bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of a New Radiation Package, McRad, in the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System
Authors: Morcrette J-J. , Barker H. W. , Cole J. N. S. , Iacono M. J. , Pincus R.
Published: May 2008

A new radiation package, “McRad,” has become operational with cycle 32R2 of the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). McRad includes an improved description of the land surface albedo from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations, the Monte Carlo independent column approximation treatment of the radiative transfer in clouds, and the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model shortwave scheme. The impact of McRad on year-long simulations at TL159L91 and higher-resolution 10-day forecasts is then documented. McRad is shown to benefit the representation of most parameters over both shorter and longer time scales, relative to the previous operational version of the radiative transfer schemes. At all resolutions, McRad improves the representation of the cloud–radiation interactions, particularly in the tropical regions, with improved temperature and wind objective scores through a reduction of some systematic errors in the position of tropical convection as a result of a change in the overall distribution of diabatic heating over the vertical plane, inducing a geographical redistribution of the centers of convection. Although smaller, the improvement is also seen in the rmse of geopotential in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and over Europe. Given the importance of cloudiness in modulating the radiative fluxes, the sensitivity of the model to cloud overlap assumption (COA) is also addressed, with emphasis on the flexibility that is inherent to this new RT approach when dealing with COA. The sensitivity of the forecasts to the space interpolation that is required to efficiently address the high computational cost of the RT parameterization is also revisited. A reduction of the radiation grid for the Ensemble Prediction System is shown to be of little impact on the scores while reducing the computational cost of the radiation computations. McRad is also shown to decrease the cold bias in ocean surface temperature in climate integrations with a coupled ocean system.
Cassandra's policies
Authors: Roger Philippe
Published: May 2008

The image of the American empire in French minds is the result of a long sediment of representations, a layering of panicked discourses. Creating this imperial image was central to crystallizing the anti-American discourse in France. Historically, the French perception of the United States of America as an imperial power came about very early on, predating Theodore Roosevelt's imperious foreign policy and even the Spanish— American war of 1898. It was born under the Second Empire and arose from the antagonism postulated between the Latins and the Anglo-Saxons. It temporarily amalgamated the real British empire and the virtual American empire in collective loathing; but it would quickly isolate the Yankee, depicting him as a `exacerbated Anglo-Saxon'. American imperialism was all the more menacing and dangerous for being underhanded. Denouncing the predatory nature of the undeclared American empire became a way for the French to fend off critics of their own (colonial) imperialism, presented as a civilizing mission. The less the Americans behaved like classic colonizers, the more they revealed their will to dominate. By not staking a forthright claim as a competitor for control of the world, the United States worked to undermine the very foundations and legitimacy of European dealings outside of Europe. The Americans were thus the winners on two fronts: from their abstract colonizing they reaped the benefits without the costs; and they could also proclaim themselves the champions of decolonization and proffer the Europeans exasperating moral lessons. In another development, between the late 1930s and the 1950s, the constant use of colonial metaphors allowed a new and decisive anti-American discourse to emerge: France was routinely described as having unwittingly turned into a `colony,' a `dominion', a `conquered land', a `new State of the Union'. From an unfair competitor hiding his own domineering game and sabotaging benevolent European hegemony, the Yankee had thus become, at the time of the Cold War, an overtly hostile presence in an `occupied', `dominated', `colonized' France.
France in the Cold War
Authors: Wall Irwin
Published: May 2008

During the Cold War France fashioned its foreign policy first in con-junction with, and then in opposition to, the United States. In the immediate post-war era the French diverted American monies intended for economic growth and military defence against the USSR to colonial struggles in Indochina and Algeria. In the 1960s, France dissented from American policy in Vietnam, withdrew from NATO's integrated com-mand, and pursued its own agenda in the hope of achieving détente. This policy foundered due to the May 1968 upheaval, but it was picked up by Willie Brandt's Ostpolitik and contributed to bringing about the end of the Cold War.
Two Perspectives on a Trauma in a Training Group: The Systems-Centred Approach and the Theory of Incohesion: Part II
Authors: Gantt Susan P. , Hopper Earl
Published: May 2008

PART II. This paper continues from the previous issue. Part I described the two theories: the theory of living human systems and its systems-centred approach and the theory of incohesion. This part discusses a specific group and its trauma from the two perspectives.
The Virtual Institute of Group Analysis
Authors: Gildenhuys Assie
Published: May 2008

In this article the conceptual clarification and application of group analytic thinking to the development of a virtual environment is discussed. The virtual institute of Group Analysis was created to provide the platform for a part-time distance learning postgraduate program in an academic department. Various fields of group analytic work have been consulted to formulate design principles in generating the conceptual idiom to present the course content. Various group analytic constructs are summoned to support the initial phase of formulating both the designed structure and the connecting communicational flow support structures. The virtual environment offers innovative possibilities but conceptual clarification and refinement of the various relational dynamics are still required.
The Body of Shame in the Circle of the Group
Authors: Hadar Bracha
Published: May 2008

This paper suggests an integration of two therapeutic domains in which the author was trained and certified: group analysis and bioenergetic analysis. Bioenergetic analysis is a psychodynamic psychotherapy, which sees the individual as a psychosomatic unity and combines work with the body and the mind. The author considers the pioneering book The Group as an Object of Desire by Morris Nitsun as a facilitating environment for the ideas of this paper to be accepted. Nitsun opens up the importance, on one hand, and the neglect, on the other hand, of sexuality and the body in the discourse of group analysis. The paper brings the body to the front of group analysis. It illuminates the body as the stage on which the drama of shame occurs. The paper discusses five dimensions of shame, categorized into five degrees of pathology, having to do with the developmental stages in which it occurred. The most archaic one (degree 1) is the most malignant and inhibits the social life of the individual. The fifth degree, social shame, is necessary in order to be part of society. A bridge of understanding between group analysis and bioenergetic analysis is suggested in which social shame, the more superficial one, serves as a defence against or displacement of the bodily shame. The ultimate space for working, therapeutically, on shame is the group, provided the body is not dissociated from the arena. A clinical example of working with a group in the integrated model is described, followed by a discussion. It is suggested to consider the matrix as the group body-mind instead of only the group mind.
Measuring Public Service
Authors: Frank Nancy
Published: May 2008

During the past twenty years, two themes have emerged in higher education. One theme has been an increased attention to the service mission of universities, a matter of special importance to planning programs. The other has been an increased emphasis on accountability and performance assessment, an emphasis that has attracted much attention in ACSP in recent years. This article offers some starting points for grappling with the difficult task of assessing performance in the area of public service. The article reviews the history of these converging themes—nationally and within the planning academy—and draws upon the assessment literature to offer a framework and tool for conducting performance assessment of service activities at both the individual and program level.
The Evolution of Built Landscapes in Metropolitan Regions
Authors: Wheeler Stephen M.
Published: May 2008

This article analyzes the evolution of built landscapes in six U.S. metropolitan regions using historic maps, aerial photographs, and GIS software. The analysis identifies seven main historic patterns of urban form and nine types created in the 1980-2005 period. This recent period was characterized by a proliferation and fragmentation of built landscape types, rapid spatial expansion, and falling densities. These trends raise the question of whether the public sector should more proactively shape urban form. Rural sprawl accounts for much of the land now being urbanized, representing a new planning challenge. The Portland Urban Growth Boundary is found to be effective at limiting this type of development. The New Urbanist neighborhood form is still extremely rare.
Beyond Food Deserts
Authors: Raja Samina , Changxing Ma  , Yadav Pavan
Published: May 2008

Given the emerging focus on improving food environments and food systems through planning, this article investigates racial disparities in neighborhood food environments. An empirical case of Erie County, New York tests the hypothesis that people belonging to different racial groups have access to different neighborhood food destinations. Using multiple methods—Gini coefficients and Poisson regression—we show that contrary to studies elsewhere in the country there are no food deserts in Erie County. However, like other studies, we find an absence of supermarkets in neighborhoods of color when compared to white neighborhoods. Nonetheless, our study reveals an extensive network of small grocery stores in neighborhoods of color. Rather than soliciting supermarkets, supporting small, high-quality grocery stores may be a more efficient strategy for ensuring access to healthful foods in minority neighborhoods.
Involving Urban Planning, Social Work, and Public Health Faculty Members in the Civic Renewal of the Research University
Authors: Checkoway Barry
Published: May 2008

What are some strategies for involving urban planning, social work, and public health faculty members in the civic renewal of the research university? At a time when citizens have “disengaged from democracy,” and universities have deemphasized their civic mission, this article examines ways in which these faculty members might join together and formulate strategies which complement their shared professional and public purposes on campus and in the community.
The Invisibility of Children's Paid and Unpaid Work
Authors: Woldehanna Tassew , Jones Nicola , Tefera Bekele
Published: May 2008

The complexities of intergenerational and gendered intra-household resource allocations are frequently overlooked in poverty reduction policies. To address this lacuna, this article focuses on links between macro-development policies and children's paid and unpaid work burden in Ethiopia. Using a mixed methods approach, quantitative household survey data results highlight the importance of household wealth and assets, family composition and access to education services, while the qualitative results underscore the role of culturally ascribed gendered and age-specific conceptualizations of work, parental attitudes and children's agency. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges national development plans need to address to tackle childhood poverty more effectively.
`Not Just a Business Transaction'
Authors: Sun Shirley Hsiao-Li
Published: May 2008

How does the presence of grandparents in the household impact the gendered division of childcare responsibilities between spouses? How does it compare with market-based care? Drawing on in-depth interview data, this study finds that Taiwanese grandparents treat childcare assistance as their moral responsibility. Mothers express more appreciation for assistance from their own mothers than their mothers-in-law. Fathers appreciate the role of both their parents and their in-laws. The analysis suggests that the character of intergenerational relations is one of the factors mediating the degree to which married women's entrance into the paid labour force results in the perceived childcare deficit.
Which Clothes Suit Me?
Authors: König Alexandra
Published: May 2008

This article outlines the ways in which clothing is one important medium for the presentation of self, on the basis of interviews and group discussions with young people in a qualitative study. In the process of leaving their childhood behind, young people have to present themselves as individuals; the self has to be indicated in an individualized (and unequal) society. Their vestimentary practices are both bound by the social order and also contribute to its constitution. The article also develops a critical discussion of the generational order, which is simultaneously class differentiated. The differentiation between childhood and youth is the most prominent age distinction, but more differentiated age steps are also perceptible.
Promoting Self-Expression in Classroom Interactions
Authors: Baraldi Claudio
Published: May 2008

Self-expression is a key concept for sociological studies on childhood since it is the cue for children's self-socialization and agency. Hence promoting children's agency and social participation requires their self-expression to be facilitated in their interaction with adults. The analysis in this article of a set of interactions in Italian schools sheds light on how promotion of children's self-expression succeeded or failed through specific adult intervention and forms of communication. This analysis may be interesting for a reflection on how to promote children's participation and self-expression in education systems.
Participation in Family Law Proceedings for Children Whose Father is Violent to Their Mother
Authors: Eriksson Maria , Näsman Elisabet
Published: May 2008

This article examines the opportunities and obstacles for vulnerable and victimized children's participation in family law proceedings. With the help of a set of interviews with children, a framework for the analysis of vulnerable and victimized children's participation is outlined with reference to, on the one hand, the childhood studies debates concerning children's participation and, on the other hand, the contemporary debates about children as victims of crime when exposed to men's violence to women in their family. The authors argue that participation can be viewed as central not simply to a rights perspective on children, but also to a care perspective.
`Right' and `Not Right'
Authors: Bosisio Roberta
Published: May 2008

This article analyses the results of a study of conceptions of justice among Italian teenagers. The aim was to examine young people's representations of issues of justice, and to determine whether the experience of active participation can influence such representations. The study was designed in accordance with the most recent approaches in sociology of childhood; it involved young people attending higher secondary school, some of them members of a youth organization. Most of the teenagers were interviewed individually, others in focus groups. The interviews were conducted through the presentation of scenarios based on questions of justice, while the focus groups were presented with a variety of moral dilemmas.
Between doctrine and clinical practice: nosography and semiology in the work of Jean-Etienne-Dominique Esquirol (1772—1840)
Authors: Huertas Rafael
Published: May 2008

This paper makes a fresh analysis of the work of the French alienist J. E. D. Esquirol. In addition to a critical study of his classification of mental diseases, it analyses his main contributions to semiology: the difference between hallucinations and illusions, etc., and it also places the psychiatric clinic into the context of the so-called anatomoclinical mentality.
The psychiatrist Auguste Forel and his attitude to eugenics
Authors: Kuechenhoff Bernhard
Published: May 2008

Until the end of the 20th century Forel (1848—1931) was seen as an important neuroanatomist, a fighter against alcoholism, a researcher on ants and the author of Die sexuelle Frage . Forel's racist and eugenic views have been forgotten. Without losing sight of his merits, this article focuses on his attitude to eugenics, and will show that eugenic thinking — based on his main principles — permeated his work.
Joseph Schorstein: R. D. Laing's `rabbi'
Authors: Collins Kenneth
Published: May 2008

The Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing (1929—88) was one of the most influential but also one of the most controversial figures in twentieth-century psychiatry as he explored the boundaries in schizophrenia and serious mental illness in families. Joseph Schorstein (1909—76) was born in Moravia, graduated in medicine in Vienna, specialized in neurosurgery and eventually settled in Glasgow following wartime army service. Laing acknowledged the role of Schorstein as his `spiritual mentor' and guide to the European intellectual world. This paper looks at the relationship between these two very different men and examines the career of Schorstein and the influence of his cultural background in Central Europe in shaping aspects of medical thought and culture in Glasgow.
Convergence and conflict: anthropology, psychiatry and feminism in the early writings of Madeleine Pelletier (1874—1939)
Authors: Gordon Felicia
Published: May 2008

This paper reviews the early career and psychiatric writings of Madeleine Pelletier (1874—1939), between 1901 and 1906. Pelletier, a committed feminist and socialist, was the first woman to remove the barriers to women entering the French psychiatric profession, successfully passing the examination for the l'internat des hôpitaux psychiatriques in 1903. Her involvement in La Société d'Anthropologie de Paris and the Institut Général de Psychologie provided a forum for her interest in psychology, both normal and abnormal. She turned increasingly to sociological explanations for mental illness, unwilling to accept the determinism inherent in degeneration theory. Although her career in psychiatry was cut short in 1906, her training and her debating skills, honed in the rationalism of the scientific and Free Masonic societies that she frequented, stood her in good stead in her subsequent career as a political militant.
Classic Text No. 74 `How Fury and Lucid Intervals may be Proven' by Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh
Authors: Miller E. , Parratt D.R.
Published: May 2008

In Scots law, adults are presumed to have legal capacity to enter into contracts and to dispose of their property as they see fit. That presumption may be rebutted where an individual's mental condition impairs that capacity. This has been the legal position for some time. The text reproduced here is taken from the written pleadings drawn up by an eminent seventeenth-century advocate for a client who sought to resist a claim on his deceased sister's estate. It was argued by the other side that she had been incapacitated by mental illness before her death and at the time that she had made provision. The pleading expounds Scottish seventeenth-century notions of insanity in a particular context, and argue for a way of determining whether a person had the necessary capacity by using and drawing on earlier Continental texts. It is notable that there is use of medical evidence almost a century prior to the first recognized use of medical testimony as to mental disorder in English courts.
The influence of changes in orbital parameters over South American climate using the CPTEC AGCM: simulation of climate during the mid Holocene
Authors: Luciene Dias de Melo Maria , Marengo José Antonio
Published: May 2008

Climate change has been analysed for the mid Holocene (MH, 6000 years BP) over South America. Simulations have been performed through modification of the orbital parameters and the CO2 concentration typical of the MH within the CPTEC T062L28 atmospheric general circulation models (AGCM). The results were compared with previous simulations performed by various climate centres around the world and with palaeoclimate indicators. The MH climate simulation shows a wetter behaviour in northeastern South America with a northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). In central and southeastern South America the simulations show a reduction in precipitation. Some important changes were detected during the MH: (a) the increase in the intensity of the circulation of the South Atlantic subtropical high; (b) the intensification of the northerly flow east of the Andes, south of 20°S; (c) the decrease in moisture transport from the Amazon basin to central and south-southeastern Brazil, which can influence the formation and intensity of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ); (d) the reduced intensity of the northeasterly trade winds north of 20°S, which can explain the northward positioning of the ITCZ; and (e) the weakening of the low-level convergence over the Amazon region, which can explain the reduction in precipitation in this region during the MH. A cooling signal was verified during the MH simulation, in accordance with palaeoclimate evidence, that was related to cold air surges coming from the South, which cooled regions east of the Andes and were more common during summer and autumn during the MH.
Marine incursions of the past 1500 years and evidence of tsunamis at Suijin-numa, a coastal lake facing the Japan Trench
Authors: Sawai Yuki , Fujii Yushiro , Fujiwara Osamu , Kamataki Takanobu , Komatsubara Junko , Okamura Yukinobu , Satake Kenji , Shishikura Masanobu
Published: May 2008

Sandy deposits of marine origin underlie the floor of Suijin-numa, a coastal lake midway along the subduction zone marked by the Japan Trench. The deposits form three units that are interbedded with lacustrine peat and mud above a foundation of marine, probably littoral sand. Unlike the lacustrine deposits, all three sandy units contain marine and brackish diatoms. The middle unit (B) contains, in addition, graded beds suggestive of multiple waves of long wavelength and period. The uppermost unit (C) probably dates to a time in the area's written history when the lake was separated from the sea by a beach-ridge plain at least 0.5 km wide and several metres high. Units A and B postdate AD 540—870, and unit C postdates AD 1030—1640 as judged from radiocarbon dating of leaves and seeds. Unit B pre-dates AD 915 and unit C postdates that year as judged from a tephra within the peat that separates units B and C. The age constraints permit correlation of unit B with a tsunami in AD 869 that reportedly devastated at least 100 km of coast approximately centred on Sendai. Unit C may represent a later catastrophic tsunami in 1611, or perhaps a storm surge that inundated much of Sendai. The lake lacks obvious signs of tsunamis from the region's largest twentieth-century earthquakes, which were centred to the north in 1933 (M 8.1) and directly offshore in 1936 (M 7.5), and 1978 (Mw 7.6).
Integrated varve and pollen-based temperature reconstruction from Finland: evidence for Holocene seasonal temperature patterns at high latitudes
Authors: Ojala Antti E.K. , Alenius Teija , Seppä Heikki , Giesecke Thomas
Published: May 2008

A detailed understanding of decadal to millennial-scale climate changes requires seasonal-scale (summer-winter) reconstructions of past precipitation and temperature fluctuations. Comparing seasonally resolved varve records with pollen-based sum of growing degree-days (GDD) reconstructions from Lake Nautajärvi, we examined the intra-annual nature of climate variability in central southern Finland during the Holocene. The organic varve record and the GDD reconstruction show roughly comparable trends supporting the interpretation that both proxies predominantly reflect summer temperatures in the study area. The records suggest low but rising early-Holocene (9500 to 8500 cal. yr BP) summer temperatures. The Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) in the GDD record dates to about 7500 to 4500 cal. yr BP, but the organic varve record along with reconstructed changes in vegetation composition, notably a peak of Tilia pollen percentages, indicate that during the HTM there was a trend towards a more continental climate with maximum mid-summer temperatures reached at 6500 to 4500 cal. yr BP. Both records reflect the start of the post-HTM cooling at about 4500 cal. yr BP, simultaneously with an increase of the amount of catchment erosion and mineral matter influx into the lake, suggesting gradually colder and/or longer winters with high net accumulation of snow. The organic varve record and the GDD record start to diverge at 2000 cal. yr BP, possibly owing to the human influence on catchment processes. The reconstructed mid-Holocene summer temperature peak deviates from the regional climate model outputs, which suggest highest summer temperatures during the early Holocene.
`Little Ice Age' glaciation and current glaciers in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: González Trueba J.J. , Moreno R. Martín , Martínez de Pisón E. , Serrano E.
Published: May 2008

`Little Ice Age' (LIA) glacier advance has been registered in three of the main Iberian high mountain areas: Pyrenees, Picos de Europa and Sierra Nevada. During the LIA, three different glacial environments have been differentiated in these three ranges. A high mountain glacial environment exists in the Pyrenees, where the altitude and northern latitude developed the most complex glacial environment between the oceanic influence on the western side and the Mediterranean influence on the eastern side. In the Pyrenees the LIA glaciation occurred in 15 massifs where there are up to 100 cirques; however, today the glaciers remain only in the highest peaks. A marginal glacial environment exists in the Picos de Europa related to the oceanic influence and topography in an Atlantic high mountain: there were six glaciers in the Picos de Europa Massif during the LIA. A marginal glacial environment also exists in the Sierra Nevada, related to the northern orientation and altitude in a Mediterranean high mountain, where only one glacier, the southernmost of Europe, occurred during the LIA. Several variations of LIA glaciers have been found: historical maximum (from the end of the seventeenth to the beginning of the eighteenth centuries); minor retreat with secondary regrowth (mid-eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); and continuous retreat (from the end of the nineteenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries); followed by the almost complete extinction of the glaciers and an increase in the periglacial environment. There are now 29 glaciers in the Pyrenees, four buried icepatches in the Picos de Europa and one buried icepatch in the Sierra Nevada. The rise of ELAs from the last LIA glacial maximum until the present allows the calculation of an increase in temperatures of around 0.9°C in the Iberian high mountains.
Temporal distribution pattern of subfossil pines in central Sweden: perspective on Holocene humidity fluctuations
Authors: Gunnarson Björn E.
Published: May 2008

The temporal variations in distribution pattern of Scots pines ( Pinus sylvestris L.) have been used as an annual resolution record of past lake-level changes. Logs, preserved for thousands of years in bog and lakes (subfossil wood), were sampled from small lakes of the Scandinavian Mountains in west-central Sweden to construct a tree-ring chronology from an area where pines are sensitive to growth season (ie, summer) temperature. The chronology spans from AD 2006 to 4868 BC, with two minor gaps at 1600 BC and AD 900 and one larger gap at 2900 BC. The dendrochronological approach can provide a high quality long-term perspective on lake level fluctuations, which possibly can be coupled to changes in humidity. Submerged trunks were found in situ, embedded in sediments, and because trees from the earliest periods were not necessarily found at the deepest levels, this shows clearly that lake levels must have been lower than present at the time of tree-growth. The lake levels must have fluctuated, creating alternating conditions of pine regeneration and mortality. The fluctuating lake levels recorded are suggested to be a result of regional humidity increases and decreases, mainly governed by precipitation changes. Periods of lower lake levels were inferred at 4900—4800 BC, 3800—3600 BC, 3400—3250 BC, 2400—2200 BC, 2100—1800 BC, 1500—1100 BC, 900—800 BC, 400—100 BC, AD 50—300, AD 400—600, AD 900—1100, AD 1350—1500 and AD 1700—1800. Periods of higher lake levels are tentatively encountered at 3600—3400 BC, 3200—2900 BC, 2200—2100 BC, 1700—1500 BC, 1100—900 BC, 800—400 BC, 100 BC—AD 50, AD 300—400, AD 750—900, AD 1100—1250 and AD 1550—1700.
A tree-ring record of 500-year dry-wet changes in northern Tibet, China
Authors: Xiaochun Wang  , Zhang Qi-Bin , Keping Ma  , Shengchun Xiao
Published: May 2008

Drought variability of the Tibetan Plateau is an important component across the Asian monsoon. Long-term information about the history of drought is, however, limited because the instrumental records are short. In this study we developed a tree-ring chronology of Sabina tibetica from northern Tibet and used it to reconstruct the history of drought variation for the region. Response analysis shows that water availability in spring and early summer is the main factor limiting the radial growth of Sabina trees in northern Tibet. A May–June Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstruction for the past 500 years ( r = 0.66, P < 0.0001) shows that the seventeenth century was the driest century, whereas the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries were the wettest. The sixteenth century was not significantly different from the long-term mean. The major periods of reconstructed dry conditions include AD 1600–1610, 1617–1624, 1630–1632, 1639–1654, 1665–1681 and 1692–1701. Significant wetter periods were found to be AD 1520–1532, 1702–1705, 1716–1722, 1752–1758, 1839–1857 and 1928–1943. The drought rhythm in northern Tibet has three prominent periodicities: 2–7 and 130–200 years for the whole reconstruction and 16–24 years during the `Little Ice Age' (1520 to 1720). Two points of significant abrupt change in tree rings were found in years of 1530 and 1715, which may indicate the onset of dry and wet conditions during the `Little Ice Age'. There is an abrupt change around 1965, which may foreshow the beginning of regional prominent warming.
Testing the influence of climate, human impact and fire on the Holocene population expansion of Fagus sylvatica in the southern Prealps (Italy)
Authors: Valsecchi Verushka , Finsinger Walter , Tinner Willy , Ammann Brigitta
Published: May 2008

This study addresses the timing and causes of the Holocene population expansion of Fagus sylvatica at two sites in the southern Prealps (Italy): Lago di Fimon and Lago Piccolo di Avigliana. At both sites pollen and microcharcoal have been analysed at high temporal resolution. The impact of humans and of fire on the forest dynamics is tested by means of time-series analysis and the influence of climatic change has been inferred from summer temperature and precipitation reconstructions in the Alps. The time intervals during which the population expansion of F. sylvatica occurred (ie, phases during which population doubling times were shortest) is determined by fitting linear regressions through the ln-transformed Fagus pollen-accumulation rate (ln(PAR)). At Lago di Fimon, the population expansion of F. sylvatica occurred at 7300–6400 cal. yr BP (FIM I). After a marked decline the population re-expanded at 5500–4700 cal. yr BP (FIM II). At Lago Piccolo di Avigliana F. sylvatica expanded c. 5300–4600 cal. yr BP (AVP I). Time-series analyses show that Fagus expanded after forest fires decreased during FIM I, and human impact likely contributed to the F. sylvatica population expansions at the two sites during FIM II and AVP I. The comparison with independent climatic records suggests that favourable climatic conditions (eg, cool and wet) were a determining factor. Our study suggests that the expansion of F. sylvatica populations has been triggered by more than one single factor alone.
Changes in late-Neoglacial climate inferred from former equilibrium-line altitudes in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Canada
Authors: Wolken Gabriel J. , Sharp Martin J. , England John H.
Published: May 2008

Regional-scale spatial variation in the change in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) trend surface in the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI), Arctic Canada between the `Little Ice Age' (LIA) and 1960 corresponds to Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs) representing specific patterns of summer climate variability found in the modern record. Extreme warm (1953—1962) and cold (1965—1974) decades in the modern record were used as modern analogues of climatic conditions during the early twentieth century and the LIA, respectively. Because of the minimal influence of precipitation during both extreme decades, temperature is the variable upon which the fluctuation of the ELA is dependent. Hence, the ELA Δ h pattern describes the spatial pattern of change in SAT across the QEI between the LIA and 1960. This pattern is consistent with the primary mode of variability of mean summer surface air temperature (SAT) in the modern record (ie, EOF-1, 1949—2002), the positive (negative) phase of which is strongly in place during the extreme warm (cold) decade. SAT anomalies in the QEI during the warm (cold) decade are positively correlated with a weak (strong) QEI-distal (QEIproximal) polar vortex, higher (lower) than normal SSTs in the North Atlantic, and one of the lowest (highest) periods of sea-ice extent during the twentieth century. The climatic conditions during the cold decade are believed to describe conditions, which if sustained, would lead to a LIA-type cold episode capable of long-term snowline lowering and perennial snow/ice expansion. The climatic conditions during the warm decade represent possible modern analogues for those that might have occurred during the early twentieth century in the Canadian High Arctic, which led to a substantial reduction in perennial snow/ice.
Long-term stability of permafrost in subarctic peat plateaus, west-central Canada
Authors: Sannel A. Britta K. , Kuhry Peter
Published: May 2008

Long-term vegetation succession and permafrost dynamics in subarctic peat plateaus of west-central Canada have been studied through detailed plant macrofossil analysis and extensive AMS radiocarbon dating of two peat profiles. Peatland inception at these sites occurred around 5800–5100 yr BP (6600–5900 cal. BP) as a result of paludification of upland forests. At the northern peat plateau site, located in the continuous permafrost zone, palaeobotanical evidence suggests that permafrost was already present under the forested upland prior to peatland development. Paludification was initiated by permafrost collapse, but re-aggradation of permafrost occurred soon after peatland inception. At the southern site, located in the discontinuous permafrost zone, the aggradation of permafrost occurred soon after peatland inception. In the peat plateaus, permafrost conditions have remained very stable until present. Sphagnum fuscum-dominated stages have alternated with more xerophytic communities characterized by ericaceous shrubs. Local peat fires have occurred, but most of these did not cause degradation of the permafrost. Starting from 2800–1100 yr BP (2900–1000 cal. BP) consistently dry surface conditions have prevailed, possibly related to continued frost heave or nearby polygon crack formation.
Atherosclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of altered lipids and of autoantibodies
Authors: Hahn BH , McMahon M
Published: May 2008

The accelerated atherosclerosis that occurs in some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has a complex pathogenesis, including alterations in lipids, inflammation and the immune system. In this article, we review the evidence that peroxidase-related alteration of normal, protective high-density lipoprotein (HDL) converts them to pro-inflammatory HDL (piHDL), characterized by lower content of the cholesterol transport lipoprotein ApoA1 and impaired function of the antioxidant enzyme paroxonase, which prevents oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Forty-five per cent of women with SLE have piHDL compared with 20% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 4% of healthy controls. The presence of piHDL increases risk for coronary artery events and carotid artery plaque. Another result of lipid oxidation in patients with SLE is generation of highly oxidized LDL and phospholipids (PL), probably stimulating antibodies to OxPL phospholipids. These antibodies along with promoting thrombosis also interfere with deposits of Annexin V onto endothelial cells, which probably promote increased instability of atherosclerotic plaque. Thus, piHDL and anti-OxPL promote plaque formation, plaque instability and thrombosis, accounting for some of the large increase in atherosclerosis and coronary artery events in SLE.
Apoptosis in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Munoz LE , van Bavel C , Franz S , Berden J , Herrmann M , van der Vlag J
Published: May 2008

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype inflammatory autoimmune disease resulting from autoimmune responses against nuclear autoantigens. During apoptosis many lupus autoantigens congregate inside the cells and are susceptible to modifications. Modified nuclear constituents are considered foreign and dangerous. Therefore, apoptotic cells have to has to be efficiently removed to avoid the accumulation of apoptotic debris and the subsequently development of autoimmune responses. Hence, apoptosis and clearance of apoptotic cells/material are considered key processes in the aetiology of SLE. Clearance deficiencies may account for the development of autoimmunity by inducing a loss of tolerance in lymphoid tissues. Furthermore, phagocytosis of apoptotic cells may lead to a pro-inflammatory response in the presence of autoantibodies. This may sustain inflammatory conditions and the pathology found in overt lupus.
Neuropsychiatric lupus and infectious triggers
Authors: Zandman-Goddard G , Berkun Y , Barzilai O , Boaz M , Ram M , Anaya JM , Shoenfeld Y
Published: May 2008

Infections can act as environmental triggers inducing or promoting systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in genetically predisposed individuals. The aim of the present study was to compare the titres of antibodies (Abs) to infectious agents with neuropsychiatric (NPSLE) clinical manifestations. The sera of 260 individuals (120 patients with SLE and 140 geographic controls) were evaluated for the titres of Epstein bar virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasma, rubella and syphilis Abs using the BioPlex 2200 Multiplexed Immunoassay method (BioRad) and by the ELISA method for Helicobacter pylori and Hepatitis B core Ag. All BioPlex 2200 kits used were in developmental stages. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 9.0 statistical analysis software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, 1999). Correlation analysis indicated that rubella IgM Ab titres were marginally, positively associated with psychosis ( P = 0.09). No other associations were detected between the 17 infectious Abs and five NP manifestations. When the positivity cut-off for anti-rubella IgM Abs was set at three standard deviations above normal, three positive subjects were identified: one patient with psychosis and one with depression, for a total NPSLE prevalence of 33.3%. On the contrary, the prevalence of NPSLE in the remaining subjects was 6.5%. Marginally significant correlations between elevated titres of rubella IgM Ab with psychosis and depression were found. Although this nearly 5-fold increase is not statistically significant, it appears that in a larger sample size, significance would be reached. This is the first study reported that examined the correlation of NPSLE manifestations with anti-infectious Abs.
Pathogenesis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Authors: Kuhn A , Bijl M
Published: May 2008

Although for decades sunlight was suspected to be involved in the development of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), only in recent years research on the effects of ultraviolet irradiation on the skin of patients with CLE has resulted in a more comprehensive model for the pathogenesis of the disease. In this model, exposure to UV light induces apoptosis of keratinocytes and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In susceptible patients, the presence or even accumulation of apoptotic cells results in the induction of characteristic inflammatory skin lesions, which might be due to a delayed and pro-inflammatory clearance of these apoptotic cells. Many other factors, in part genetically determined, are involved in CLE resulting in a very heterogeneous clinical manifestation. Among these factors, presence of autoantibodies, a decreased number of regulatory T cells at the site of inflammation and increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNFα and IFN-inducible protein myxovirus protein A have been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of CLE.
The innate immune system in SLE: type I interferons and dendritic cells
Authors: Rönnblom L , Pascual V
Published: May 2008

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased expression of type I interferon (IFN) regulated genes because of a continuous production of IFN-α. The cellular and molecular background to this IFN-α production has started to be elucidated during the last years, as well as the consequences for the innate and adaptive immune systems. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) activated by immune complexes containing nucleic acids secrete type I IFN in SLE. Type I IFN causes differentiation of monocytes to myeloid-derived dendritic cell (mDC) and activation of autoreactive T and B cells. A new therapeutic option in patients with SLE is, therefore, inhibition of IFN-α, and recent data from a phase I clinical trial suggests that administration of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against anti-IFN-α can ameliorate disease activity.
Treating patients with lupus with B-cell depletion
Authors: Isenberg DA
Published: May 2008

Abstract

A new era in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus has dawned with the increasing introduction of monoclonal antibodies and other approaches, that target the key molecules involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. At present the ability to block the CD20 molecule on those B cells that carry this marker has proved the most effective way to treat patients resistant to conventional immunosuppressive drugs. However, these studies have all been open label and the results of double blind controlled studies are eagerly awaited.
Pathogenic role of antiphospholipid antibodies
Authors: Salmon JE , de Groot PG
Published: May 2008

Abstract

The antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is characterized by recurrent arterial and venous thrombosis and/or pregnancy in association with antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies. The pathogenic mechanisms in APS that lead to in vivo injury are incompletely understood. Recent evidence suggests that APL antibodies alter regulation of haemostasis and induce activation of complement. We will discuss the current knowledge on how aPL antibodies trigger increased inflammation and enhanced thrombotic tendency, and thereby lead to tissue damage.
Current treatment of lupus nephritis
Authors: Houssiau FA , Ginzler EM
Published: May 2008

This review on the management of lupus nephritis is based on the results of randomized clinical trials, and discusses the principles of treatment and the current options for induction and maintenance therapy. The respective place of mycophenolate mofetil and intravenous cyclophosphamide are balanced, taking into account efficacy, safety and patients’ perspective. The authors anticipate that, in a few years, when long-term data on lupus nephritis patients induced with mycophenolate mofetil becomes available, it is probably that intravenous cyclophosphamide, which has been for so long the ‘standard of care’, will be prescribed only in specialized conditions such as documented necrotizing vasculitis.
Pathogenic anti-nucleosome antibodies
Authors: Muller S , Dieker J , Tincani A , Meroni PL
Published: May 2008

There is increasing evidence that in systemic lupus erythematosus, nucleosomes, the basic chromatin component, represent both a driving immunogen and a major in vivo target for antibodies. Either a disturbed apoptosis or a reduced clearance of apoptotic cells by phagocytes may lead to an increased exposure of apoptotic nucleosomes to the immune system. These nucleosomes, which have been cleaved and modified during the process of apoptosis, escape normal clearance and encompass epitopes that normally are not encountered by the immune system. This may then lead to tolerance breaking and autoimmunity by the activation of nucleosome-specific autoreactive T cells (that help B cells) and subsequently to the production of anti-nucleosome, anti-histone and anti-DNA autoantibodies. Some anti-nucleosome antibody subsets are pathogenic and are involved in the nephritogenic process in systemic lupus erythematosus. Accordingly, several studies reported: (i) increased plasma circulating nucleosomes that positively correlated with an active disease, (ii) nucleosomes in typical glomerular deposits as well as in the basement membrane of non-lesional skin of systemic lupus erythematosus patients and (iii) a close correlation between nephritis and the presence of anti-nucleosome antibodies. Recent studies reported anti-nucleosome antibodies also in primary anti-phospholipid syndrome and particularly in patients with associated lupus-like disease.
Clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): lessons from the past as we proceed to the future – the EULAR recommendations for the management of SLE and the use of end-points in clinical trials
Authors: Bertsias G , Gordon C , Boumpas DT
Published: May 2008

Among rheumatic diseases, lupus, especially nephritis, has been more extensively studied with several controlled clinical trials as reported in the literature. The large number of studies on the diagnosis and management of the disease have created a plethora of data that need to be systemically reviewed and formulated in recommendations to be used in daily practice. Moreover, the increasing number of new agents holding the promise of improved efficacy and safety profiles over traditional treatments in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has provided the impetus for optimal design of clinical trials. To this end, and under the auspices of European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), we developed recommendations for the management of SLE and for points to consider in the design of SLE trials. These recommendations were developed using a combination of research-based evidence following a systematic literature search of trials and cohort studies, and expert consensus. Twelve statements concerning the management of SLE and points regarding the eligibility criteria and outcome measures to be included in trials were developed and are briefly reviewed here. The literature search showed that there have been few high quality Randomized controlled trails (RCTs) in SLE, particularly for manifestations other than nephritis and thus, several important issues have not been adequately addressed. Importantly, end-points currently used in SLE trials have not actually been validated in clinical trials. These findings underscore the need to establish international networks to facilitate clinical trials addressing these issues and testing new therapies.