In vivo measurements of the seasonal photosynthetic fluorescence of the Mediterranean coral Cladocora caespitosa (L.)

La fluorescencia fotosintética in situ, de las zooxantelas del coral mediterraneo Cladocora caespitosa (L), se determinó estacionalmente sobre colonias desde 5 a 26 m de profundidad a través de un fluorimetro integrador INF-300 (Biospheral Instrument Inc.). Este instrumento oceanográfico, utilizado para medir la fluorescencia de la clorofilla a del fitoplancton in vivo, se ha adaptado para determinar la fluorescencia natural de C. caespitosa por los buceadores. Las curvas resultantes de la fluorescencia natural de la clorofila a vs la radiación (PAR 400-700 nm) fotosintéticamente activa mostraban que: la fluorescencia natural estaba limitada por la disponibilidad de luz en ambas colonias de profundidad y de aguas poco profundas en todas las estaciones del año, (2) la fotosíntensis producida en C. caespitosa tenia lugar también en invierno, cuando la temperatura es baja y la turbidez del agua contribuyen de forma significativa a la atenuación de PAR, (3) la eficiencia de la fluorescencia de la clorofila a incrementaba desde verano a invierno. Este último hallazgo pone de manifiesto el acoplamiento entre la actividad de las zooxantelas y los procesos de calcificación y es consistente con la formación de la banda de alta densidad en el esqueleto coralino

Low clonal propagation in Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Octocorallia)

Clonal propagation is a common feature of benthic marine organisms. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of clonal reproduction in the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata. Mediterranean populations of P. clavata were severely affected by mass mortality events caused by increased water temperature in 1999 and 2003. The populations are characterized by slow growth and episodic recruitment, but after the observed mortalities, an unexpectedly high recovery rate was observed in the severely affected populations from the Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean. Ten years after the last mortality event, we investigated the contribution of clonal propagation in populations from the Ligurian Sea, where some populations were highly affected by mass mortality events, and from the Atlantic, where mortality was never observed. All individuals were genotyped for nine microsatellite loci. The contribution of clonal reproduction varied from 0% to 13% and did not differ significantly between affected and unaffected populations. We confirm by using genetic markers that clonal propagation in P. clavata is not common, and that the contribution of clones is too low to play an important role in red gorgonian reproduction and cannot contribute to population recovery at sites that have been affected by mass mortality events.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) under the COMPETE program - European Regional Development Fund [PTDC/BIA-BIC/114526/2009]; MARES Grant; Erasmus Mundus [FPA 2011-0016

The Multiple Facets of Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973)

Enter the Dragon, released in 1973, was the first ever film co-produced by a Hollywood studio and a Hong Kong production company. It was intended to launch the career of actor and martial arts champion Bruce Lee in the United States and, in this way, its promotion included elements that, on the one hand, reminded one of the previous films that had made him famous, but, at the same time, could also be associated to contemporary popular movies–in particular, those of the James Bond franchise. In this article, the marketing of Enter the Dragon is analyzed particularly through the study of various posters and trailers, which were different according to the countries or areas in which it was released. Borrowing from other works, Enter the Dragon was at the crossroads of various genres, but contributed to initiate other codes in adventure or action movies, which have been used ever since

The Insecurity of “Secure Communities”: A Case Study of an Advocacy Campaign To Protect Immigrant Rights in Santa Barbara, CA

This case study describes and analyzes the work of advocacy work of PUEBLO, a human and immigrant rights organization in Santa Barbara, California. The paper focuses on the ongoing campaigns of PUEBLO and its allies, including national and state-level organizations and coalitions, to influence one of the most recent federal immigration policies, titled Secure Communities. It also addresses PUEBLO’s advocacy to change local law enforcement policies or practices which have targeted Hispanic residents, including undocumented immigrants, for traffic citations and car impoundments. Based on knowledge acquired through my six month, full-time internship with PUEBLO and through various forms of primary and secondary research, the paper discusses different dimensions of the advocacy work. First, following a brief overview of the political, economic and demographic context of Santa Barbara County, the paper discusses PUEBLO’s role and capacities as the only one of over 200 local nonprofits in that is focused on immigrant rights. Next, the paper discusses the stated purpose of the Secure Communities policy, which creates relationships between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement agencies to determine if persons in jail or accused of a crime are undocumented immigrants, leading to deportations. It then describes the immigrant rights movement’s critique of that policy, especially how it has been used to deport persons who are outside the policies target group, and some of the federal level changes in response to their advocacy. The paper then focuses on the local context. After the Santa Barbara County Sheriff signed an agreement to implement Secure Communities without public or even local government input, PUEBLO pressured him to rescind the agreement. The paper describes this effort, as well as parallel efforts to influence the Chief of the Santa Barbara City Police regarding practices that were disproportionately harmful for the local immigrant population. A major focus is a detailed vii description of the PUEBLO’s advocacy strategy and planning process regarding the above policies and practices, including its emphasis on grassroots education and mobilization. The paper concludes with a summary of progress in this ongoing effort and an identification of general lessons about advocacy that can be learned from the work of PUEBLO

Kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in neutron-star X-ray binaries:Flattening of the lag spectrum with increasing luminosity

We study the energy-dependent time lags and rms fractional amplitude of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) of a group of neutron-star low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We find that for the lower kHz QPO the slope of the best-fitting linear model to the time-lag spectrum and the total rms amplitude integrated over the 2 to 25 keV energy band both decrease exponentially with the luminosity of the source. For the upper kHz QPO the slope of the time-lag spectrum is consistent with zero, while the total rms amplitude decreases exponentially with the luminosity of the source. We show that both the slope of the time-lag spectrum and the total rms amplitude of the lower kHz QPO are linearly correlated with a slope of ~1. Finally, we discuss the mechanism that could be responsible for the radiative properties of the kHz QPOs, with the variability originating in a Comptonising cloud or corona that is coupled to the innermost regions of the accretion disc, close to the neutron star.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Lags of the KiloHertz Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the transient source XTE J1701−-462

We analysed 14 observations with kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) of the neutron star X-ray binary XTE J1701$-$462, the first source to show a clear transition between atoll and Z-like behaviour during a single outburst. We calculated the average cross-spectrum of both atoll and Z-phase observations of XTE J1701$-$462 between a reference/hard band (6.1 - 25.7 keV) and a subject/soft band (2.1 - 5.7 keV) to obtain, using a novel technique, the average time lags of the lower and upper kHz QPOs. During the atoll phase, we found that at the frequency of the lower kHz QPO the soft photons lag behind the hard ones by $18 \pm 8$ $\mu$s, whereas during the Z phase the lags are $33\pm35$ $\mu$s, consistent with zero. This difference in the lags of both phases suggests that in XTE J1701$-$462, as observed in other sources, the lags decrease with increasing luminosity. We found that for both the atoll and Z phase observations the fractional rms amplitude increases with energy up to $\sim$10 keV and remains more or less constant at higher energies. Since these changes in the variability of XTE J1701$-$462 occur within the same outburst, properties like the mass of the neutron star or the inclination of the system cannot be responsible for the differences in the timing properties of the kHz QPOs in the atoll and Z phase. Here we suggest that these differences are driven by a Comptonizing component or corona, possibly oscillating in a coupled mode with the innermost regions of the accretion disc.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA