Tendencies of climatic and anthropogenic changes of the marine environments in the coastal areas of Russia in the Japan Sea for the last decades

Complex assessment of the marine environments changes in the coastal zone of the Japan Sea at Primorye and Sakhalin coasts is presented for the last 4 decades. Both natural and anthropogenic aspects of these changes are considered with the tasks: 1) to compare interannual variability of oceanographic parameters, as water temperature, salinity, and sea level, and reveal distinctions and common tendencies; 2) to define indicators of chemical pollution and find general features of interannual dynamics for polluting substances and water quality. The data of regular oceanographic observations at 11 coastal stations and the data of pollution monitoring in certain areas conducted by hydrometeorological service of Russia (Roshydromet) in 1980-2015 are analyzed. Cyclic fluctuations with the period of 2-5 years prevail in year-to-year variability of oceanographic parameters being observed on the background of long-term trends, more significant in the 21st century. The sea surface temperature has a strong positive trend (up to 1.4o per 35 years) at many stations, with exclusion of 5 ones located in northwestern Sakhalin and central Primorye; the average trend for the whole area is 0.7о per 35 years. Majority of the stations have the significant positive trend in summer and fall, but Sovetskaya Gavan - in all seasons. For all stations, the lowest mean annual temperature was observed in 1980 and 1987, the highest one - in 1990. Salinity has a significant negative trend at all stations (up to -2.66 ‰ per 35 years), except Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, with average value -1.3 ‰ per 35 years. The negative trend of salinity is more significant in spring and summer, though other tendencies could be seen locally in certain seasons. The sea level has a positive trend, significant at all stations in any season, with the maximal value in spring (on average 7 cm per 35 years that is 35-50 % of the range of seasonal fluctuations). Dynamics of pollution is described by frequency of high concentration (over the maximum permissible level) of organochlorine pesticides (HOPs), petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), phenols, detergents, and heavy metals. The high concentrations of TPHs and phenols are observed rather frequently, usually in the Tartar Strait and Peter the Great Bay (Golden Horn Bay, Diomid Bight, and Bosfor Vostochny Strait). In the latter area, the dangerous levels of dissolved oxygen content are observed, as well. Other pollutants don’t exceed frequently the maximum permissible level

Merging Galaxies in the SDSS EDR

We present a new catalog of merging galaxies obtained through an automated systematic search routine. The 1479 new pairs of merging galaxies were found in approximately 462 sq deg of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release (SDSS EDR; Stoughton et al. 2002) photometric data, and the pair catalog is complete for galaxies in the magnitude range 16.0 <= g* <= 20. The selection algorithm, implementing a variation on the original Karachentsev (1972) criteria, proved to be very efficient and fast. Merging galaxies were selected such that the inter-galaxy separations were less than the sum of the component galaxies' radii. We discuss the characteristics of the sample in terms of completeness, pair separation, and the Holmberg effect. We also present an online atlas of images for the SDSS EDR pairs obtained using the corrected frames from the SDSS EDR database. The atlas images also include the relevant data for each pair member. This catalog will be useful for conducting studies of the general characteristics of merging galaxies, their environments, and their component galaxies. The redshifts for a subset of the interacting and merging galaxies and the distribution of angular sizes for these systems indicate the SDSS provides a much deeper sample than almost any other wide-area catalog to date.Comment: 58 pages, which includes 15 figures and 6 tables. Figures 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14 are provided as JPEG files. For online atlas, see http://home.fnal.gov/~sallam/MergePair/ . Accepted for publication in A

Functional annotation of human long noncoding RNAs via molecular phenotyping

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute the majority of transcripts in the mammalian genomes, and yet, their functions remain largely unknown. As part of the FANTOM6 project, we systematically knocked down the expression of 285 lncRNAs in human dermal fibroblasts and quantified cellular growth, morphological changes, and transcriptomic responses using Capped Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE). Antisense oligonucleotides targeting the same lncRNAs exhibited global concordance, and the molecular phenotype, measured by CAGE, recapitulated the observed cellular phenotypes while providing additional insights on the affected genes and pathways. Here, we disseminate the largest-todate lncRNA knockdown data set with molecular phenotyping (over 1000 CAGE deep-sequencing libraries) for further exploration and highlight functional roles for ZNF213-AS1 and lnc-KHDC3L-2.Peer reviewe

Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating : universal links across 11 world regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2.

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating

Narcisismo y búsqueda estratégica del emparejamiento a corto plazo a través de las culturas: Enlaces omnipresentes a través de 11 regiones mundiales del Proyecto de la descripción de la sexualidad internacional 2

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating.Estudios previos, en primer lugar a través de las muestras de culturas occidentales, han documentado asociaciones sistemáticas del narcisismo subclínico con múltiples indicadores de estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo (p. ej. sociosexualidad ilimitada, infidelidad, caza de pareja). En este estudio se han usado respuestas de la encuesta transcultural de 30.470 personas de 53 naciones de 11 regiones mundiales (América del Norte, América del Sur/América Central, Europa del Norte, Europa del Oeste, Europa del Este, Europa del Sur, Oriente Próximo, África, Asia del Sur/Sudoeste de Asia, Asia del Este y Oceanía) para evaluar si el narcisismo (medido por el Inventario de Personalidad Narcisista; NPI) se asocia panuniversalmente con los indicadores del emparejamiento a corto plazo, tanto en la dirección, como en la intensidad. Los resultados sugieren que el narcisismo (incluidos muchos aspectos suyos medidos por el NPI) tiene las mismas asociaciones básicas con los rasgos de personalidad relacionados con el sexo (p. ej. extraversión alta) y con los resultados sexuales claves (p. ej. búsqueda más activa de las estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo) a través de las 11 mayores regiones mundiales del PDSI 2. La discusión se enfoca en las implicaciones y limitaciones del estudio actual

The Role of Serotonin in the Influence of Intense Locomotion on the Behavior Under Uncertainty in the Mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis

The role of serotonin in the immediate and delayed influence of physical exercise on brain functions has been intensively studied in mammals. Recently, immediate effects of intense locomotion on the decision-making under uncertainty were reported in the Great Pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis (Korshunova et al., 2016). In this animal, serotonergic neurons control locomotion, and serotonin modulates many processes underlying behavior, including cognitive ones (memory and learning). Whether serotonin mediates the behavioral effects of intense locomotion in mollusks, as it does in vertebrates, remains unknown. Here, the delayed facilitating effects of intense locomotion on the decision-making in the novel environment are described in Lymnaea. Past exercise was found to alter the metabolism of serotonin, namely the content of serotonin precursor and its catabolites in the cerebral and pedal ganglia, as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The immediate and delayed effects of exercise on serotonin metabolism were different. Moreover, serotonin metabolism was regulated differently in different ganglia. Pharmacological manipulations of the serotonin content and receptor availability suggests that serotonin is likely to be responsible for the locomotor acceleration in the test of decision-making under uncertainty performed after exercise. However, the exercise-induced facilitation of decision-making (manifested in a reduced number of turns during the orienting behavior) cannot be attributed to the effects of serotonin

Intense Locomotion Enhances Oviposition in the Freshwater Mollusc <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>: Cellular and Molecular Correlates

Intense species-specific locomotion changes the behavioural and cognitive states of various vertebrates and invertebrates. However, whether and how reproductive behaviour is affected by previous increased motor activity remains largely unknown. We addressed this question using a model organism, the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Intense crawling in shallow water for two hours had previously been shown to affect orienting behaviour in a new environment as well as the state of the serotonergic system in L. stagnalis. We found that the same behaviour resulted in an increased number of egg clutches and the total number of eggs laid in the following 24 h. However, the number of eggs per clutch was not affected. This effect was significantly stronger from January to May, in contrast to the September–December period. Transcripts of the egg-laying prohormone gene and the tryptophan hydroxylase gene, which codes for the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin synthesis, were significantly higher in the central nervous system of snails that rested in clean water for two hours after intense crawling. Additionally, the neurons of the left (but not the right) caudo-dorsal cluster (CDC), which produce the ovulation hormone and play a key role in oviposition, responded to stimulation with a higher number of spikes, although there were no differences in their resting membrane potentials. We speculate that the left–right asymmetry of the response was due to the asymmetric (right) location of the male reproductive neurons having an antagonistic influence on the female hormonal system in the hermaphrodite mollusc. Serotonin, which is known to enhance oviposition in L. stagnalis, had no direct effect on the membrane potential or electrical activity of CDC neurons. Our data suggest that (i) two-hour crawling in shallow water enhances oviposition in L. stagnalis, (ii) the effect depends on the season, and (iii) the underlying mechanisms may include increased excitability of the CDC neurons and increased expression of the egg-laying prohormone gene