The relationship of western Pacific monsoon and tropical cyclone activity to North Pacific and North American climate anomalies

This present study investigates the influence of western Pacific tropical cyclone activity as possible centers of anomalous tropical heating on the large-scale circulation over the Pacific region. The characterization of tropical cyclone activity via an index based on anomalous 700 mb zonal wind is described first. Patterns of anomalous large-scale extratropical circulation anomalies based on composites of similar periods of tropical cyclone activity are then presented, followed by general conclusions.

Anomalies in North American climate: the South Asian-tropical west Pacific connection

How do tropical heating fluctuations create North American climate anomalies? We propose some answers using the results from a simplified global atmospheric model. We find that the South Asian-tropical west Pacific area is especially effective at stimulating North American responses. The relatively strong tropical/extratropical interaction between these two areas is the result of two major processes acting on the Rossby wave signal induced by the tropical heating fluctuations. These factors are: 1) Wave guiding by the Asian-north Pacific subtropical jet; and 2) Wave amplification within unstable regions of the jet flank. These factors allow relatively small, remote, and short-term tropical fluctuations to have relatively large impacts on North American climate.

Long-term and seasonal patterns in coastal temperature and salinity along the North American west coast

Numerous integrated time series have been assembled that suggest global temperature has been increasing steadily over the last century. ... However, superimposed on the long-term warming trends of these series are decadal-scale fluctuations, periods of slightly increasing and even decreasing temperature followed by rapid increases in temperature. ... In this pilot study, data for 1931-1990 from eight [western North America] coastal stations are examined to test the utility of a state-space statistical model (developed by Dr. Roy Mendelssohn, PFEG) in separating and describing seasonal patterns and long-term trends.

South American streamflow and the extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation

This study investigates the extent of the affect [sic] of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation on South American streamflow. The response of South American precipitation and temperature to the extreme phases of ENSO (El Niño and La Niña events) is well documented; but the response of South American hydrology has been barely studied. Such paucity of research contrasts sharply with that available on the response of North American streamflow to ENSO events.

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 2014

Issues January - November/December 2014. (PDF contains 100 pages)

Dog chromosome-specific paints reveal evolutionary inter- and intrachromosomal rearrangements in the American mink and human

Forty chromosome-specific paint probes of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris, 2n = 78) were used to delineate conserved segments on metaphase chromosomes of the American mink (Mustela vison, 2n = 30) by fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Half of the 38 canine autosomal probes each painted one pair of homologous segments in a diploid mink metaphase, whereas the other 19 dog probes each painted from two to five pairs of discrete segments. In total, 38 canine autosomal paints highlighted 71 pairs of conserved segments in the mink. These painting results allow us to establish a complete comparative chromosome map between the American mink and domestic dog. This map demonstrates that extensive chromosome rearrangements differentiate the karyotypes of the dog and American mink. The 38 dog autosomes could be reconstructed from the 14 autosomes of the American mink through at least 47 fissions, 25 chromosome fusions, and six inversions. Furthermore, comparison of the current dog/mink map with the published human/dog map discloses 23 cryptic intrachromosomal rearrangements in 10 regions of conserved synteny in the human and American mink genomes and thus further refined the human/mink comparative genome map. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Identification of native American founder mtDNAs through the analysis of complete mtDNA sequences: Some caveats

In this study, a detailed analysis of both previously published and new data was performed to determine whether complete, or almost complete, mtDNA sequences can resolve the long-debated issue of which Asian mtDNAs were founder sequences for the Native American mtDNA pool. Unfortunately, we now know that coding region data and their analysis are not without problems. To obtain and report reasonably correct sequences does not seem to be a trivial task, and to discriminate between Asian-and Native American mtDNA ancestries may be more complex than previously believed. It is essential to take into account the effects of mutational hot spots in both the control and coding regions, so that the number of apparent Native American mtDNA founder sequences is not erroneously inflated. As we report here, a careful analysis of all available data indicates that there is very little evidence that more than five founder mtDNA sequences entered Beringia before the Last Glacial Maximum and left their traces in the current Native American mtDNA pool.

Molecular evidence for diphyly of the Asian catfish family Amblycipitidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes) and exclusion of the South American Aspredinidae from Sisoroidea

Amblycipitidae Day, 1873 is an Asian family of catfishes (Siluriformes) usually considered to contain 28 species placed in three genera: Amblyceps (14 spp.), Liobagrus (12 spp.) and Xiurenbagrus (2 spp.). Morphology-based systematics has supported the monophyly of this family, with some authors placing Amblycipitidae within a larger group including Akysidae, Sisoridae and Aspredinidae, termed the Sisoroidea. Here we investigate the phylogenetic relationships among four species of Amblyceps, six species of Liobagrus and the two species of Xiurenbagrus with respect to other sisoroid taxa as well as other catfish groups using 6100 aligned base pairs of DNA sequence data from the rag1 and rag2 genes of the nuclear genome and from three regions (cyt b, COL ND4 plus tRNA-His and tRNA-Ser) of the mitochondrial genome. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of the data indicate strong support for a diphyletic Amblycipitidae in which the genus Amblyceps is the sister group to the Sisoridae and a clade formed by genera Liobagrus and Xiurenbagrus is the sister group to Akysidae. These taxa together form a well supported monophyletic group that assembles all Asian sisoroid taxa, but excludes the South American Aspredinidae. Results for aspredinids are consistent with previous molecular studies that indicate these catfishes are not sisoroids, but the sister group to the South American doradoid catfishes (Auchenipteridae + Doradidae). The redefined sisoroid clade plus Bagridae, Horabagridae and (Ailia + Laides) make up a larger monophyletic group informally termed "Big Asia." Likelihood-based SH tests and Bayes Factor comparisons of the rag and the mitochondrial data partitions considered separately and combined reject both the hypothesis of amblycipitid monophyly and the hypothesis of aspredinid inclusion within Sisoroidea. This result for amblycipitids conflicts with a number of well documented morphological synapomorphies that we briefly review. Possible nomenclatural changes for amblycipitid taxa are noted.

Inbreeding depression for various traits in two cultured populations of the American bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck (1819) introduced into China

This paper examines the effect of inbreeding level of population on the magnitude of inbreeding depression expressed by comparing them between two cultured populations (A and B) in the hermaphroditic animal of the bay scallop Argopecten irradians irradians. Population A is expected to have less genetic variations and higher inbreeding level due to longer cultured history (20 generations) and less "ancestral" individuals (26 individuals) than population B due to shorter cultured history (4 generations) and more "ancestral" individuals (406 individuals). Two groups within each population were produced, one using self-fertilization and one using mass-mating within the same population. Selfed offspring (AS and BS) from two populations both had lower fitness components than their mass-mated counterparts (AM and BM) and exhibited inbreeding depression for all examined traits, e.g. lower hatching, less viability and slower growth, indicating that inbreeding depression is a common feature in this animal. Fitness components in all traits of offspring from population A significantly differed those from population B and the magnitude of inbreeding depression for all traits in population A with higher inbreeding level was significantly smaller than that in population B with lower inbreeding level, indicating that both fitness components and magnitude of inbreeding depression were significantly affected by inbreeding level of populations and genetic load harbored in population A may be partially purged through inbreeding. Moreover, the magnitude of inbreeding depression in the two populations both varied among traits and life history stages. The present results support the partial-dominance hypothesis of inbreeding depression. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular evidence for the sister relationship of the eastern Asia-North American intercontinental species pair in the Podophyllum group (Berberidaceae)

The presumed pair relationships of intercontinental vicariad species in the Podophyllum group (Sinopodophyllum hexandrum vs. Podophyllum pelatum and Diphylleia grayi vs. D. cymosa) were recently, considered to be paraphyletic. In the present paper, the trnL-F and ITS gene sequences of the representatives were used to examine the sister relationships of these two vicariad species. A heuristic parsimony analysis based on the trnLF data identified Diphylleia as the basal clade of the other three genera, but provided poor resolution of their inter-relationships. High sequence divergence was found in the ITS data. ITS1 region, more variable but parsimonyuninformative. has no phylogenetic value, Sequence divergence of the ITS2 region provided abundant, phylogenetically informative variable characters. Analysis of ITS2 sequences confirmeda sister relationship between the presumable vicariad species, in spite of a low bootstrap support for Sinopodophyllum hexandrum vs. Podophyllum pelatum. The combined ITS2 and trnL-F data enforced a sister relationship between Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and Podophyllum pelatum with an elevated bootstrap support of 100%. Based on molecular phylogeny, the morphological evolution of this group was discussed. The self-pollination might have evolved from cross-fertilization two times in this group. The different pollination and seed dispersal systems of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum and Podophlyllum pelatum resulted from their adaptations to different ecological habitats. The divergence time of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum-Podophyllum pelatum is estimated to be 6.52+/-1.89 myr based on the ITS divergence. The divergence of this species pair predated or co-occurred with the recent uplift of the Himalayas 4-3 myr during the late Miocene and the formation of the alpine habitats. Sinopodophyllum hexandrum developed a host of specialized characters in its subsequent adaptation to the arid alpine surroundings. The present study confirmed the different patterns of species relationship between Asian-North American disjuncts. The isolation of plant elements between North America and eastern Asia must have been a gradual process, resulting in the different phylogenetic patterns and divergence times of the disjuncts.

International transport costs and the margins of Intra-Latin American maritime trade.

This paper focuses on the analysis of the relationship between maritime trade and transport cost in Latin America. The analysis is based on disaggregated (SITC 5 digit level) trade data for intra Latin maritime trade routes over the period 1999-2004. The research contributes to the literature by disentangling the effects of transport costs on the range of traded goods (extensive margin) and the traded volumes of goods (intensive margin) of international trade in order to test some of the predictions of the trade theories that introduce firm heterogeneity in productivity, as well as fixed costs of exporting. Recent investigations show that spatial frictions (distance) reduce trade mainly by trimming the number of shipments and that most firms ship only to geographically proximate customers, instead of shipping to many destinations in quantities that decrease in distance. Our analyses confirm these findings and show that the opposite pattern is observed for ad-valorem freight rates that reduce aggregate trade values mainly by reducing the volume of imported goods (intensive margin).

Reflective writing: The student nurse's perspective on reflective writing and poetry writing.

Summary Background Reflective writing is a mandatory part of nurse education but how students develop their skills and use reflection as part of their experiential learning remains relatively unknown. Understanding reflective writing in all forms from the perspective of a student nurse is therefore important. Objectives To explore the use of reflective writing and the use of poetry in pre-registered nursing students. Design A qualitative design was employed to explore reflective writing in pre-registered nursing students. Setting A small university in Scotland. Participants BSc (Hons) Adult and Mental Health Pre-registration Student Nurses. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with 10 student nurses during March 2012. Data was analysed thematically using the framework of McCarthy (1999). Results Students found the process of reflective writing daunting but valued it over time. Current educational methods, such as assessing reflective accounts, often lead to the ‘narrative’ being watered down and the student feeling judged. Despite this, reflection made students feel responsible for their own learning and research on the topic. Some students felt the use of models of reflection constricting, whilst poetry freed up their expression allowing them to demonstrate the compassion for their patient under their care. Conclusions Poetry writing gives students the opportunity for freedom of expression, personal satisfaction and a closer connection with their patients, which the more formal approach to reflective writing did not offer. There is a need for students to have a safe and supportive forum in which to express and have their experiences acknowledged without the fear of being judged.

The Failure of American and British Propaganda in the Arab Middle East, 1945-1957: Unconquerable Minds

Vaughan, J. (2005). The Failure of American and British Propaganda in the Arab Middle East, 1945-1957: Unconquerable Minds. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. RAE2008