Susceptibility to oxidative stress of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Venice Lagoon (Italy)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility to pollutant mediated oxidative stress of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Venice lagoon (Italy).

In June 2003, mussels from a farm were transplanted to eight sites in the lagoon for five weeks. Oxidative stress responses were measured by: (i) total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) assay, for an overall evaluation of the oxidative stress response capability; (ii) catalase (CAT), as a key enzyme involved in the antioxidant defence system; (iii) malondialdehyde (MDA), as an indicator of lipid peroxidation, to evaluate an oxidative damage; (iv) metallothioneins (MTs), as they play a role in the antioxidant defence.

The TOSC analysis revealed a reduced capability to eliminate: (i) peroxyl radical in mussels transplanted at Palude della Rosa, Valle Millecampi and Chioggia; (ii) hydroxyl radical at Campalto and Valle Millecampi; (iii) peroxynitrite at Valle Millecampi.

Inhibition in CAT activity, observed in all the monitored sites, confirms the presence of an oxidative pressure in transplanted mussels.

In addition, Pearson correlation analysis was performed in order to observe possible links between the various parameters. The PCA was a powerful tool to discriminate impacted sites, suggesting that the mussels transplanted throughout the Venice lagoon were subjected to different levels of oxidative pressure. Furthermore, it provided an easy and useful tool to summarize the obtained results.     

Ethnicity in Eastern Europe: Historical legacies and prospects for cohesion

Eastern Europe lacks cohesion partly arising from a history of ethnic tension. Ways are now being found to overcome historic conflicts over alternative political structures, as the enlargement of membership for European institutions requires greater equality of rights at the same time as support and security is extended. Thus while ethnicity, as a political, social and cultural entity, persists in Eastern Europe as an essential element at the local level, it is now being seen more positively as cultural diversity and thus more compatible with democracy and a positive asset to national well-being. Multi-ethnic states are proving to be viable and some of the most intractable inter-ethnic problems (linked with the Hungarian minorities) are being addressed constructively. Yet there are signs that the southern part of the region is being marginalised regarding foreign investment. Also there is unease that European values are not being embraced unconditionally in parts of the Balkans. Recent military intervention has created fresh problems, committing the West to continued economic and political support to strengthen its stance on democracy and minority rights. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A new scenario framework for climate change research: background,process, and future directions

The scientific community is developing new global, regional, and sectoral scenarios to facilitate interdisciplinary research and assessment to explore the range of possible future climates and related physical changes that could pose risks to human and natural systems; how these changes could interact with social, economic, and environmental development pathways; the degree to which mitigation and adaptation policies can avoid and reduce risks; the costs and benefits of various policy mixes; and the relationship of future climate change adaptation and mitigation policy responses with sustainable development. This paper provides the background to and process of developing the conceptual framework for these scenarios, as described in the three subsequent papers in this Special Issue (Van Vuuren et al., 2013; O’Neill et al., 2013; Kriegler et al., Submitted for publication in this special issue). The paper also discusses research needs to further develop, apply, and revise this framework in an iterative and open-ended process. A key goal of the framework design and its future development is to facilitate the collaboration of climate change researchers from a broad range of perspectives and disciplines to develop policy- and decision-relevant scenarios and explore the challenges and opportunities human and natural systems could face with additional climate change.     

Exploring ecological changes in Cook Inlet beluga whale habitat though traditional and local ecological knowledge of contributing factors for population decline

The Cook Inlet beluga whale, one of five Alaskan stocks, is genetically distinct and geographically isolated from other populations. Historically, Cook Inlet whales were hunted commercially, for sport, and for subsistence uses. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 ended commercial and sport hunting; in 1999, subsistence hunting voluntarily ended. In 2008, Cook Inlet beluga whales were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act after annual aerial surveys indicated the population was not recovering as expected. A combination of natural and anthropogenic factors may be affecting this population’s recovery. This study documented traditional and local ecological knowledge of Alaska Native subsistence hunters and fishers and commercial fishers through participatory research to explore ecological changes in Cook Inlet over time and to identify potential factors impacting this beluga whale population. Study results identified potential environmental and climate change factors including prey competition, health of beluga and their prey, and the presence of killer whales, the majority of which may indicate an ecosystem regime shift in the Cook Inlet region. Human-related factors included fisheries management and related prey reduction, water contamination, and anthropogenic-related noise. These results corroborate identified threats to beluga whales and also identify potential new areas of scientific investigation and management. As such this study demonstrates the value of incorporating traditional and local ecological knowledge into ongoing science and management.     

Tropical variability and stratospheric equatorial waves in the IPSLCM5 model

The atmospheric variability in the equatorial regions is analysed in the Earth System Model pre-industrial simulation done at IPSL in the framework of CMIP5. We find that the model has an interannual variability of about the right amplitude and temporal scale, when compared to the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but that is too confined to the western Pacific. At the intra-seasonal periods, the model variability lacks of large-scale organisation, and only produces one characteristic Madden-Julian Oscillation every 10 winters typically. At shorter time-scales and in the troposphere, the model has Rossby and Kelvin Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves (CCEWs), but underestimates the Kelvin CCEWs signal on OLR. In the model stratosphere, a composite analysis shows that the Temperature and velocities fluctuations due to the Kelvin waves are quite realistic. In the model nevertheless, the stratospheric waves are less related to the convection than in the observations, suggesting that their forcing by the midlatitudes plays a larger role. Still in the model, the Kelvin waves are not predominantly occurring during the life cycle of the tropospheric Kelvin CCEWs, a behaviour that we find to be dominant in the observations. The composite analysis is also used to illustrate how the waves modify the zonal mean-flow, and to show that the model Kelvin waves are too weak in this respect. This illustrates how a model can have a reasonable Kelvin waves signal on the velocities and temperature, but can at the same time underestimate their amplitude to modify the mean flow. We also use this very long simulation to establish that in the model, the stratospheric equatorial waves are significantly affected by ENSO, hence supporting the idea that the ENSO can have an influence on the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation.     

Inside and outside Italian political culture: Immigrants and diasporic politics in Turin

Immigration has become a leading topic of Italian political discourse and culture over the past decade, but international migrants also play a crucial role in the transformation of political culture at the scale of everyday practices. In the northern Italian industrial city, Turin, migrants from various parts of Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia bring into relief the deconstruction of postwar labor in Italy, and contribute widely to shifting political practices and identities. Contemporary migrants from diverse ethnic backgrounds are discriminated against in similar ways, and are in the historically peculiar position of building diasporic politics. In Turin, first generation migrants have helped lead newcomers toward active participation in local politics, from the shop floors to the labor unions, and to inter-ethnic and feminist associations.     

A Practical Approach to the Estimation of Amplitude and Time-Delay Parameters of a Composite Signal

A method for estimating the amplitude and time-delay parameters for signals that can be represented as a sum of a number of scaled and delayed replicas of a known signal in the presence of nonwhite Gaussian noise is presented. The method is based upon the principles of maximum likelihood (ML) estimation, but at certain key points simplifying assumptions are made that result in a computationally practical estimation scheme. The results are compared with other related results in the literature. Simulation results are presented which support the methods derived.