The association of the population recruitment of gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus, with Mississippi River discharge

Gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus, which constitutes a major industrial reduction fishery in the USA, spawn across the northern Gulf of Mexico with a focus of spawning about the Mississippi Delta. This species is estuarine dependent; adults spawn over the continental shelf and their larvae are transported, by mechanisms that are presently not well understood, to estuarine nursery areas. Larval gulf menhaden, along with some other surface oriented larval fishes, appear to aggregate along the Mississippi River plume front, while evidence of the ecological consequences of this aggregation in terms of the feeding, growth, and survival of larvae is ambiguous. On an annual scale, Mississippi River discharge is negatively associated with numbers of half year old recruits. Discharge of the Mississippi River and the population recruitment of gulf menhaden may be plausibly linked through the action of the river's plume and its front on the shoreward transport of larvae. Greater river discharge results in an expansive plume that might project larvae farther offshore and prolong the shoreward transport of larvae. An indirect, decadal scale, positive response of recruitment and river discharge is possible, but not certain. Recruitment became elevated after 1975 when river discharge increased and became highly variable. This response might owe to enhanced primary and secondary production driven by nutrient influx from the Mississippi River.     

Development of Green-Naghdi models with a wave-absorbing beach for nonlinear, irregular wave propagation

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional Green-Naghdi (GN) models equipped with a numerical wave-absorbing beach have been developed to simulate nonlinear, regular, and irregular wave propagation. The numerical beach is introduced near the downstream boundary to absorb outgoing waves. An appropriate amount of numerical damping and an appropriate length of numerical beach are investigated using numerical experiments. The results show that the GN models with a numerical beach work very well in simulating wave propagation in water in a small computational domain.     

Manpower and employment issues

Overmanning and restrictive labour practices are major causes of low productivity in Indian ports. Proposals are put forward for a programme of reforms to support investment in modern cargo handling systems.     

Basic Analytical Study of Pantograph-catenary System Dynamics

For a high speed electrical rail system, good dynamic performance of the pantograph-catenary system is vital for smooth and continuous current collection. It has been known for many years that to achieve this the head of the pantograph should be made as light as possible and the average stiffness of the catenary should be high. These conclusions, however, have been reached by numerical modelling and operational experience. In this paper the pantograph-catenary system is modelled as a time-varying, single degree-of-freedom system to facilitate an analytical investigation of the system dynamics. Although the model is very simple, it allows physical insight into the dynamic behaviour of the system, and because the excitation is parametric it also allows the stability of the system to be investigated. The finite element method is used to determine the catenary characteristics and Floquet theory is used to analyse the behaviour of the coupled system.     

海上平台水喷淋系统喷头选型

水喷淋系统是海上平台上非常重要的安全保护系统之一，喷头的选型是水喷淋系统设计中的重点和难点。对此结合海上平台的特点，从理论和海上工程应用等方面进行了论述，提供了海上平台水喷淋头喷头选型的方法，可供同行参考使用。     

施工导流在内河航道干地开挖工程中的应用

通过施工导流在内河航道干地开挖施工中的应用，结合内河航道干地开挖的具体特点，分析影响施工导流成败的主要因素．介绍了在施工中应注意的主要技术要点。     

提速电力机车安全监测系统及判据研究

对目前提速电力机车的运用安全、修程修制等问题作了简明的阐述,提出机车安全监测系统研制的总体方案及故障判别原则。     

广梅汕铁路实施大客户营销战略的探讨

以广梅汕铁路有限责任公司在货运营销中探索铁路货运走向物流化,实施大客户战略为例,探讨铁路货运实施大客户战略过程中存在的主要问题,提出坚持科学发展观,进一步实施大客户战略的对策。     

现代船舶动力定位系统设计

围绕现代动力定位系统的设计问题,讨论系统的构建、数学建模、控制器设计和推力器的推力分配,重点给出了基于扩展Kalman滤波的动力定位LQG控制器设计算法。     

水泥搅拌体不同龄期强度之间的关系

从现场几个实际工程中水泥搅拌体各龄期强度的分析结果表明,尽管水泥搅拌体的强度存在着较大的离散性,但是水泥搅拌体各龄期强度之间仍存在着一定的规律,对天津港地区,可用公式qu90=2.84qu14和qu90=1.76qu28换算水泥搅拌体90d龄期的强度。