Some effects of tropical storm Agnes on water quality in the Patuxent River estuary

A post Agnes study emphasizing environmental factors...weekly sampling at eight stations from 28 June to August 30, 1972. Spatial and temporal changes in the distribution of many factors, e.g., salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), seston, particulate carbon and nitrogen, inorganic and organic fractions of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus, and chlorophyll a were studied and compared to earlier extensive records. Patterns shown by the present data were compared especially with a local heavy storm that occurred in the Patuxent drainage basin during July 1963. Some interesting correlations were observed in the data. (PDF has 39 pages.)

Comparison of survey methods for estimating abundance of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in glacial fjords

The importance of glacial ice habitats to harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Alaska has become increasingly apparent. However, enumerating harbor seals hauled out on ice in glacial fjords has been difficult. At Johns Hopkins Inlet in Glacier Bay, Alaska, we compared a shore-based counting method to a large-format aerial photography method to estimate seal abundance. During each aerial survey, shore-based observers simultaneously counted seals from an observation post. Both survey methods incurred errors in double-counting and missing seals, especially when ice movements caused seals to drift between survey zones. Advantages of shore-based counts included the ability to obtain multiple counts for relatively little cost, distinguish pups from adults, and to distinguish mobile seals from shadows or glacial debris of similar size. Aerial photography provided a permanent record of each survey, allowing both a reconciliation of counts in overlapping zones and the documentation of the spatial distribution of seals and ice within the fjord.

The 'Baird Memorial"

In mid 1903, during the annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society, AFS members, U.S. Fish Commission (USFC) staff, and other interested persons gathered at Woods Hole, Mass., to dedicate a permanent memorial to Spencer F. Baird, founder of the U.S. Fish Commission. President of the AFS that year was the USFC Commissioner George M. Bowers. Speakers were Chicago attorney E. W. Blatchford; W. K. Brooks, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., who had conducted research at the Commission's Beaufort Laboratory; and, very briefly, the noted fish culturists Frank N. Clark of Michigan and Livingston Stone of Vermont. The following record of the dedication ceremony appeared as a twopart article in The Fishing Gazette, 22 and 29 August 1903.

Characterization of TRPC2, an Essential Genetic Component of VNS Chemoreception, Provides Insights into the Evolution of Pheromonal Olfaction in Secondary-Adapted Marine Mammals

Pheromones are chemical cues released and sensed by individuals of the same species, which are of major importance in regulating reproductive and social behaviors of mammals. Generally, they are detected by the vomeronasal system (VNS). Here, we first investigated and compared an essential genetic component of vomeronasal chemoreception, that is, TRPC2 gene, of four marine mammals varying the degree of aquatic specialization and related terrestrial species in order to provide insights into the evolution of pheromonal olfaction in the mammalian transition from land to water. Our results based on sequence characterizations and evolutionary analyses, for the first time, show the evidence for the ancestral impairment of vomeronasal pheromone signal transduction pathway in fully aquatic cetaceans, supporting a reduced or absent dependence on olfaction as a result of the complete adaptation to the marine habitat, whereas the amphibious California sea lion was found to have a putatively functional TRPC2 gene, which is still under strong selective pressures, reflecting the reliance of terrestrial environment on chemical recognition among the semiadapted marine mammals. Interestingly, our study found that, unlike that of the California sea lion, TRPC2 genes of the harbor seal and the river otter, both of which are also semiaquatic, are pseudogenes. Our data suggest that other unknown selective pressures or sensory modalities might have promoted the independent absence of a functional VNS in these two species. In this respect, the evolution of pheromonal olfaction in marine mammals appears to be more complex and confusing than has been previously thought. Our study makes a useful contribution to the current understanding of the evolution of pheromone perception of mammals in response to selective pressures from an aquatic environment.

Super-villains of the "real world": the political use of the characterization of villains in Chistopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy"

It is almost a tradition that celluloid (or digital) villains are represented with some characteristics that remind us the real political enemies of the producer country of the film, or even enemies within the country according to the particular ideology that sustains the film. The case of Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight trilogy, analyzed here, is representative of this trend for two reasons. First, because it gets marked by political radicalization conducted by the US government after the attack of September 11, 2001. Secondly, because it offers a profuse gallery of villains who are outside the circle of friends as the new doctrine “either with us or against us” opened by George Bush for the XXI century. This gallery includes from the very terrorists who justify the War on Terror (Ra's al Ghul, the Joker), to the “radical left” (Bane, Talia al Ghul) including liberal politicians (Harvey Dent), and corrupt that take advantage of the softness of the law to commit crimes with impunity (Dr. Crane, the Scarecrow).

The proposal of democratic citizenship in Hannah Arendt

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze Hannah Arendt’s citizenship proposal. The central thesis is that this proposal is possible in contemporary democracies, and it is adequate for developing and strengthening of political action. The work is divided in five sections. In the first, we develop a brief introduction on the studied issue. In the second and third section, we analyze, respec-tively, political and moral conditions that enable democratic citizenship, and the conditions that hinder the exercise of the same, according to Arendt. Then, we reflect critically on Arendt’s citizenship proposal. Finally, we conclude and we propose a set of civic challenges relate to current democracies in light of the above proposal.

Desire, Resentment and Reprisal: Revisiting the Emotions of Myth in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

This article aims to reassess F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby (1925), taking into consideration the myth-critical hypotheses of philosopher René Girard. Specifically, this essay will analyse the concepts of mimetic desire, resentment and reprisal violence as emotional components of myth, paying close attention to how the reinterpreted mythical pattern of the novel influences the depiction of such emotions as social traits of corruption. Finally, this article will challenge interpretations that have regarded Gatsby as a successful scapegoat-figure, examining instead how the mythical meanings and structures of the text stage an emotional crisis of frustrated desire and antagonism that ultimately offers no hope of communal restoration.

Inscribir el declive en el tiempo. Detroit: Auge y crisis de la ciudad industrial

A comienzos del siglo XX, Detroit era una ciudad dinámica en pleno desarrollo. Pronto se convirtió en la cuarta ciudad de Estados Unidos, la capital de la naciente industria automovilística. El crecimiento se prolongó hasta finales de los años 50, cuando, a pesar del auge económico de Estados Unidos y de su área metropolitana, Detroit comenzó a mostrar los primeros signos de estancamiento. La crisis se ha prolongado hasta hoy, cuando Detroit constituye el paradigma de la ciudad industrial en declive. Estas dos imágenes contrapuestas, el auge y la crisis, no parecen explicar por sí mismas las causas de la intensidad y persistencia del declive de Detroit. Analizar las interacciones entre crecimiento económico, políticas públicas locales y desarrollo urbano a lo largo del tiempo permitirá subrayar las continuidades y comprender en qué medida el declive de Detroit ancla sus raíces en el modelo planteado durante la etapa de auge.

Dogs in the paradise: The influence of the cynical philosophy in the construction of the myth of the good savage

This paper studies the influence of cynic philosophy in the construction of the myth of the good savage. In the first part it studies the importance of cynicism in the XVI century and how the cynic influence of Erasmus, More and Montaigne was fundamental to the way that Europe approached the American indigenous. In the second part it studies the cynic motives that could have influenced in the construction of the myth of the good savage.