Influence of salinity on the early development and biochemical dynamics of a marine fish, Inimicusjaponicus

Fertilised eggs of the devil stringer （Inimicusjaponicus） were incubated at different salinity levels （21, 25, 29, 33, and 37）, and then the hatching performances, morphological parameters, and biochemical composition （protein, lipid and carbohydrate） of the larvae were assayed to determine the influence of salinity on the early development ofl.japonicus. The tested salinity levels did not affect the times of hatching or mouth opening for yolk-sac larvae. However, the salinity significantly influenced the hatching and survival rates of open-mouthed larvae, as well as the morphology of yolk-sac larvae. The data indicated that 30.5 to 37.3 and 24.4 to 29.8 were suitable salinity ranges for the survival of embryos and larvae ofl.japonicus, respectively. Larvae incubated at a salinity level of 29 had the greatest full lengths, and decreasing yolk volume was positively correlated with the environmental salinity. With increasing salinity, the individual dry weights of newly hatched larvae or open-mouthed larvae decreased significantly. Newly hatched larvae incubated at a salinity level of 29 had the greatest metabolic substrate contents and gross energy levels, while the open- mouthed larvae＇s greatest values occurred at a salinity level of 25. Larvae incubated in the salinity range of 33 to 37 had the lowest nutritional reserves and energy values. Thus, the I.japonicus yolk-sac larvae acclimated more readily to the lower salinity level than the embryos, and higher salinity levels negatively influenced larval growth and development. In conclusion, the environmental salinity level should be maintained at 29-33 during embryogenesis and at 25-29 during early larval development for this species. Our results can be used to provide optimum aquaculture conditions for the early larval development of I.japonicus.

Transfer characteristics of dynamic biochemical signals in non-reversing pulsatile flows in a shallow Y-shaped microfluidic channel: signal filtering and nonlinear amplitude-frequency modulation

The transports of the dynamic biochemical signals in the non-reversing pulsatile flows in the mixing microchannel of a Y-shaped microfluidic device are ana- lyzed. The results show that the mixing micro-channel acts as a low-pass filter, and the biochemical signals are nonlinearly modulated by the pulsatile flows, which depend on the biochemical signal frequency, the flow signal frequency, and the biochemical signal transporting distance. It is concluded that, the transfer characteristics of the dynamic biochemical signals, which are transported in the time-varying flows, should be carefully considered for better loading biochemical signals on the cells cultured on the bottom of the microfluidic channel.

Dispersion of Dynamic Biochemical Signals in Steady Flow in a Shallow Y-type Microfluidic Channel

This paper presents an analysis of dispersion of dynamic biochemical signals in steady flow in a shallow Y-type microfluidic channel. A method is presented to control the flow widths of two steady flows in the Y-type microchannel from two inlets.The transfer function for the Y-type microchannel is given by solving the governing equation for the Taylor-Aris dispersion in the microchannel. The amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency relations are provided which show that a shallow Y-type microchannel acts as a low-pass filter. The transports of different dynamic biochemical signals are investigated. In comparison with a fully mixing microfluidic channel, the magnitudes of the dynamic signals at the outlets in a Y-type microchannel are much smaller than those in a fully mixing microchannel, which demonstrates that the amplitude attenuation in a Y-type microchannel is larger than that of a fully mixing microchannel due to the transverse molecular diffusion. In order to control the desired signal in a microchannel, the solution of the inverse problem for the channel is also presented.

Transportation of dynamic biochemical signals in non-reversing oscillatory flows in blood vessels

Biological processes and behaviors of endothelial cells on the inner surfaces of blood vessels are regulated by the stimulation from biochemical signals contained in the blood.In this paper,the transportation of dynamic biochemical signals in non-reversing oscillatory flows in blood vessels is analyzed by numerically solving a nonlinear governing equation for the time-dependent Taylor-Aris dispersion.Results show that the nonlinear frequency-amplitude modulation of the transportation of biochemical signals is more(less) significant when the frequency of an oscillatory flow is close to(higher than) that of an oscillatory signal.Under steady flow,the transfer function for the signal transmission system is obtained,showing that the system is a low-pass filter.Lower inner radius or higher center-line velocity of a blood vessel increases the cutoff frequency of the transportation system.These results suggest the possibility and condition for the 'remote' transmission of low-frequency dynamic biochemical signals in pulsatile blood flows.

Microfluidic-based single cell trapping using a combination of stagnation point flow and physical barrier

Single cell trapping in vitro by microfluidic device is an emerging approach for the study of the relationship between single cells and their dynamic biochemical microenvironments. In this paper, a hydrodynamic-based microfluidic device for single cell trapping is designed using a combination of stagnation point flow and physical barrier.The microfluidic device overcomes the weakness of the traditional ones, which have been only based upon either stagnation point flows or physical barriers, and can conveniently load dynamic biochemical signals to the trapped cell. In addition, it can connect with a programmable syringe pump and a microscope to constitute an integrated experimental system.It is experimentally verified that the microfluidic system can trap single cells in vitro even under flow disturbance and conveniently load biochemical signals to the trapped cell. The designed micro-device would provide a simple yet effective experimental platform for further study of the interactions between single cells and their microenvironments.

Effect of a high strength chemical industry wastewater on microbial community dynamics and mesophilic methane generation

A high strength chemical industry wastewater was assessed for its impact on anaerobic microbial com- munity dynamics and consequently mesophilic methane generation. Cumulative methane production was 251 mL/g total chemical oxygen demand removed at standard temperature and pressure at the end of 30 days experimental period with a highest recorded methane percentage of 80.6% of total biogas volume. Volatile fatty acids （VFAs） analysis revealed that acetic acid was the major intermediate VFAs produced with propionic acid accumulating over the experimental period. Quantitative analysis of microbial communities in the test and control groups with quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction highlighted that in the test group, Eubacteria （96.3%） was dominant in comparison with methanogens （3.7%）. The latter were dominated by Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales while in test groups increased over the experimental period, reaching a maximum on day 30. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile was performed, targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Eubacteria and Archaea, with the DNA samples extracted at 3 different time points from the test groups. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequences using the neighborhood joining method. The analysis revealed that the presence of organisms resembling Syntrophomonadaceae could have contributed to increased production of acetic and propionic acid intermediates while decrease of organisms resembling Pelotomaculum sp. could have most likely contributed to accumulation of propionic acid. This study suggested that the degradation of organic components within the high strength industrial wastewater is closely linked with the activity of certain niche microbial communities within eubacteria and methanogens.