Extraction and characterization of hydroxyapatite-based materials from grey triggerfish skin and black scabbardfish bones

The conversion of food industry by-products to compounds with high added value is nowadays a significant topic, for social, environmental, and economic reasons. In this paper, calcium phosphate-based materials were obtained from black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) bones and grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) skin, which are two of the most abundant fish by-products of Madeira Island. Different calcination temperatures between 400 and 1000°C were employed. Materials obtained from calcination of bones of black scabbard fish were composed by homogeneous mixtures of hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO4)₆(OH)₂, HAp) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-Ca₃(PO₄)₂, β-TCP). Because of the high biocompatibility of HAp and the good resorbability of β-TCP, these natural biphasic materials could be very relevant in the field of biomaterials, as bone grafts. The ratio between HAp and β-TCP in the biphasic compound was dependent on the calcination temperature. Differently, the material obtained from skin of grey triggerfish contained HAp as the main phase, together with small amounts of other mineral phases, such as halite and rhenanite, which are known to enhance osteogenesis when used as bone substitutes. In both cases, the increase of calcination temperature led to an increase in the particles size with a consequent decrease in their specific surface area. These results demonstrate that from the fish by-products of the most consumed fishes in Madeira Island it is possible to obtain bioceramic materials with tunable composition and particle morphology, which could be promising materials for the biomedical field.     

基于颜色四通道及空间金字塔的鱼类图像检索

随着计算机视觉技术在海洋水产领域中的应用不断加深，鱼类图像检索在渔业资源调查、鱼类行为学分析等方面发挥了巨大的作用。通过研究发现，鱼类图像的背景信息会对鱼类图像检索造成极大干扰，而且鱼类图像中颜色、纹理、形状等特征由于空间位置信息的缺乏而使检索的准确率不高。为解决以上问题，提出了一种新的基于颜色四通道及空间金字塔的鱼类图像检索算法。首先，提取视觉显著性图将鱼类图像的前景和背景分开，从而减少图像背景对检索的干扰；其次，为了使图像特征包含一定的空间位置信息，利用空间金字塔的理论对图像进行分割，在此基础上，将图像转为HSVG四通道图并提取SURF特征；；最后，得到检索结果。为验证所提算法的有效性，在QUT_fish_data数据集和DLOU_fish_data数据集上对算法的查全率、查准率与经典的HSVG算法和显著性分块算法进行对比：在两个数据集上查准率分别比传统的HSVG算法最多分别提高12%和5%，查全率最多分别提高7%和22%；比传统的显著性分块算法查准率最多分别提高15%和5%，查全率最多分别提高36%和22%；从而证明所提算法是有效的，能有效提升鱼类图像的检索效果。     

Autolysis and the endogenous proteinases characterised in beardless barb (Anematichthys apogon) muscle

Beardless barb is a common fish species used in fermentation of fish paste Ka-pi-plaa. Autolytic profile of beardless barb muscle showed the maximum autolysis was at 50 °C, at both acidic and alkaline pH values. With augmentation concentration of NaCl, autolytic activity slightly decreased. Endogenous proteinases isolated from fish muscle in crude extract forms were also characterised. The acidic proteinases had optimum activity at pH 3.0 and 50°C, and they showed higher proteolytic activity than the alkaline proteinases which were optimally active at pH 9.0 and 50 °C. Proteinases in peak at pH 3.0 were inhibited by pepstatin A, but those in peak at pH 9.0 were highly inhibited by PMSF, TLCK and soybean trypsin inhibitor, suggesting that both aspartic and serine proteinases were existed in beardless barb muscle. The proteinases were stable in pH range of 2.0-5.0 but unstable at the temperatures higher than 40 °C. NaCl suppressed the proteolytic activity, ATP activated the proteinase activity, while CaCl₂, MgCl₂ and CoCl₂ exhibited no influence on the activity. The results implied that cathepsin D is the predominant proteinase responsible for autolysis in beardless barb. The findings were useful to improve the processing and qualities of Ka-pi-plaa product using beardless barb as raw material.     

Effect of select parameters on the properties of edible film from water-soluble fish proteins in surimi wash-water

Edible film from water-soluble fish proteins were developed by casting film solution on leveled trays and effects of pH (9.5, 10.0 and 10.5), heating temperature (60, 70 and 80 °C), and heating time (10, 20 and 30 min) of the film solution on various film properties were determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The impact of pH and heating temperature of film solution was more significant, overall, on the film's properties than heating time. Contour plots of tensile strength and elongation at break was highest at pH of 10.0 at 70 °C (2.75-3.02 MPa) but low in elongation at break (6.35-9.16%), while water vapor permeability and oxygen permeability were at their lowest (58.55-65.96 g mm/m² d kPa and 351.33-624.18 cm³ μm/m² d kPa). There was a direct correlation between the films’ and proteins’ solubility on one hand, and heating temperature of film solution on the other, which reversed with change in pH of film solution. Film color was darker and more yellowish with increase in the pH of film solution.     

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Freeze-Dried and Oven Dried Corn Gluten Meals

The physicochemical and functional properties of convection oven- and freeze-dried gluten meals of two corn varieties were evaluated. The physicochemical properties (water solubility index, water absorption index, Hunter color parameters, and bulk density) and functional properties (water absorption, oil absorption, least gelation concentration, protein solubility, and emulsification properties) of convection-oven and freeze-dried corn gluten meals were compared with each other and soy flour. Freeze-dried corn gluten meals was observed to have lower bulk density (0.244-0.263 kg/m³) and was lighter in color (high L and ΔE) compared to their counterpart convection oven-dried gluten meals. Freeze-dried gluten meals from both corn varieties showed significantly higher oil absorption, water absorption, pH, emulsification, and protein solubility compared to oven-dried corn gluten meals. The gluten meals from both corn varieties had lower water absorption and bulk density but higher oil absorption than soy flour, suggesting the hydrophobic nature of corn proteins. Corn gluten meals formed thin (pourable) emulsions compared to soy flour emulsions, which were thick salad dressing type. Freeze- and convection oven-dried corn gluten meals showed significantly lower protein solubility measured at different pH than soy flour.     

电潜泵大修打捞配套工具研制

随着采液时间的延长,电潜泵井事故不断增加,仅辽河油田每年就有30口左右的电泵井需要转大修.由于没有专用的打捞工具,作业设备的能力有限,其处理事故的周期往往较长,效果不理想.因此,在已有φ139.7mm套管内电泵打捞工具的基础上,研制开发了φ177.8 mm套管内电泵打捞工具,解决了油田电泵打捞的难题.     

Fish assemblages and stream hydraulics: consistent relations across spatial scales and regions

General relationships between organisms and their habitat, consistent across spatial scales and regions, suggest the existence of repeatable ecological processes and are useful for the management of stream networks. From published data, we defined four guilds of European fish species with contrasting preferences for microhabitat hydraulics within stream reaches. At the scale of stream reaches and across 139 French sites (590 460 fishes sampled), we analysed how fish guild proportions were related to reach hydraulics (proportion of pools vs. riffles %POOL; median discharge by unit width Q50/W). The strongest correlations were observed between two fish guilds and %POOL (p < 0.001, r² ≥ 0.41) and between one fish guild proportion and Q50/W (p < 0.001, r² = 0.10). These reach–scale relationships were consistent across six large French basins, and consistent with the analyses made at the microhabitat scale. Therefore, microhabitat preferences for hydraulics are strong enough to generate consistent reach‐scale community responses to hydraulics across regions, despite the influence of other filters such as temperature, nutrient levels or history. The distribution of basic geomorphic features (pools, riffles) in streams and their modification (by dams, weirs and dikes) can modify the proportion of fish guilds by up to 80%, probably contributing to the long‐term decline of riffle‐dwelling species in Europe. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.