The significance of meandering channel morphology on the diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates in a lowland river in Japan

• 1. Many rivers and streams across the world have been channelized for various purposes. Channel cross‐sections of meandering rivers are asymmetrical and have cross‐sectional diversity in their physical environment; cross‐sections of a channelized river are typically trapezoidal and have little cross‐sectional diversity, both in physical and ecological conditions. Several programmes to restore stream meanders have been undertaken to improve river ecosystems degraded by channelization. However, the association between diversification in the physical environment due to meander restoration and the macroinvertebrate community structure is poorly known.
• 2. This study of a lowland river in Japan assessed how the cross‐sectional diversity of the physical environment changed with restoration of a meander in a channelized river, and how the macroinvertebrate communities responded to the changes in physical habitat variation. Comparisons were made between the macroinvertebrate communities of a channelized reach, the restored meandering reach, and a natural meandering reach.
• 3. Natural meandering and restored meandering reaches showed higher cross‐sectional diversity in physical variables and total taxon richness across a reach than did the channelized reach. Almost all taxa observed in the natural and restored meandering reaches were concentrated in the shallowest marginal habitats near the banks. Shear velocity increasing with water depth had a negative association with macroinvertebrate density and richness.
• 4. This study demonstrated that the shallow river bed along the inside of bends formed point bars that provided a highly stable substrate, a suitable habitat for macroinvertebrates in a lowland river. It is concluded that meander restoration could be an effective strategy for in‐stream habitat restoration in lowland meandering rivers.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of three types of adhesives in attaching coral transplants to clam shell substrates

• 1. Nubbins from 12 coral species were transplanted onto dead giant clam shells at three sites in a lagoon near Bolinao, north‐western Philippines. Transplants were attached using three types of adhesives: cyanoacrylate glue (SG), epoxy putty (EP) and marine epoxy (ME) and were monitored over five months for detachment, in situ mortality and natural self‐attachment by tissue growth.
• 2. Corals attached with SG showed a significantly higher rate of detachment (logrank test) than those attached with either EP or ME (P<0.001 in each case). Also, those attached with EP showed a higher rate of detachment than corals attached with ME (logrank=6.46, P<0.05).
• 3. ANOVA (P>0.05) and survival analysis (logrank=2.85, P>0.05) showed no among‐adhesives differences in in situ mortality. Among the species used, Porites cylindrica, Pavona frondifera, Heliopora coerulea and Porites rus had the highest survivorship with 82%, 80%, 76% and 73%, respectively, of nubbins alive at the end of the experiment and also displayed the highest cumulative rates of self‐attachment. Species with the lowest survival rates included Acropora muricata and four pocilloporids.
• 4. Although there was no significant difference in the number of self‐attaching transplants among the adhesives, corals transplanted using ME and EP self‐attached earlier than those transplanted using SG (logrank=11.19, P<0.01).
• 5. Results from this study highlight the importance of selecting the appropriate means of attaching corals to substrates and carefully considering species‐specific traits of candidate corals for transplantation.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of dietary caffeine on growth,body composition,somatic indexes,and cerebral distribution of acetyl‐cholinesterase and nitric oxide synthase in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), reared in winter temperature

This study aims at examining the effect of caffeine administration on growth, feed efficiency, and consumption of sea bream (Sparus aurata), reared in winter temperatures. Moreover, it is questioned whether caffeine has a central action in the brain and its effects are partly mediated via central brain mechanisms. For this, we studied the influences of caffeine treatment on the cerebral pattern of the cholinergic neurotransmission and the novel neuromodulator nitric oxide (NO), by means of acetyl‐cholinesterase (AchE) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) histochemistry. Five different diets containing 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 g caffeine kg^?1 of diet were administrated to five groups of fish. Caffeine adversely affected sea‐bream growth at a concentration higher than 1 g kg^?1 diet and increased feed conversion ratio in the treatments of 2 and 5 g kg^?1 (P < 0.05). The daily consumption of feeds was similar to all groups, indicating that caffeine did not influence diet palatability. AChE‐ and NADPH‐diaphorase histochemistry showed densely labeled cells and fibers mainly in dorsal telencephalon, preoptic, pretectal, hypothalamic areas, optic tectum, reticular formation, cerebellum and motor nuclei. When compared with matched caffeine‐treated animals, no differences in the histochemical pattern and cell densities of cerebral AChE and NADPH‐diaphorase were found.     

温室轴流风送药雾靶标沉积试验

为研究药液雾滴在温室靶区内和植株靶标上的沉积量及分布情况,以炮塔式压力雾化轴流风送高压静电喷雾系统为试验平台,在相同风机频率、喷雾压力和喷雾流量条件下,通过改变喷头高度和静电电压对风送药雾进行靶标沉积试验和分析.结果表明:沿风送轴线上距喷头150～200cm靶区内的药雾沉积量都出现一个沉积高峰区;随着静电电压的增大,植株靶标上的药雾沉积量明显增加,荷电后的药液雾滴在风送射程和喷幅内的靶标沉积率显著提高.根据实际喷施作业目标,合理布置喷头高度和调节合适电压,是增加靶标沉积率的重要手段.     

玉米果穗剥皮装置的参数研究

利用自制剥皮装置试验台,选择影响剥皮性能的压送器转速、剥皮辊转速、剥皮辊倾角三个主要参数作为设计变量,通过二次回归通用旋转组合试验和优化设计,得出了各参数的最优组合.为玉米果穗剥皮装置的设计提供了依据.     

Differences in swimbladder volume between Baltic and Norwegian spring-spawning herring: Consequences for mean target strength

Fish swimbladders, where present, contribute most to the scattering of sound by fish, as measured by the target strength (TS). The volumes of the swimbladders of two different European stocks of Atlantic herring were compared to consider the effect on estimates of TS. Swimbladder volumes of Baltic and Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) were measured, together with individual herring fat content. Swimbladder volumes were found to differ significantly between the two herring stocks. Baltic herring have a larger swimbladder volume, which is suggested to be associated with the fish's low fat content, which in turn may be linked to its specific energy budget and the low salinity of the Baltic Sea. A buoyancy model that considered the different salinity conditions and fat proportions was used to evaluate the observed differences in swimbladder volume. The swimbladder volume data were subsequently used to model the mean target strength as a function of depth and growth pattern. Backscattering of the swimbladder was modelled using the modal-series-based deformed-cylinder model (MSB-DCM), describing the swimbladder as a gas-filled, elongated prolate spheroid. The fish body component was modelled as a fluid-filled ellipsoid using the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA). Modelling results support a different TS-to-size relationship for Baltic herring, with a stronger echo, due to the larger swimbladder. Depth- and length-dependent TS relationships based on the model results are suggested.     

石灰性土壤水稻锌临界值及施锌效果研究

在氮、磷、钾肥用量处于最佳施肥量,土壤有效锌含量1.0-1.5 mg/kg试验条件下,水稻增施锌肥后,成穗数、每穗实粒数、千粒重、株高、穗长等均有不同程度的增加,产量明显提高,以施硫酸锌22.5 kg/hm^2的处理最高,平均比不施锌处理增产12.7%。不同类型土壤表现一致,但潮土施锌增产幅度明显高于水稻土,且以成穗数增加为主,水稻土处理每穗粒数明显高于潮土处理。通过回归分析,水稻适宜施锌量为21.5-23.0 kg/hm^2,产量可达9 300-9 800 kg/hm^2。水稻土壤有效锌临界值指标1.48 mg/kg。     

吴震东公式简化计算研究

混凝土工程冬季施工主要采用非加热养护方法,这类方法的技术关键是精确的热工计算,而热工计算目前仍广泛应用吴震东理论,按吴震东理论建立的整套公式可以描述混凝土在各咎情况下温度时间变化规律,但由于吴东公式较为复杂,许多学者对简化吴震东公式作了深化入的研究和讨论,据此分析了简化吴震东公式的思路、途径与方法,并评价了各类简化公式和近似公式的优点与不足之处。     

转基因植物非预期效应检测评价技术的发展

检测和评价转基因植物非预期效应是转基因植物安全评价不可或缺的重要内容之一。介绍了转基因植物非预期效应的定义、成因及其检测评价技术的发展,指出了转基因植物非预期效应检测评价技术的难点和存在的问题。阐述了基因芯片分析技术在检测和评价转基因植物非预期效应中的应用前景,特别介绍了转基因植物在不同发育阶段和生长条件下差异表达基因的分布模型,并提出了利用基因芯片分析技术,从差异基因到代谢途径,再到非预期效应的转基因植物安全评价模式。这一评价模式可为今后创建高效、全面、客观、公正的转基因植物非预期效应检测和评价技术提供可能的实验模型和理论依据。