Traps of multi-level governance. Lessons from the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Italy

During recent decades, different patterns of multi-level governance (MLG) have spread across Europe as a consequence of Europeanisation of public policies, which have increasingly adopted decentralized and participatory procedures conceived as a tool of more effective and accountable policy-making. It appears, however, that the implementation of operational designs based on MLG may be rather problematic and it does not necessarily bring to the expected performance improvements. Referring to the case of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which conceives the creation of new multi-level institutional settings as a key tool for enacting a new holistic approach to water management and protection, this article explores the difficulties that the implementation of such settings has brought in Italy, despite some favorable pre-conditions existing in the country. Evidence is provided that along with institutional and agency variables, the implementation effectiveness of MLG arrangements promoted by the EU can be challenged by their inherent characteristics

Dispersal Modeling of Fish Early Life Stages: Sensitivity with Application to Atlantic Cod in the Western Gulf of Maine

As an initial step in establishing mechanistic relationships between environmental variability and recruitment in Atlantic cod Gadhus morhua along the coast of the western Gulf of Maine, we assessed transport success of larvae from major spawning grounds to nursery areas with particle tracking using the unstructured grid model FVCOM (finite volume coastal ocean model). In coastal areas, dispersal of early planktonic life stages of fish and invertebrate species is highly dependent on the regional dynamics and its variability, which has to be captured by our models. With state-of-the-art forcing for the year 1995, we evaluate the sensitivity of particle dispersal to the timing and location of spawning, the spatial and temporal resolution of the model, and the vertical mixing scheme. A 3 d frequency for the release of particles is necessary to capture the effect of the circulation variability into an averaged dispersal pattern of the spawning season. The analysis of sensitivity to model setup showed that a higher resolution mesh, tidal forcing, and current variability do not change the general pattern of connectivity, but do tend to increase within-site retention. Our results indicate strong downstream connectivity among spawning grounds and higher chances for successful transport from spawning areas closer to the coast. The model run for January egg release indicates 1 to 19 % within-spawning ground retention of initial particles, which may be sufficient to sustain local populations. A systematic sensitivity analysis still needs to be conducted to determine the minimum mesh and forcing resolution that adequately resolves the complex dynamics of the western Gulf of Maine. Other sources of variability, i.e. large-scale upstream forcing and the biological environment, also need to be considered in future studies of the interannual variability in transport and survival of the early life stages of cod

Fast and reliable MCMC for cosmological parameter estimation

Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques are now widely used for cosmological parameter estimation. Chains are generated to sample the posterior probability distribution obtained following the Bayesian approach. An important issue is how to optimize the efficiency of such sampling and how to diagnose whether a finite-length chain has adequately sampled the underlying posterior probability distribution. We show how the power spectrum of a single such finite chain may be used as a convergence diagnostic by means of a fitting function, and discuss strategies for optimizing the distribution for the proposed steps. The methods developed are applied to current CMB and LSS data interpreted using both a pure adiabatic cosmological model and a mixed adiabatic/isocurvature cosmological model including possible correlations between modes. For the latter application, because of the increased dimensionality and the presence of degeneracies, the need for tuning MCMC methods for maximum efficiency becomes particularly acute.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures. Submitted to MNRA

The Sec1/Munc18 protein Vps45 regulates cellular levels of its SNARE binding partners Tlg2 and Snc2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Intracellular membrane trafficking pathways must be tightly regulated to ensure proper functioning of all eukaryotic cells. Central to membrane trafficking is the formation of specific SNARE (soluble N-ethylmeleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) complexes between proteins on opposing lipid bilayers. The Sec1/Munc18 (SM) family of proteins play an essential role in SNARE-mediated membrane fusion, and like the SNAREs are conserved through evolution from yeast to humans. The SM protein Vps45 is required for the formation of yeast endosomal SNARE complexes and is thus essential for traffic through the endosomal system. Here we report that, in addition to its role in regulating SNARE complex assembly, Vps45 regulates cellular levels of its SNARE binding partners: the syntaxin Tlg2 and the v-SNARE Snc2: Cells lacking Vps45 have reduced cellular levels of Tlg2 and Snc2; and elevation of Vps45 levels results in concomitant increases in the levels of both Tlg2 and Snc2. As well as regulating traffic through the endosomal system, the Snc v-SNAREs are also required for exocytosis. Unlike most vps mutants, cells lacking Vps45 display multiple growth phenotypes. Here we report that these can be reversed by selectively restoring Snc2 levels in vps45 mutant cells. Our data indicate that as well as functioning as part of the machinery that controls SNARE complex assembly, Vps45 also plays a key role in determining the levels of its cognate SNARE proteins; another key factor in regulation of membrane traffic

Comparison of observed and model-computed low frequency circulation and hydrography on the New England Shelf

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (2008): C09015, doi:10.1029/2007JC004394.The finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) is configured to study the interannual variability of circulation in the Gulf of Maine (GoM) and Georges Bank. The FVCOM-GoM system incorporates realistic time-dependent surface forcing derived from a high-resolution mesoscale meteorological model (MM5) and assimilation of observed quantities including sea surface temperature and salinity and temperature fields on the open boundary. An evaluation of FVCOM-GoM model skill on the New England shelf is made by comparison of computed fields and data collected during the Coastal Mixing and Optics (CMO) Program (August 1996–June 1997). Model mean currents for the full CMO period compare well in both magnitude and direction in fall and winter but overpredict the westward flow in spring. The direction and ellipticity of the subtidal variability correspond but computed magnitudes are around 20% below observed, partially due to underprediction of the variability by MM5. Response of subtidal currents to wind-forcing shows the model captures the directional dependence, as well as seasonal variability of the lag. Hydrographic results show that FVCOM-GoM resolves the spatial and temporal evolution of the temperature and salinity fields. The model-computed surface salinity field compares well, except in May when there is no indication of the fresh surface layer from the Connecticut River discharge noted in the observations. Analysis of model-computed results indicates that the plume was unable to extend to the mooring location due to the presence of a westward mean model-computed flow during that time that was stronger than observed. Overall FVCOM-GoM captures well the dynamics of the mean and subtidal flow on the New England shelf.G. Cowles was supported by the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute (MFI) through NOAA grants DOC/NOAA/ NA04NMF4720332 and DOC/NOAA/NA05NMF4721131, S. Lentz by the NSF Ocean Sciences Division through grants OCE-841292 and OCE- 848961, C. Chen and Q. Xu through the NSF/NOAA GLOBEC/Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank Program under NSF grants OCE-0234545 and OCE-0227679 and NOAA grants NA-16OP2323, and R. Beardsley through NOAA grant NA-17RJ1223

Institutions, policies, and arguments:context and strategy in EU policy framing

Studies of framing in the EU political system are still a rarity and they suffer from a lack of systematic empirical analysis. Addressing this gap, we ask if institutional and policy contexts intertwined with the strategic side of framing can explain the number and types of frames employed by different stakeholders. We use a computer-assisted manual content analysis and develop a fourfold typology of frames to study the frames that were prevalent in the debates on four EU policy proposals within financial market regulation and environmental policy at the EU level and in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The main empirical finding is that both contexts and strategies exert a significant impact on the number and types of frames in EU policy debates. In conceptual terms, the article contributes to developing more fine-grained tools for studying frames and their underlying dimensions

Using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods for estimating parameters with gravitational radiation data

We present a Bayesian approach to the problem of determining parameters for coalescing binary systems observed with laser interferometric detectors. By applying a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm, specifically the Gibbs sampler, we demonstrate the potential that MCMC techniques may hold for the computation of posterior distributions of parameters of the binary system that created the gravity radiation signal. We describe the use of the Gibbs sampler method, and present examples whereby signals are detected and analyzed from within noisy data.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figure

Evolutionary stasis and lability in thermal physiology in a group of tropical lizards

Understanding how quickly physiological traits evolve is a topic of great interest, particularly in the context of how organisms can adapt in response to climate warming. Adjustment to novel thermal habitats may occur either through behavioural adjustments, physiological adaptation, or both. Here we test whether rates of evolution differ among physiological traits in the cybotoids, a clade of tropical Anolis lizards distributed in markedly different thermal environments on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. We find that cold tolerance evolves considerably faster than heat tolerance, a difference that results because behavioural thermoregulation more effectively shields these organisms from selection on upper than lower temperature tolerances. Specifically, because lizards in very different environments behaviourally thermoregulate during the day to similar body temperatures, divergent selection on body temperature and heat tolerance is precluded, whereas night-time temperatures can only be partially buffered by behaviour, thereby exposing organisms to selection on cold tolerance. We discuss how exposure to selection on physiology influences divergence among tropical organisms and its implications for adaptive evolutionary response to climate warming