Long-term variation in the Sun's activity caused by magnetic Rossby waves in the tachocline

Long-term records of sunspot number and concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides (10Be and 14C) on the Earth reveal the variation of the Sun's magnetic activity over hundreds and thousands of years. We identify several clear periods in sunspot, 10Be, and 14C data as 1000, 500, 350, 200 and 100 years. We found that the periods of the first five spherical harmonics of the slow magnetic Rossby mode in the presence of a steady toroidal magnetic field of 1200-1300 G in the lower tachocline are in perfect agreement with the time scales of observed variations. The steady toroidal magnetic field can be generated in the lower tachocline either due to the steady dynamo magnetic field for low magnetic diffusivity or due to the action of the latitudinal differential rotation on the weak poloidal primordial magnetic field, which penetrates from the radiative interior. The slow magnetic Rossby waves lead to variations of the steady toroidal magnetic field in the lower tachocline, which modulate the dynamo magnetic field and consequently the solar cycle strength. This result constitutes a key point for long-term prediction of the cycle strength. According to our model, the next deep minimum in solar activity is expected during the first half of this century.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted in ApJ

Towards a political ecology of oil in post-communist Georgia: The conflict over the Kulevi Oil Port development

Since 1998 the growing importance of the Caspian Sea's oil reserves for the international markets has put a new pressure on Georgia's energy transit capacities. One of the new transit facilities – the Kulevi Oil Terminal located on the country's ecologically-sensitive central Black Sea coast - has emerged as a controversial development evoking several cross-cutting environmental policy, economic and political conflicts at the international, national, and local levels. This paper explores and tracks the nature of this multi-level environmental conflict over land-use and reveals it to be a complex product of the interplay between social, political and economic power. From a political ecological perspective it is possible to interpret the controversy over Kulevi as a 'regional' conflict of interests between different land managers. Our analysis discloses the links between these conflicts and their triggers at different spatial scales with a view to articulating an emerging political ecology of oil for Georgia and the Caucasus. The paper reflects on how the threat of economic loss has forced environmentally unfriendly decisions in the region, causing internal problems and a derogation of the reputation of Georgia at the international arena. Several suggestions for resolution are offered, but their success depends on the contribution of the main players in the conflicts and their commitment to fulfill their obligations. Keywords: Georgia, Oil, Kulevi, Political Ecolog

Elevated levels of naturally occurring autoantibodies to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) β core fragment in a female patient with thyroid follicular adenoma: Case report

We report a case of a woman, who had an elevated levels of naturally-occurring autoantibodies to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) β core fragment (hCGβcf) one year prior to the development of thyroid follicular lesion. The patient underwent surgery and the histology report demonstrated that the lesion was a follicular adenoma. Further investigations of the role of naturally-occurring autoantibodies (NAAbs) to anti-hCGβcf in the pathogenesis of varioustumours of thyroid gland might be useful in the development of novel diagnostic methods, using anti-hCGβcf NAAbs as a marker for the detection of unsuspected thyroid tumour