Characterization of Shewanella sp. Isolated from Cultured Loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

Shewanella infection of fish has become a significant problem in aquaculture. In September 2014, a disease was seen in cultured loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) in Xuzhou, central China. A gram-negative bacillus was isolated from the diseased loaches and was tentatively named strain MS1, which was then identified as Shewanella sp. by physiological and biochemical characteristics analysis. The strain MS1 showed highest 16S rRNA sequence identities (98.93%, 98.87%) with the latest two species listed (Shewanella sp. MR7, Shewanella sp. MR4). The phylogenetic tree constructed on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences strongly indicated that the strain MS1 is most closely related to the new Shewanella strains MR7 and MR4. The isolate MS1 was confirmed as the pathogen of the infected loaches by experimental reinoculation. The strain was susceptible to most antimicrobial agents tested, but resistant to glycopeptides (vancomycin, teicoplanin) and lincosamide (lincomycin, clindamycin). This is the second report on Shewanella sp. isolated from the diseased loach

Method for Flow Measurement in Microfluidic Channels Based on Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy

We have developed and characterized two novel micro flow sensors based on measuring the electrical impedance of the interface between the flowing liquid and metallic electrodes embedded on the channel walls. These flow sensors are very simple to fabricate and use, are extremely compact and can easily be integrated into most microfluidic systems. One of these devices is a micropore with two tantalum/platinum electrodes on its edges; the other is a micro channel with two tantalum /platinum electrodes placed perpendicular to the channel on its walls. In both sensors the flow rate is measured via the electrical impedance between the two metallic electrodes, which is the impedance of two metal-liquid junctions in series. The dependency of the metal-liquid junction impedance on the flow rate of the liquid has been studied. The effects of different parameters on the sensor's outputs and its noise behavior are investigated. Design guidelines are extracted and applied to achieve highly sensitive micro flow sensors with low noise.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Microsatellite-Based Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Relationship of Artificial Hybrid Jiyan-1 Puffer and their Parents, Takifugu flavidus and Takifugu rubripes

In this study, the genetic diversity and relationship of artificial hybrid Jiyan-1 puffer and their parents (T. flavidus ♀ and T. rubripes ♂) were evaluated using 15 microsatellite markers. The average number of alleles (Na), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and expected heterozygosity (He) of T. flavidus were higher than the average values of T. rubripes. Jiyan-1 puffer showed a relatively high level of genetic diversity, with an average allele number of 6.467 and mean observed and expected heterozygosity of 0.560 and 0.592, respectively. UPGMA cluster analysis indicated that Jiyan-1 puffer inherited more genetic information from female parents. This study indicates that the microsatellite markers will be useful for investigation of genetic background of puffer fish, as well as better conservation and sustainable utilization of puffer fish in aquaculture

Syntheses of stereoregular and optically active polyamides from active 4-chloro-1-benzotriazolyl diesters and diamines

A new route to prepare optically active polyamides was established, based on the polycondensation of two new active diesters: the active diesters of 4-chloro-1 hydroxybenzotriazole, such as 1,1'-(terephthaloyldioxy)bis(4-chloro-benzotriazole), and 1,1'-(isophthaloyldioxy)bis(4-chlorobenzotriazole), with optically active isomers of 2,4-diaminopentane. Dipolar aprotic solvents such as N , N -dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide were used as reaction solvents. The solution polycondensation carried out in solution at room temperature afforded optically active polyamides. The aminolysis of the two active diesters was carried out as a model reaction study.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38817/1/080240106_ftp.pd

Application of Multi-Armed Bandit Algorithm in Quantitative Finance

The volatility and diversity of financial markets make it challenging for a single portfolio achieve better returns, therefore, adjustable portfolios based on the risk tolerance of clients are highly demanded. However, traditional portfolio strategies cannot meet this requirement. Regarding this issue, the paper combines Fuzzy C-means (FCM) with the Upper Confidence Bound (UCB) algorithm, Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimizing UCB parameters (GA-UCB) and UCB redefining the fitness of GA (UCB-GA) to construct an investment portfolio strategy that can be dynamically adjusted. The research methodology is as follows: the assets are grouped by FCM, using UCB to find the best cluster among the groups; UCB, UCB-GA, and GA-UCB are used to refine the weight distribution of the best cluster. The result shows that the cumulative return of the cluster recommended by the UCB is significantly higher than that recommended by FCM, the Sortino Ratio is improved by 1.18, and the Maximum Drawdown is reduced by 8%. In terms of the weights of the optimal cluster; the portfolio strategy from GA-UCB has the highest cumulative return of approximately 250% in algorithms. The Sortino Ratio of the GA-UCB is the largest at 3.23, which is 1.5 and 1.63 higher than the UCB and the UCB-GA, respectively. In addition, the Maximum Drawdown of the GA-UCB is 26%, which is 1% lower than UCB-GA and 3% lower than UCB. Combining FCM and GA- UCB can improve investment return and stability by adjusting the portfolio weight, which leads to better return risk ratios