sets, of within‐breed cross‐breeding parameters in the diallel cross and of sex and sow handling in the Torbiscal line Therefore, the inclusion of perinatal mortality in the objective of selection is questionable in this breed and strategies for reducing piglet mortality successful in other breeds should be considered.     

Drivers of Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. et Schult growth and impact on forage quality in lowland Switzerland meadows

Invasive grasses (especially Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. et Schult) increasingly threaten meadows and pastures as a consequence of human impact and climate change. We conducted a study in 2012 and in 2013 to better understand the growing cycle and the influence of S. pumila on forage quality of lowland meadows. We observed a rapid increase of S. pumila presence and phytomass on the southern side of the Alps across the growing season. We measured (i) above‐ground phytomass, with a modified Corral‐Fenlon method; (ii) botanical composition using the linear point quadrat method; and (iii) grassland chemical composition by NIRs (near‐infrared spectroscopy) analyses. To test the hypothesis that S. pumila summer growth is related to specific climatic conditions, meteorological data (temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration) were collected from meteorological stations near the study sites. Total phytomass was sorted into S. pumila and other species. We used a generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) and found the abundance of S. pumila to be inversely correlated with rainfall and the presence of other species, but positively correlated with temperature increase. The increase of S. pumila above‐ground phytomass production was linked to a reduction of forage quality.     

Chemical and microbiological soil properties in organic and conventional management systems of Coffea arabica L.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic (OS) and conventional (CS) farming of Arabica coffee on chemical and microbiological soil properties and to identify which attributes correlate and/or contribute to distinguishing these two management systems. We collected soil samples on a 100 × 100 m² grid in both, the OS and CS, in winter and summer and submitted chemical and microbiological properties to univariate and multivariate analyses (canonical discriminant analysis – CDA – and redundancy analysis – RDA). The best indicators to discriminate OS and CS were chemical and microbiological properties, as the elements calcium (Ca) and boron (B), besides microbial biomass carbon (MBC), metabolic quotient (qCO₂), acid phosphatase (ACP), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The RDA showed that, regardless of the season, MBC and ACP correlated with nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and organic matter (OM), whereas basal respiration (C-CO₂) and ACP correlated with qCO₂ and with magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and pH.     

基于柔性夹持的青菜头收获机设计与试验

为解决西南丘陵山地青菜头机械化收获问题，结合青菜头生物特性和农艺要求，设计了一种具有柔性夹持功能的小型青菜头收获机。阐述了整机结构与工作原理，并对样机关键部件进行了结构设计和理论分析，柔性夹持装置初始间隙为60mm，最大允许通过青菜头直径为150mm，分析得到夹持输送带速度为0.37m/s、所需最大夹持力为38.04N；对割台架的仿地形能力和结构动力特性进行了分析，可得该结构允许地形起伏度为50mm，在安装割刀位置振幅最大，前5阶固有频率为115.63~783.60Hz，远大于发动机和地形产生的激励频率，因此不会发生共振现象。田间试验结果表明，切割及夹持输送机构运行平稳、振动小、切割有力、夹持力度适中；切割成功率为89.5%，青菜头损伤率为10.8%，实际工作效率为0.035hm2/h，各项性能指标基本满足设计和农艺技术要求。