This paper describes an extension to a speciation-based particle swarm optimizer (SPSO) to improve performance in dynamic environments. The improved SPSO has adopted several proven useful techniques. In particular, SPSO is shown to be able to adapt to a series of dynamic test cases with varying number of peaks (assuming maximization). Inspired by the concept of quantum swarms, this paper also proposes a particle diversification method that promotes particle diversity within each converged species. Our results over the moving peaks benchmark test functions suggest that SPSO incorporating this particle diversification method can greatly improve its adaptability hence optima tracking performance.

The emergence of drug‐resistant bacteria is becoming the focus of global public health. Early‐stage pathogen bioimaging will offer a unique perspective to obtain infection information in patients. A photoacoustic (PA) contrast agent based on functional peptide modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs@P1) is developed. These nanoparticles can be specifically tailored surface peptides by bacterial overexpressed enzyme inducing in situ aggregation of the gold nanoparticles. In the meantime, the close aggregation based on the hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking, and hydrophobic interaction of the peptide residues on the surface of gold nanoparticles exhibits a typical redshifted and broadened plasmon band. In addition, this active targeting and following in situ stimuli‐induced aggregation contribute to increased nanoparticle accumulation in the infected site. Finally, the dynamic aggregation of AuNPs@P1 results in dramatically enhanced photoacoustic signals for bioimaging bacterial infection in vivo with high sensitivity and specificity. It is envisioned that this PA contrast agent may provide a new approach for early detection of bacterial infection in vivo.

Chinese grass shrimp, Palaemonetes sinensis (Sollaud, 1911), is an economically important freshwater shrimp in China and adjacent areas. It is advisable to use anaesthesia in this species for certain handling and shipping operations; however, there have been no investigations into the recommended dosages. Here, the influence of five menthol concentrations (varying from 100 to 500 mg/L) on three different size classes of P. sinensis were examined at 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28°C.Induction and recovery times for each shrimp were recorded, and effects of temperature, size and menthol dose on induction and recovery times were observed.Results showed that menthol dose, water temperature and shrimp size significantly influence anaesthesia in P. sinensis. Induction time decreased linearly with increasing water temperature and concentration of menthol, and increased with body weight.However, recovery times lengthened with concentration and temperature, and became shorter with body weight. Average body weight of the shrimps generally decreased after anaesthesia. Mortality of shrimps was correlated with temperature, dose and size. These results suggest that menthol is an effective rapid anaesthetic for P. sinensis, but there may be some disadvantages, including slow recovery and possible mortality for small shrimps and at higher temperatures and dosages.

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