Spatial distribution of Pleistocene/Holocene warming amplitudes in Northern Eurasia inferred from geothermal data

International audienceWe analyze 48 geothermal estimates of Pleistocene/Holocene warming amplitudes from various locations in Greenland, Europe, Arctic regions of Western Siberia, and Yakutia. The spatial distribution of these estimates exhibits two remarkable features. (i) In Europe and part of Asia the amplitude of warming increases toward the northwest and displays clear asymmetry with respect to the North Pole. The region of maximal warming is close to the North Atlantic. A simple parametric dependence of the warming amplitudes on the distance to the warming center explains 91% of the amplitude variation. The Pleistocene/Holocene warming center is located northeast of Iceland. We claim that the Holocene warming is primarily related to the formation (or resumption) of the modern system of currents in the North Atlantic. (ii) In Arctic Asia, north of the 68-th parallel, the amplitude of temperature change sharply decreases from South to North, reaching zero and even negative values. These small or negative amplitudes could be attributed partially to a joint influence of Late Pleistocene ice sheets. Using a simple model of the temperature regime underneath the ice sheet we show that, depending on the relationship between the heat flow and the vertical ice advection velocity, the base of the glacier can either warm up or cool down. Nevertheless, we speculate that the more likely explanation of these observations are warm-water lakes thought of have formed in the Late Pleistocene by the damming of the Ob, Yenisei and Lena Rivers

Изменения гемоциркуляторных и респираторных функций при бронхиальной астме у детей

One hundred and fifty bronchial asthma patients aged 6 to 14 yrs were complexly examined for haemodynamic parameters in correlation with the lung function and the diaphragm activity in different stages of the disease. The respiratory dysfunction based on the bronchial obstruction, irregular lung ventilation and reduction in the diaphragm functional activity was shown to be accompanied by changes in the regional and central blood circulation. A consistency of these disorders depended on the basic therapyУ 150 больных бронхиальной астмой в возрасте от 6 до 14 лет проведено комплексное исследование параметров гемодинамики во взаимосвязи с оценкой функции внешнего дыхания и активности диафрагмы в различные периоды заболевания. Показано, что респираторная дисфункция, в основе которой лежат бронхиальная обструкция, неравномерная вентиляция легких и снижение функциональной активности диафрагмы, сочетается с изменениями регионарной и центральной гемоциркуляции. Причем стойкость отмеченных отклонений зависит от применения базисной терапии

A Survey of Experimental Research on Contests, All-Pay Auctions and Tournaments

Many economic, political and social environments can be described as contests in which agents exert costly efforts while competing over the distribution of a scarce resource. These environments have been studied using Tullock contests, all-pay auctions and rankorder tournaments. This survey provides a review of experimental research on these three canonical contests. First, we review studies investigating the basic structure of contests, including the contest success function, number of players and prizes, spillovers and externalities, heterogeneity, and incomplete information. Second, we discuss dynamic contests and multi-battle contests. Then we review research on sabotage, feedback, bias, collusion, alliances, and contests between groups, as well as real-effort and field experiments. Finally, we discuss applications of contests to the study of legal systems, political competition, war, conflict avoidance, sales, and charities, and suggest directions for future research. (author's abstract