Environmental snapshots from ACE‐Asia

On five occasions spanning the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE‐Asia) field campaign in spring 2001, the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer spaceborne instrument took data coincident with high‐quality observations by instruments on two or more surface and airborne platforms. The cases capture a range of clean, polluted, and dusty aerosol conditions. With a three‐stage optical modeling process, we synthesize the data from over 40 field instruments into layer‐by‐layer environmental snapshots that summarize what we know about the atmospheric and surface states at key locations during each event. We compare related measurements and discuss the implications of apparent discrepancies, at a level of detail appropriate for satellite retrieval algorithm and aerosol transport model validation. Aerosols within a few kilometers of the surface were composed primarily of pollution and Asian dust mixtures, as expected. Medium‐ and coarse‐mode particle size distributions varied little among the events studied; however, column aerosol optical depth changed by more than a factor of 4, and the near‐surface proportion of dust ranged between 25% and 50%. The amount of absorbing material in the submicron fraction was highest when near‐surface winds crossed Beijing and the Korean Peninsula and was considerably lower for all other cases. Having simultaneous single‐scattering albedo measurements at more than one wavelength would significantly reduce the remaining optical model uncertainties. The consistency of component particle microphysical properties among the five events, even in this relatively complex aerosol environment, suggests that global, satellite‐derived maps of aerosol optical depth and aerosol mixture (air‐mass‐type) extent, combined with targeted in situ component microphysical property measurements, can provide a detailed global picture of aerosol behavior

Atmospheric sampling of Supertyphoon Mireille with NASA DC-8 aircraft on September 27, 1991, during PEM-West A

The DC‐8 mission of September 27, 1991, was designed to sample air flowing into Typhoon Mireille in the boundary layer, air in the upper tropospheric eye region, and air emerging from the typhoon and ahead of the system, also in the upper troposphere. The objective was to find how a typhoon redistributes trace constituents in the West Pacific region and whether any such redistribution is important on the global scale. The boundary layer air (300 m), in a region to the SE of the eye, contained low mixing ratios of the tracer species O3, CO, C2H6, C2H2, C3H8, C6H6 and CS2 but high values of dimethylsulfide (DMS). The eye region relative to the boundary layer, showed somewhat elevated levels of CO, substantially increased levels of O3, CS2 and all nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), and somewhat reduced levels of DMS. Ahead of the eye, CO and the NMHCs remained unchanged, O3 and CS2 showed a modest decrease, and DMS showed a substantial decrease. There was no evidence from lidar cross sections of ozone for the downward entrainment of stratospheric air into the eye region; these sections show that low ozone values were measured in the troposphere. The DMS data suggest substantial entrainment of boundary layer air into the system, particularly into the eye wall region. Estimates of the DMS sulphur flux between the boundary layer and the free troposphere, based on computations of velocity potential and divergent winds, gave values of about 69 μg S m−2 d−1 averaged over a 17.5° grid square encompassing the typhoon. A few hours after sampling with the DC‐8, Mireille passed over Oki Island, just to the north of Japan, producing surface values of ozone of 5.5 ppbv. These O3 levels are consistent with the low tropospheric values found by lidar and are more typical of equatorial regions. We suggest that the central eye region may act like a Taylor column which has moved poleward from low latitudes. The high‐altitude photochemical environment within Typhoon Mireille was found to be quite active as evidenced by significant levels of measured gas phase H2O2 and CH3OOH and model‐computed levels of OH

Palaeomagnetic determination of emplacement temperature of Vesuvius AD 79 pyroclastic deposits

The city of Herculaneum was buried under 20 m of pyroclastic deposits during the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius, whose crater is only 7 km to the east. These deposits have been interpreted as the deposits of mudflows or hot pyroclastic flows. Maury's studies of incinerated wood in Herculaneum demonstrate heating to at least 400° C. We have studied the variation of remanent magnetism with temperature for specimens taken from the deposits, including specimens of the matrix material and of embedded lithic fragments. We conclude that the temperature of the deposit at emplacement is unlikely to have been greater than 400° C, which further supports the interpretation of the pyroclastic deposits at Herculaneum as largely ignimbrites (hot pyroclastic flow deposits)

Production of HIV Particles Is Regulated by Altering Sub-Cellular Localization and Dynamics of Rev Induced by Double-Strand RNA Binding Protein

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 encoded Rev is essential for export from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, of unspliced and singly spliced transcripts coding for structural and nonstructural viral proteins. This process is spatially and temporally coordinated resulting from the interactions between cellular and viral proteins. Here we examined the effects of the sub-cellular localization and dynamics of Rev on the efficiency of nucleocytoplasmic transport of HIV-1 Gag transcripts and virus particle production. Using confocal microscopy and fluorescence recovery after bleaching (FRAP), we report that NF90ctv, a cellular protein involved in Rev function, alters both the sub-cellular localization and dynamics of Rev in vivo, which drastically affects the accumulation of the viral protein p24. The CRM1–dependent nuclear export of Gag mRNA linked to the Rev Response Element (RRE) is dependent on specific domains of the NF90ctv protein. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the appropriate intracellular localization and dynamics of Rev could regulate Gag assembly and HIV-1 replication

Comparison of Marine Spatial Planning Methods in Madagascar Demonstrates Value of Alternative Approaches

The Government of Madagascar plans to increase marine protected area coverage by over one million hectares. To assist this process, we compare four methods for marine spatial planning of Madagascar's west coast. Input data for each method was drawn from the same variables: fishing pressure, exposure to climate change, and biodiversity (habitats, species distributions, biological richness, and biodiversity value). The first method compares visual color classifications of primary variables, the second uses binary combinations of these variables to produce a categorical classification of management actions, the third is a target-based optimization using Marxan, and the fourth is conservation ranking with Zonation. We present results from each method, and compare the latter three approaches for spatial coverage, biodiversity representation, fishing cost and persistence probability. All results included large areas in the north, central, and southern parts of western Madagascar. Achieving 30% representation targets with Marxan required twice the fish catch loss than the categorical method. The categorical classification and Zonation do not consider targets for conservation features. However, when we reduced Marxan targets to 16.3%, matching the representation level of the “strict protection” class of the categorical result, the methods show similar catch losses. The management category portfolio has complete coverage, and presents several management recommendations including strict protection. Zonation produces rapid conservation rankings across large, diverse datasets. Marxan is useful for identifying strict protected areas that meet representation targets, and minimize exposure probabilities for conservation features at low economic cost. We show that methods based on Zonation and a simple combination of variables can produce results comparable to Marxan for species representation and catch losses, demonstrating the value of comparing alternative approaches during initial stages of the planning process. Choosing an appropriate approach ultimately depends on scientific and political factors including representation targets, likelihood of adoption, and persistence goals

Regional differences in portion size consumption behaviour: Insights for the global food industry

Abstract: Given the influence of globalization on consumer food behaviour across the world, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical discourse around food portion size as a global consumption-related symbol and its underlying socio-economic drivers for food industry strategy. Overall, 25,000 global food consumers were surveyed across 24 countries to elicit insight on portion size consumption behaviour as well as consumer perception on eating and drinking small portion size within selected socio-economic classes. The data was quantitatively analysed to answer the pertinent research objectives. In 20 out of the 24 global markets surveyed, large food portion size was statistically established as a prevalent consumption-related symbol. The paper found that there are regional differences in portion size food consumption behaviour, and further disparities exist across age, gender and income status in 24 countries covering all regions, including Australia, China, Mexico, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America. The outlined food industry implications reveal that adaptation and standardisation strategies are still relevant in global food and nutrition strategy as revealed by the variations in the preference for food portion sizes across various countries of the world

Psychology and aggression

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68264/2/10.1177_002200275900300301.pd