Representation of the Weddell Sea deep water masses in the ocean component of the NCAR-CCSM model

We examine Weddell Sea deep water mass distributions with respect to the results from three different model runs using the oceanic component of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model (NCAR-CCSM). One run is inter-annually forced by corrected NCAR/NCEP fluxes, while the other two are forced with the annual cycle obtained from the same climatology. One of the latter runs includes an interactive sea-ice model. Optimum Multiparameter analysis is applied to separate the deep water masses in the Greenwich Meridian section (into the Weddell Sea only) to measure the degree of realism obtained in the simulations. First, we describe the distribution of the simulated deep water masses using observed water type indices. Since the observed indices do not provide an acceptable representation of the Weddell Sea deep water masses as expected, they are specifically adjusted for each simulation. Differences among the water masses` representations in the three simulations are quantified through their root-mean-square differences. Results point out the need for better representation (and inclusion) of ice-related processes in order to improve the oceanic characteristics and variability of dense Southern Ocean water masses in the outputs of the NCAR-CCSM model, and probably in other ocean and climate models.

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the South Brazil: Relationship to water masses and nutrient distributions

Using distributions of benthic Foraminifera and bottom-water variables (depth, salinity, temperature, oxygen, suspended matter, organic matter, phosphate, silicate, nitrite, and nitrate), we investigated movements of water masses on the South Brazilian Shelf (27-30 degrees S) and assessed the seasonality of continental runoff on the distribution of shelf water masses. The data were obtained from water and sediment samples collected in the austral winter of 2003 and austral summer of 2004 in three transects. The terrestrial nutrient input was significantly reduced at stations away from the coast, but high values of nutrients were maintained in subsurface waters due the presence of South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) at greater depths. At shallow sampling stations the influence of freshwater runoff was related to (1) the dominance of calcareous benthic Foraminifera, such as lagoon-related Pseudononion atlanticum, Hanzawaia boueana, Bulimina marginata, Bolivina striatula, Elphidium poeyanum, together with several agglutinated species, including Arenoparrella mexicana, Gaudryina exilis, and Trochammina spp., common in coastal environments subject to wide salinity fluctuations. In contrast, smaller forms and higher species diversity characterized the assemblage at offshore stations. In winter, the presence of Buccella peruviana and Uvigerina peregrina at Santa Marta Cape suggest the possible transport of those species of Subantarctic Shelf Waters (SASW) origin. Foraminifera associated to Subtropical Shelf Water (STSW) were dominated by Globocassidulina subglobosa in both seasons. In summer, the occurrence of U. peregrina in the shallower stations suggested the influence of SACW nutrients brought up by upwelling of deeper waters. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of CA125, HE4, risk ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA), and risk malignancy index (RMI) for the classification of ovarian masses

OBJECTIVE: Differentiation between benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms is essential for creating a system for patient referrals. Therefore, the contributions of the tumor markers CA125 and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) as well as the risk ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA) and risk malignancy index (RMI) values were considered individually and in combination to evaluate their utility for establishing this type of patient referral system. METHODS: Patients who had been diagnosed with ovarian masses through imaging analyses (n = 128) were assessed for their expression of the tumor markers CA125 and HE4. The ROMA and RMI values were also determined. The sensitivity and specificity of each parameter were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curves according to the area under the curve (AUC) for each method. RESULTS: The sensitivities associated with the ability of CA125, HE4, ROMA, or RMI to distinguish between malignant versus benign ovarian masses were 70.4%, 79.6%, 74.1%, and 63%, respectively. Among carcinomas, the sensitivities of CA125, HE4, ROMA (pre-and post-menopausal), and RMI were 93.5%, 87.1%, 80%, 95.2%, and 87.1%, respectively. The most accurate numerical values were obtained with RMI, although the four parameters were shown to be statistically equivalent. CONCLUSION: There were no differences in accuracy between CA125, HE4, ROMA, and RMI for differentiating between types of ovarian masses. RMI had the lowest sensitivity but was the most numerically accurate method. HE4 demonstrated the best overall sensitivity for the evaluation of malignant ovarian tumors and the differential diagnosis of endometriosis. All of the parameters demonstrated increased sensitivity when tumors with low malignancy potential were considered low-risk, which may be used as an acceptable assessment method for referring patients to reference centers.

Reducing the parameter space for unparticle-inspired models using white dwarf masses

Based on astrophysical constraints derived from Chandrasekhar's mass limit for white dwarfs, we study the effects of the model on the parameters of unparticle-inspired gravity, on scales Lambda(U) > 1 TeV and d(U) approximate to 1.

Tracing latitudinal gradient, river discharge and water masses along the Subtropical South American Coast using benthic Foraminifera assemblages

More than 30% of Buccella peruviana (D'Orbigny), Globocassidulina crassa porrecta (Earland & Heron-Allen), Cibicides mackannai (Galloway & Wissler) and C. refulgens (Montfort) indicate the presence of cold Sub Antarctic Shelf Water in winter, from 33.5 to 38.3 degrees S, deeper than 100 m, in the southern part of the study area. In summer, the abundance of this association decreases to less than 15% around 37.5-38.9 degrees S where two species (Globocassidulina subglobosa (Brady), Uvigerina peregrina (Cushman) take over. G. subglobosa, U. peregrina, and Hanzawaia boueana (D'Orbigny) are found at 27-33 degrees S in both seasons in less than 55 m deep in the northern part, and are linked with warm Subtropical Shelf Water and Tropical Water. Freshwater influence was signalized by high silicate concentration and by the presence of Pseudononion atlanticum (Cushman), Bolivina striatula (Cushman), Buliminella elegantissima (D'Orbigny), Bulimina elongata (D'Orbigny), Elphidium excavatum (Terquem), E. poeyanum (D'Orbigny), Ammobaculites exiguus (Cushman & Bronnimann), Arenoparrella mexicana (Kornfeld), Gaudryina exillis (Cushman & Bronnimann), Textularia earlandi (Parker) and thecamoebians in four sectors of the shelf. The presence of Bulimina marginata (D'Orbigny) between 34.1-32.8 degrees S in the winter and 34.2-32.7 degrees S in the summer indicates that the influence of the Subtropical Shelf Front on the sediment does not change seasonally, otherwise, the presence of Angulogerina angulosa (Williamson) in the winter, only in Mar del Plata (38.9 degrees S), show that Malvinas currents are not influencing the sediment in the summer.

Modeling the gluon propagator in Landau gauge: Lattice estimates of pole masses and dimension-two condensates

We present an analytic description of numerical results for the Landau-gauge SU(2) gluon propagator D(p(2)), obtained from lattice simulations (in the scaling region) for the largest lattice sizes to date, in d = 2, 3 and 4 space-time dimensions. Fits to the gluon data in 3d and in 4d show very good agreement with the tree-level prediction of the refined Gribov-Zwanziger (RGZ) framework, supporting a massive behavior for D(p(2)) in the infrared limit. In particular, we investigate the propagator's pole structure and provide estimates of the dynamical mass scales that can be associated with dimension-two condensates in the theory. In the 2d case, fitting the data requires a noninteger power of the momentum p in the numerator of the expression for D(p(2)). In this case, an infinite-volume-limit extrapolation gives D(0) = 0. Our analysis suggests that this result is related to a particular symmetry in the complex-pole structure of the propagator and not to purely imaginary poles, as would be expected in the original Gribov-Zwanziger scenario.

Tracing latitudinal gradient, river discharge and water masses along the subtropical South American coast using benthic Foraminifera assemblages

More than 30% of Buccella peruviana (D'Orbigny), Globocassidulina crassa porrecta (Earland & Heron-Allen), Cibicides mackannai (Galloway & Wissler) and C. refulgens (Montfort) indicate the presence of cold Sub Antarctic Shelf Water in winter, from 33.5 to 38.3º S, deeper than 100 m, in the southern part of the study area. In summer, the abundance of this association decreases to less than 15% around 37.5-38.9º S where two species (Globocassidulina subglobosa (Brady), Uvigerina peregrina (Cushman) take over. G. subglobosa, U. peregrina, and Hanzawaia boueana (D'Orbigny) are found at 27-33º S in both seasons in less than 55 m deep in the northern part, and are linked with warm Subtropical Shelf Water and Tropical Water. Freshwater influence was signalized by high silicate concentration and by the presence of Pseudononion atlanticum (Cushman), Bolivina striatula (Cushman), Buliminella elegantissima (D'Orbigny), Bulimina elongata (D'Orbigny), Elphidium excavatum (Terquem), E. poeyanum (D'Orbigny), Ammobaculites exiguus (Cushman & Brönnimann), Arenoparrella mexicana (Kornfeld), Gaudryina exillis (Cushman & Brönnimann), Textularia earlandi (Parker) and thecamoebians in four sectors of the shelf. The presence of Bulimina marginata (D'Orbigny) between 34.1-32.8º S in the winter and 34.2-32.7º S in the summer indicates that the influence of the Subtropical Shelf Front on the sediment does not change seasonally, otherwise, the presence of Angulogerina angulosa (Williamson) in the winter, only in Mar del Plata (38.9º S), show that Malvinas currents are not influencing the sediment in the summer.