Studying small states : a review

This essay provides an overview of the literature in the field of small states studies. It analyses the development of the discipline, and in particular how vulnerability and a lack of capacity – core concepts of the early small state literature – have dominated the discipline ever since. It also explores how realism, liberalism and constructivism respectively approach the study of small states. However, we also outline how the focus has over time slowly shifted from the challenges associated with smallness to opportunities. There is considerable literature across various disciplines that helps us to better understand small states in International Relations; but there remains a largely unexplored field of inquiry about small states which needs to be thoroughly examined and theorised. Studies of small states have never been as relevant as today, given the increasing number of small states and with many small territories that are potential candidates for independence.peer-reviewe

Hubungan antara Peran Ibu dalam Pemberian Makanan Pendamping ASI dengan Status Gizi Balita Usia 6 – 24 Bulan di Puskesmas Cermee Kabupaten Bondowoso Tahun 2011

Nutrient status is main problem which effect to the human resources quality. Based on data by the high incidence of malnutrition in Cermee of Public Health Bondowoso Sub Province are caused by a less of role of mother in provision of complementary feeding. The entirety objective of this research is to know the relationship between the role of mother to provision of complementary feeding and nutrient status of toddler 6 – 24 months in Cermee of Public health Bondowoso Sub Province in 2011. Specific objective of this research is to identify role of mother in provision of complementary feeding, identify the nutrient status of toddler 6 – 24 months, and analyzing the relationship between the role of mother to provision of complementary feeding and nutrient status of toddler 6 – 24 months in Cermee of Public Health Bondowoso Sub Province in 2011. The role of mother to provision of complementary feeding for toddler include preparing food, managing the food, and provide the food. Many factors that can affect the nutrient status of toddler, such us food consumption, infectious disease, psychology, genetic and health service. This research is analytic correlative research and use observasional methode. The population are all of the mothers and toddler ages 6 to 24 moths in Cermee of Public Health Bondowoso Sub Province. The sample is that most mothers and toddlers ages 6 to 24 months who meet inclusion and exclusion criteria with a large sample of 35 mothers and toddlers. The sampling is purposive sampling. The instrument is checklist and table categories of nitritient status based index of weight to age. Analysis the data is Sperman rank correlation test. The results of research is nine mothers (25.7%) play less in the provision of complementary feeding and three infants (8.6%) had severe malnutrition. The results of bivariate analysis is significant value is 0.029 and the correlation coefficient is 0.369. The results of analysis there is correlation between maternal role in the provision of complementary feeding with nutritional status of children in Cermee of Public Health District Bondowoso in 2011 and the strong\u27s correlation between both is medium. Factor in the role of mothers giving complementary feeding was not the only factor affecting the incidence of malnutrition, but the increasing role of mothers in the provision of complementary feeding remains the best option to reduce the high incidence of malnutrition

Aperiodic String Transducers

Regular string-to-string functions enjoy a nice triple characterization through deterministic two-way transducers (2DFT), streaming string transducers (SST) and MSO definable functions. This result has recently been lifted to FO definable functions, with equivalent representations by means of aperiodic 2DFT and aperiodic 1-bounded SST, extending a well-known result on regular languages. In this paper, we give three direct transformations: i) from 1-bounded SST to 2DFT, ii) from 2DFT to copyless SST, and iii) from k-bounded to 1-bounded SST. We give the complexity of each construction and also prove that they preserve the aperiodicity of transducers. As corollaries, we obtain that FO definable string-to-string functions are equivalent to SST whose transition monoid is finite and aperiodic, and to aperiodic copyless SST

Sensitivity of North American monsoon rainfall to multisource sea surface temperatures in MM5

In this article, four continually processed sea surface temperature (SST) datasets, including the Reynolds SST (RYD), the global final analysis of skin temperature at oceans (FNL), and two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua SSTs retrieved from thermal infrared imagery (TIR) and midinfrared imagery (MIR), were compared. The results show variations from each other. In comparison with the RYD SST, the FNL data have -0.5° ∼ 0.5°C perturbations, while the TIR and MIR SSTs possess larger deviations of -2° ∼ 1°C, mainly due to algorithm and/or sensor differences in these SST datasets. A regional model, the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-Na tional Center for Atmospheric Research (Penn State-NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5), was used to investigate whether model atmospheric predictions, especially those concerning precipitation during the North American monsoon season, are sensitive to these SST variations. A comparison of rainfall, atmospheric height, temperature, and wind fields produced by model results, reanalysis data, and observations indicates that, at monthly scale, the model shows changes in the simulations for three consecutive years; in particular, rainfall amounts, timing, and even patterns vary at some specific regions. Forced by the MODIS Aqua midinfrared SST (MIR), which includes large regions with SST values lower than the conventional Reynolds SST, the MM5 rain field predictions show reduced errors over land and oceans compared to when the model is forced by other SST data. Specifically, rainfall estimates are improved over the offshore of southern Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, the coastal regions of southern and eastern Mexico, and the southwestern U.S. monsoon active region, but only slightly improved over the monsoon core and the high-elevated Great Plains. Using MIR SST data, one is also capable of improving geopotential height and temperature fields in comparison wit he reanalysis data. © 2005 American Meteorological Society

The Storm-Track Response to Idealized SST Perturbations in an Aquaplanet GCM

The tropospheric response to midlatitude SST anomalies has been investigated through a series of aquaplanet simulations using a high-resolution version of the Hadley Centre atmosphere model (HadAM3) under perpetual equinox conditions. Model integrations show that increases in the midlatitude SST gradient generally lead to stronger storm tracks that are shifted slightly poleward, consistent with changes in the lower-tropospheric baroclinicity. The large-scale atmospheric response is, however, highly sensitive to the position of the SST gradient anomaly relative to that of the subtropical jet in the unperturbed atmosphere. In particular, when SST gradients are increased very close to the subtropical jet, then the Hadley cell and subtropical jet is strengthened while the storm track and eddy-driven jet are shifted equatorward. Conversely, if the subtropical SST gradients are reduced and the midlatitude gradients increased, then the storm track shows a strong poleward shift and a well-separated eddy-driven jet is produced. The sign of the SST anomaly is shown to play a secondary role in determining the overall tropospheric response. These findings are used to provide a new and consistent interpretation of some previous GCM studies concerning the atmospheric response to midlatitude SST anomalies

Combined Effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation on Sea Surface Temperature in the Alborán Sea

We explored the possible effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) on interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the Albora´n Sea, both separately and combined. The probability of observing mean annual SST values higher than average was related to NAO and AO values of the previous year. The effect of NAO on SST was negative, while that of AO was positive. The pure effects of NAO and AO on SST are obscuring each other, due to the positive correlation between them. When decomposing SST, NAO and AO in seasonal values, we found that variation in mean annual SST and mean winter SST was significantly related to the mean autumn NAO of the previous year, while mean summer SST was related to mean autumn AO of the previous year. The one year delay in the effect of the NAO and AO on the SST could be partially related to the amount of accumulated snow, as we found a significant correlation between the total snow in the North Albora´n watershed for a year with the annual average SST of the subsequent year. A positive AO implies a colder atmosphere in the Polar Regions, which could favour occasional cold waves over the Iberian Peninsula which, when coupled with precipitations favoured by a negative NAO, may result in snow precipitation. This snow may be accumulated in the high peaks and melt down in spring-summer of the following year, which consequently increases the runoff of freshwater to the sea, which in turn causes a diminution of sea surface salinity and density, and blocks the local upwelling of colder water, resulting in a higher SST.CGL2009-11316 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, and FEDER

Harmonization of space-borne infra-red sensors measuring sea surface temperature

Sea surface temperature (SST) is observed by a constellation of sensors, and SST retrievals are commonly combined into gridded SST analyses and climate data records (CDRs). Differential biases between SSTs from different sensors cause errors in such products, including feature artefacts. We introduce a new method for reducing differential biases across the SST constellation, by reconciling the brightness temperature (BT) calibration and SST retrieval parameters between sensors. We use the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) and the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) as reference sensors, and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) of the MetOp-A mission to bridge the gap between these references. Observations across a range of AVHRR zenith angles are matched with dual-view three-channel skin SST retrievals from the AATSR and SLSTR. These skin SSTs act as the harmonization reference for AVHRR retrievals by optimal estimation (OE). Parameters for the harmonized AVHRR OE are iteratively determined, including BT bias corrections and observation error covariance matrices as functions of water-vapor path. The OE SSTs obtained from AVHRR are shown to be closely consistent with the reference sensor SSTs. Independent validation against drifting buoy SSTs shows that the AVHRR OE retrieval is stable across the reference-sensor gap. We discuss that this method is suitable to improve consistency across the whole constellation of SST sensors. The approach will help stabilize and reduce errors in future SST CDRs, as well as having application to other domains of remote sensing

Selective expression of KCNS3 potassium channel α-subunit in parvalbumin-containing GABA neurons in the human prefrontal cortex

The cognitive deficits of schizophrenia appear to be associated with altered cortical GABA neurotransmission in the subsets of inhibitory neurons that express either parvalbumin (PV) or somatostatin (SST). Identification of molecular mechanisms that operate selectively in these neurons is essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies that do not influence other cell types. Consequently, we sought to identify, in the human cortex, gene products that are expressed selectively by PV and/or SST neurons, and that might contribute to their distinctive functional properties. Based on previously reported expression patterns in the cortex of mice and humans, we selected four genes: KCNS3, LHX6, KCNAB1, and PPP1R2, encoding K+ channel Kv9.3 modulatory α-subunit, LIM homeobox protein 6, K+ channel Kvβ1 subunit, and protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 2, respectively, and examined their colocalization with PV or SST mRNAs in the human prefrontal cortex using dual-label in situ hybridization with 35S- and digoxigenin-labeled antisense riboprobes. KCNS3 mRNA was detected in almost all PV neurons, but not in SST neurons, and PV mRNA was detected in >90% of KCNS3 mRNA-expressing neurons. LHX6 mRNA was detected in almost all PV and >90% of SST neurons, while among all LHX6 mRNA-expressing neurons 50% expressed PV mRNA and >44% expressed SST mRNA. KCNAB1 and PPP1R2 mRNAs were detected in much larger populations of cortical neurons than PV or SST neurons. These findings indicate that KCNS3 is a selective marker of PV neurons, whereas LHX6 is expressed by both PV and SST neurons. KCNS3 and LHX6 might be useful for characterizing cell-type specific molecular alterations of cortical GABA neurotransmission and for the development of novel treatments targeting PV and/or SST neurons in schizophrenia. © 2012 Georgiev et al