Local weather, food resources and breeding stage influence Thrush Nightingale movement

Insectivorous migrants breeding at northern latitudes often time the breeding period with the seasonal peak of food resources. Whether this general pattern transfers to movement behaviour during the breeding season requires detailed study from a local perspective. We investigated fine-scale environmental correlates of movements by six actively-breeding adult Thrush Nightingales (Luscinia luscinia) at a breeding site in Denmark, using radio tracking and multiple regression models. Overall, the chick-rearing period coincided with the peak of vegetation greenness at the site. Adults flew further from nesting areas during stable weather and as vegetation greenness decreased. Adults were more active at higher environmental temperatures and when fledglings were older but still dependent on adults. These changes in local movements likely reflect adjustments to chick developmental needs and to specific local environmental conditions, including resource availability

Using NWP to assess the influence of the Arctic atmosphere on mid-latitude weather and climate

The influence of the Arctic atmosphere on Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude tropospheric weather and climate is explored by comparing the skill of two sets of 14-day weather forecast experiments using the ECMWF model with and without relaxation of the Arctic atmosphere towards ERA-Interim reanalysis data during the integration. Two pathways are identified along which the Arctic influences mid-latitude weather: a pronounced one over Asia and Eastern Europe, and a secondary one over North America. In general, linkages are found to be strongest (weakest) during boreal winter (summer) when the amplitude of stationary planetary waves over the Northern Hemisphere is strongest (weakest). No discernible Arctic impact is found over the North Atlantic and North Pacific region, which is consistent with predominantly southwesterly flow. An analysis of the flow-dependence of the linkages shows that anomalous northerly flow conditions increase the Arctic influence on mid-latitude weather over the continents. Specifically, an anomalous northerly flow from the Kara Sea towards West Asia leads to cold surface temperature anomalies not only over West Asia but also over Eastern and Central Europe. Finally, the results of this study are discussed in the light of potential mid-latitude benefits of improved Arctic prediction capabilities

The role of MMP-12 gene polymorphism - 82 A-to-G (rs2276109) in immunopathology of COPD in polish patients : a case control study

Table 1S. Logistic regression analysis of association between -82 A-to-G SNP of MMP12 gene (rs2276109) and COPD – the multiple inheritance models. Description of data: This table contains the logistic regression results of modeled association between SNP rs2276109 of MMP12 gene and COPD. (DOCX 16 kb

Using NWP to assess the influence of the Arctic atmosphere on mid-latitude weather and climate

The influence of the Arctic atmosphere on Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude tropospheric weather and climate is explored by comparing the skill of two sets of 14-day weather forecast experiments using the ECMWF model with and without relaxation of the Arctic atmosphere towards ERA-Interim reanalysis data during the integration. Two pathways are identified along which the Arctic influences mid-latitude weather: a pronounced one over Asia and Eastern Europe, and a secondary one over North America. In general, linkages are found to be strongest (weakest) during boreal winter (summer) when the amplitude of stationary planetary waves over the Northern Hemisphere is strongest (weakest). No discernible Arctic impact is found over the North Atlantic and North Pacific region, which is consistent with predominantly southwesterly flow. An analysis of the flow-dependence of the linkages shows that anomalous northerly flow conditions increase the Arctic influence on mid-latitude weather over the continents. Specifically, an anomalous northerly flow from the Kara Sea towards West Asia leads to cold surface temperature anomalies not only over West Asia but also over Eastern and Central Europe. Finally, the results of this study are discussed in the light of potential mid-latitude benefits of improved Arctic prediction capabilities