Relative importance of macrophyte community versus water quality variables for predicting fish assemblages in coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes

Fish have been shown to be sensitive indicators of environmental quality in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Fish composition also reflects aquatic macrophyte communities, which provide them with critical habitat. Although investigators have shown that the relationship between water quality and fish community structure can be used to indicate wetland health, we speculate that this relationship is a result of the stronger, more direct relationship between water quality and macrophytes, together with the ensuing interconnection between macrophyte and fish assemblages. In this study, we use data collected from 115 Great Lakes coastal marshes to test the hypothesis that plants are better predictors of fish species composition than is water quality. First we use canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to conduct an ordination of the fish community constrained by water quality parameters. We then use co-correspondence analysis (COCA) to conduct a direct ordination of the fish community with the plant community data. By comparing the statistic ‘percent fit,’ which refers to the cumulative percentage variance of the species data, we show that plants are consistently better predictors of the fish community than are water quality variables in three separate trials: all wetlands in the Great Lakes basin (whole: 21.2% vs 14.0%; n = 60), all wetlands in Lakes Huron and Superior (Upper: 20.3% vs 18.8%; n =  32), and all wetlands in Georgian Bay and the North Channel (Georgian Bay: 18% vs 17%; n =  70). This is the largest study to directly examine plant–fish interactions in wetlands of the Great Lakes basin.     

Apoferritin Modified Magnetic Particles as Doxorubicin Carriers for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Magnetic particle mediated transport in combination with nanomaterial based drug carrier has a great potential for targeted cancer therapy. In this study, doxorubicin encapsulation into the apoferritin and its conjugation with magnetic particles was investigated by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF). The quantification of encapsulated doxorubicin was performed by fluorescence spectroscopy and compared to CE-LIF. Moreover, the significant enhancement of the doxorubicin signal was observed by addition of methanol into the sample solution.     

Setup and procedure for online identification of electricallystimulated muscle with Matlab Simulink

This paper first describes a laboratory setup for biomechanical experiments that runs within the universal simulation environment Matlab Simulink. The overall system comprises a personal computer, two AMTI (Advanced Mechanical Technology, Inc., Watertown, MA 02472) force plates, Parotec force-sensor shoe insoles, Optotrak system for noncontact 3D position measuring, and a computer-controlled four-channel electrical stimulator. Conceptually, the most important application is implementation of closed-loop electrical stimulation of intact and paralyzed subjects in the laboratory. Second, the system was tested in real-time muscle model identification procedure during a standing experiment. The plantarflexors of three nonimpaired subjects were excited with pseudorandom binary sequences (PRBSs) with small deviations around selected operating points. Electrically stimulated muscles were presented with a linear local dynamic block that was identified with a recursive least-square method (RARX). RARX block was designed with fundamental Matlab Simulink blocks that support real-time operation. Introduced was online estimation of model output, which offers a great manner of instant model validation. Two modes of operation with online validation were tested, In the first mode, the operating point for selected excitation level was identified online. In the second mode, the operating point was measured in preceding experiments. Both procedures resulted in satisfying second-order models that will be used in the adaptive controller design     

Post Audit Analysis of a Groundwater Level Prediction Model in Developed Semiconfined Aquifer System

This paper assesses groundwater recharge under conditions of long-term groundwater pumping at the Ravnik pumping site in Croatia and analyses the groundwater level prediction model used in prior aquifer modelling. The results of model calibration revealed a very low net infiltration rate at the start of the pumping site’s operation. As the operation continued, the net infiltration rate slowly increased, while the percentage of infiltrated rainfall scaled up with increasing pumping rates. The predicted recharge of the covering aquitard amounts approximately 14–15 % of the mean annual precipitation. The aquifer recharge takes place from aquitard by seepage. A subsequent simulation of the pumping site’s operation was performed for the 9 years period on the assumption that the pumping rates and the groundwater recharge would be the same as those recorded during the final calibration years. Results show that the post audit measured levels correspond relatively well to the predicted levels and that increasing of the pumping rate causes changes in the water budget in advantage of net groundwater recharge as a consequence of spreading recharge area outside of previous model boundaries.     

Alternating Current Electrophoretic Deposition of Antibacterial Bioactive Glass-Chitosan Composite Coatings

Alternating current (AC) electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used to produce multifunctional composite coatings combining bioactive glass (BG) particles and chitosan. BG particles of two different sizes were used, i.e., 2 μm and 20–80 nm in average diameter. The parameter optimization and characterization of the coatings was conducted by visual inspection and by adhesion strength tests. The optimized coatings were investigated in terms of their hydroxyapatite (HA) forming ability in simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to 21 days. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results showed the successful HA formation on the coatings after 21 days. The first investigations were conducted on planar stainless steel sheets. In addition, scaffolds made from a TiAl4V6 alloy were considered to show the feasibility of coating of three dimensional structures by EPD. Because both BG and chitosan are antibacterial materials, the antibacterial properties of the as-produced coatings were investigated using E. coli bacteria cells. It was shown that the BG particle size has a strong influence on the antibacterial properties of the coatings.     

Soft computing agents for e-Health in application to the research and control of unknown diseases

This paper presents an ontology-based holonic diagnostic system (OHDS) that combines the holonic paradigm with multi-agent system technology and ontology design, for the organization of unstructured biomedical research into structured disease information. We use ontologies as ‘brain’ for the holonic diagnostic system to enhance its ability to structure information in a meaningful way and share information fast. To integrate distributed heterogeneous knowledge available on the Web we use intelligent agents augmented by the mechanisms of the technology of fuzzy sets, which automatically structures the information in the adequate ontology template. Our vision of how this system implementation should be supported by a solid security shield that ensures the privacy and safety of medical information concludes the paper.     

Influence of a prefilming treatment on the corrosion resistance of aluminium brass in aqueous solutions

The influence of a short-time prefilming treatment with benzimidazole-2-thiol on the corrosion resistance of Cu Zn 22Al 2 has been examined. The efficiency of the prefilming treatment has been evaluated by recording the anodic and the cathodic polarization curves in 0.1 N NaCl. Ellipsometric measurements have been carried out in order to obtain some information on the properties of the layer. Comparative data on “prefilmed” and “bare” Cu Zn 22Al2 specimens have been obtained in aqueous chloride solutions circulating in a corrosion loop and by tests in moist atmosphere containing SO₂. Galvanic corrosion testing have been carried out by using small not prefilmed areas and large prefilmed ones, simulating in this way the partial removal of the film from the metallic surface. The results suggest that a metal-inhibitor film forms on Al-brass, which mainly affects the cathodic reaction rate. Furthermore, the tests clearly indicate that the effect of benzimidazole-2-thiol is strongly influenced by a pre-existing oxide layer on the alloy surface. A good protection against atmospheric corrosion is reached by prefilming treatment. Corrosion loop testing indicate that prefilming does not hinder the formation of protective corrosion products on the surface of the alloy in flowing aqueous solutions.     

Player behavior and traffic characterization for MMORPGs: a survey

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are one of the most exciting and most rapidly expanding genres of online games. This survey presents state-of-the-art and current research efforts in measuring, characterizing, and modeling the player behavior and the network traffic, as well as the relationships between them. We also tabulate the measurement, modeling and analysis results regarding network traffic and player behavior found in literature, with key information regarding each dataset. Finally, we list currently confirmed claims and open research questions in the area of MMORPGs.     

Biofuel developments in Mozambique. Update and analysis of policy,potential and reality

Climate change, rising oil prices and concerns about future energy supplies have contributed to a growing interest in using biomass for energy purposes. Several studies have highlighted the biophysical potential of biofuel production on the African continent, and analysts see Mozambique as one of the most promising African countries. Favorable growing conditions and the availability of land, water and labor are mentioned as major drivers behind this potential. Moreover, the potential of biofuel production to generate socio-economic benefits is reflected in the government’s policy objectives for the development of the sector, such as reducing fuel import dependency and creating rural employment. This article provides an overview of biofuel developments in Mozambique and explores to what extent reality matches the suggested potential in the country.     

Multilayers of Ge nanocrystals embedded in Al2O3 matrix: Structural and electrical studies

In this paper, Ge/Al₂O₃ multilayer systems were grown by pulsed laser ablation. The grown samples were annealed at 900 °C to promote the formation of Ge nanocrystals. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of a multilayer system. Grazing incidence small angles X-ray scattering technique demonstrates the formation of Ge nanoclusters formed between alumina layers. Room temperature I-V measurements showed weak carrier trapping in the system. This was explained by the leakage caused by Ge diffusion through the multilayer.