Seminal plasma affects sperm sex sorting in boars.

PubMed

Alkmin, Diego V; Parrilla, Inmaculada; Tarantini, Tatiana; Del Olmo, David; Vazquez, Juan M; Martinez, Emilio A; Roca, Jordi

2016-04-01

Two experiments were conducted in boar semen samples to evaluate how both holding time (24h) and the presence of seminal plasma (SP) before sorting affect sperm sortability and the ability of sex-sorted spermatozoa to tolerate liquid storage. Whole ejaculate samples were divided into three aliquots immediately after collection: one was diluted (1:1, v/v) in Beltsville thawing solution (BTS; 50% SP); the SP of the other two aliquots was removed and the sperm pellets were diluted with BTS + 10% of their own SP (10% SP) or BTS alone (0% SP). The three aliquots of each ejaculate were divided into two portions, one that was processed immediately for sorting and a second that was sorted after 24h storage at 15-17°C. In the first experiment, the ability to exhibit well-defined X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm peaks (split) in the cytometry histogram and the subsequent sorting efficiency were assessed (20 ejaculates). In contrast with holding time, the SP proportion influenced the parameters examined, as evidenced by the higher number of ejaculates exhibiting split and better sorting efficiency (P<0.05) in semen samples with 0-10% SP compared with those with 50% SP. In a second experiment, the quality (viability, total and progressive motility) and functionality (plasma membrane fluidity and intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species) of sex-sorted spermatozoa were evaluated after 0, 72 and 120h storage at 15-17°C (10 ejaculates). Holding time and SP proportion did not influence the quality or functionality of stored sex-sorted spermatozoa. In conclusion, a holding time as long as 24h before sorting did not negatively affect sex sorting efficiency or the ability of sorted boar spermatozoa to tolerate long-term liquid storage. A high proportion of SP (50%) in the semen samples before sorting reduced the number of ejaculates to be sorted and negatively influenced the sorting efficiency, but did not affect the ability of sex-sorted spermatozoa to tolerate liquid

Smile Intensity and Warm Touch as Thin Slices of Child and Family Affective Style

PubMed Central

Oveis, Christopher; Gruber, June; Keltner, Dacher; Stamper, Juliet L.; Boyce, W. Thomas

2010-01-01

We investigate the claim that thin slices of expressive behavior serve as reliable indicators of affective style in children and their families. Using photographs, we assessed smile intensity and tactile contact in kindergartners and their families. Consistent with claims that smiling and touch communicate positive emotion, measures of children’s smile intensity and warm family touch were correlated across classroom and family contexts. Consistent with studies of parent-child personality associations, parents’ warm smiles and negative facial displays resembled those of their children. Finally, consistent with observed relations between adult personality and positive display, children’s smiling behavior in the classroom correlated with parent ratings of children’s Extraversion/Surgency. These results highlight the utility of thin slices of smiling and touch as indicators of child and family affective style. PMID:19653777

Smile intensity and warm touch as thin slices of child and family affective style.

PubMed

Oveis, Christopher; Gruber, June; Keltner, Dacher; Stamper, Juliet L; Boyce, W Thomas

2009-08-01

The authors investigate the claim that thin slices of expressive behavior serve as reliable indicators of affective style in children and their families. Using photographs, the authors assessed smile intensity and tactile contact in kindergartners and their families. Consistent with claims that smiling and touch communicate positive emotion, measures of children's smile intensity and warm family touch were correlated across classroom and family contexts. Consistent with studies of parent-child personality associations, parents' warm smiles and negative facial displays resembled those of their children. Finally, consistent with observed relations between adult personality and positive display, children's smiling behavior in the classroom correlated with parent ratings of children's Extraversion/Surgency. These results highlight the utility of thin slices of smiling and touch as indicators of child and family affective style. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Does sex education affect adolescent sexual behaviors and health?

PubMed

Sabia, Joseph J

2006-01-01

This study examines whether offering sex education to young teenagers affects several measures of adolescent sexual behavior and health: virginity status, contraceptive use, frequency of intercourse, likelihood of pregnancy, and probability of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, I find that while sex education is associated with adverse health outcomes, there is little evidence of a causal link after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity via fixed effects and instrumental variables. These findings suggest that those on each side of the ideological debate over sex education are, in a sense, both correct and mistaken. Opponents are correct in observing that sex education is associated with adverse health outcomes, but are generally incorrect in interpreting this relationship causally. Proponents are generally correct in claiming that sex education does not encourage risky sexual activity, but are incorrect in asserting that investments in typical school-based sex education programs produce measurable health benefits.

Measuring stigma affecting sex workers (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM): A systematic review.

PubMed

Fitzgerald-Husek, Alanna; Van Wert, Michael J; Ewing, Whitney F; Grosso, Ashley L; Holland, Claire E; Katterl, Rachel; Rosman, Lori; Agarwal, Arnav; Baral, Stefan D

2017-01-01

Stigma involves discrediting a person or group based on a perceived attribute, behaviour or reputation associated with them. Sex workers (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) are key populations who are often at increased risk for the acquisition and transmission of HIV and who are affected by stigma that can negatively impact their health and well-being. Although stigma was included as an indicator in the US National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan and there have been consultations focused on adding a stigma indicator within PEPFAR and the Global Fund in relation to potentiating HIV risks among key populations, there remains limited consensus on the appropriate measurement of SW- or MSM-associated stigma. Consequently, this systematic review summarizes studies using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to measure stigma affecting sex workers and men who have sex with men. This systematic review included English, French, and Spanish peer-reviewed research of any study design measuring SW- or MSM-associated stigma. Articles were published from January 1, 2004 to March 26, 2014 in PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, Global Health, and World Health Organization Global Health Library Regional Indexes. Of the 541 articles reviewed, the majority measured stigma toward MSM (over 97%), were conducted in North America, used quantitative methods, and focused on internalized stigma. With the inclusion of addressing stigma in several domestic and international HIV strategies, there is a need to ensure the use of validated metrics for stigma. The field to date has completed limited measurement of stigma affecting sex workers, and limited measurement of stigma affecting MSM outside of higher income settings. Moving forward requires a concerted effort integrating validated metrics of stigma into health-related surveys and programs for key populations.

Measuring stigma affecting sex workers (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM): A systematic review

PubMed Central

Fitzgerald-Husek, Alanna; Van Wert, Michael J.; Ewing, Whitney F.; Holland, Claire E.; Katterl, Rachel; Rosman, Lori; Baral, Stefan D.

2017-01-01

Background Stigma involves discrediting a person or group based on a perceived attribute, behaviour or reputation associated with them. Sex workers (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) are key populations who are often at increased risk for the acquisition and transmission of HIV and who are affected by stigma that can negatively impact their health and well-being. Although stigma was included as an indicator in the US National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan and there have been consultations focused on adding a stigma indicator within PEPFAR and the Global Fund in relation to potentiating HIV risks among key populations, there remains limited consensus on the appropriate measurement of SW- or MSM-associated stigma. Consequently, this systematic review summarizes studies using quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approaches to measure stigma affecting sex workers and men who have sex with men. Methods and findings This systematic review included English, French, and Spanish peer-reviewed research of any study design measuring SW- or MSM-associated stigma. Articles were published from January 1, 2004 to March 26, 2014 in PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, Global Health, and World Health Organization Global Health Library Regional Indexes. Of the 541 articles reviewed, the majority measured stigma toward MSM (over 97%), were conducted in North America, used quantitative methods, and focused on internalized stigma. Conclusions With the inclusion of addressing stigma in several domestic and international HIV strategies, there is a need to ensure the use of validated metrics for stigma. The field to date has completed limited measurement of stigma affecting sex workers, and limited measurement of stigma affecting MSM outside of higher income settings. Moving forward requires a concerted effort integrating validated metrics of stigma into health-related surveys and programs for key populations. PMID:29190642

When Sex Work Becomes Your Everything: The Complex Linkages Between Economy and Affection Among Male Sex Workers in Peru.

PubMed

Bayer, Angela M; Garvich, Mijail; Díaz, David A; Sánchez, Hugo; García, Patricia J; Coates, Thomas J

2014-09-01

In Peru, there are few studies on male sex workers (MSWs), and existing studies explore limited subgroups or offer limited information about MSWs' perspectives. This study provides in-depth perspectives from 40 MSWs who work in downtown Lima (Cercado) and in surrounding urban neighborhoods (non-Cercado) through interviews on their identities, lives, and HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) risks and vulnerabilities. Findings are that entry into sex work links economy and affection, particularly among Cercado MSWs. Continued sex work cements this link, making it difficult to exit sex work and establish goals. Ties between economics and affections influence MSWs' perceived HIV/STI risks, vulnerabilities, and prevention practices. Although Cercado MSWs report higher HIV/STI risks and vulnerabilities than non-Cercado peers, they report fewer prevention practices given inability to buy condoms and acceptance of client offers of higher payment, especially clients they feel affection for. MSWs need support to strengthen their self-perceptions and define and pursue their goals in order to improve their HIV/STI prevention practices, health, and well-being. © The Author(s) 2013.

When sex work becomes your everything: The complex linkages between economy and affection among male sex workers in Peru

PubMed Central

Bayer, Angela M.; Garvich, Mijail; Díaz, David A.; Sánchez, Hugo; García, Patricia J.; Coates, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

In Peru, there are few studies on male sex workers (MSWs) and existing studies explore limited sub-groups or offer limited information about MSWs’ perspectives. This study provides in-depth perspectives from 40 MSWs who work in downtown Lima (Cercado) and in surrounding urban neighborhoods (non-Cercado) through interviews on their identities, lives and HIV/STI risks and vulnerabilities. Findings are that entry into sex work links economy and affection, particularly among Cercado MSWs. Continued sex work cements this link, making it difficult to exit sex work and establish goals. Ties between economics and affections influence MSWs’ perceived HIV/STI risks, vulnerabilities and prevention practices. Although Cercado MSWs report higher HIV/STI risks and vulnerabilities than non-Cercado peers, they report fewer prevention practices given inability to buy condoms and acceptance of client offers of higher payment, especially clients they feel affection for. MSWs need support to strengthen their self-perceptions and define and pursue their goals in order to improve their HIV/STI prevention practices, health and well-being. PMID:24368712

Affect and Condom Use Among Men Who have Sex with Men: A Daily Diary Study.

PubMed

Sarno, Elissa L; Mohr, Jonathan J; Rosenberger, Joshua G

2017-05-01

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionally affected by HIV. Although some theoretical models created to explain why individuals engage in risky sexual behavior contain an affective component, there has been relatively little focus on the influence of affect on sexual risk-taking. The goal of this study is to investigate the association between affect and condom use among MSM using an archival dataset from a survey of users of a popular sex-oriented website. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze daily diary data from 2871 MSM. At the within-person level, positive affect was positively related to condomless anal sex (CAS), whereas negative affect was negatively related to CAS. However, these results were qualified by interactions of trait affect and relationship to sex partner. These findings suggest that interventions focused on emotional regulation may have the potential to reduce CAS among MSM.

Light availability affects sex lability in a gynodioecious plant.

PubMed

Varga, Sandra; Kytöviita, Minna-Maarit

2016-11-01

Sex lability (i.e., gender diphasy) in plants is classically linked to the larger resource needs associated with the female sexual function (i.e., seed production) compared to the male function (i.e., pollen production). Sex lability in response to the environment is extensively documented in dioecious species, but has been largely overlooked in gynodioecious plants. Here, we tested whether environmental conditions induce sex lability in the gynodioecious Geranium sylvaticum. We conducted a transplantation experiment in the field where plants with different sex expression were reciprocally transplanted between high light and low light habitats. We measured plants' reproductive output and sex expression over four years. Our results show that sex expression was labile over the study period. The light level at the destination habitat had a significant effect on sexual expression and reproductive output, because plants decreased their reproductive output when transplanted to the low light habitat. Transplantation origin did not affect any parameter measured. This study shows that sex expression in Geranium sylvaticum is labile and related to light availability. Sexually labile plants did not produce more seeds or pollen, and thus, there was no apparent fitness gain in sexually labile individuals. Sex lability in gynodioecious plants may be more common than previously believed because detection of sex lability necessitates data on the same individuals over time, which is rare in sexually dimorphic herbaceous plants. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.

How do changes in warm-phase microphysics affect deep convective clouds?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Qian; Koren, Ilan; Altaratz, Orit; Heiblum, Reuven H.; Dagan, Guy; Pinto, Lital

2017-08-01

Understanding aerosol effects on deep convective clouds and the derived effects on the radiation budget and rain patterns can largely contribute to estimations of climate uncertainties. The challenge is difficult in part because key microphysical processes in the mixed and cold phases are still not well understood. For deep convective clouds with a warm base, understanding aerosol effects on the warm processes is extremely important as they set the initial and boundary conditions for the cold processes. Therefore, the focus of this study is the warm phase, which can be better resolved. The main question is: How do aerosol-derived changes in the warm phase affect the properties of deep convective cloud systems? To explore this question, we used a weather research and forecasting (WRF) model with spectral bin microphysics to simulate a deep convective cloud system over the Marshall Islands during the Kwajalein Experiment (KWAJEX). The model results were validated against observations, showing similarities in the vertical profile of radar reflectivity and the surface rain rate. Simulations with larger aerosol loading resulted in a larger total cloud mass, a larger cloud fraction in the upper levels, and a larger frequency of strong updrafts and rain rates. Enlarged mass both below and above the zero temperature level (ZTL) contributed to the increase in cloud total mass (water and ice) in the polluted runs. Increased condensation efficiency of cloud droplets governed the gain in mass below the ZTL, while both enhanced condensational and depositional growth led to increased mass above it. The enhanced mass loading above the ZTL acted to reduce the cloud buoyancy, while the thermal buoyancy (driven by the enhanced latent heat release) increased in the polluted runs. The overall effect showed an increased upward transport (across the ZTL) of liquid water driven by both larger updrafts and larger droplet mobility. These aerosol effects were reflected in the larger

Seasonal Variability May Affect Microbial Decomposers and Leaf Decomposition More Than Warming in Streams.

PubMed

Duarte, Sofia; Cássio, Fernanda; Ferreira, Verónica; Canhoto, Cristina; Pascoal, Cláudia

2016-08-01

Ongoing climate change is expected to affect the diversity and activity of aquatic microbes, which play a key role in plant litter decomposition in forest streams. We used a before-after control-impact (BACI) design to study the effects of warming on a forest stream reach. The stream reach was divided by a longitudinal barrier, and during 1 year (ambient year) both stream halves were at ambient temperature, while in the second year (warmed year) the temperature in one stream half was increased by ca. 3 °C above ambient temperature (experimental half). Fine-mesh bags containing oak (Quercus robur L.) leaves were immersed in both stream halves for up to 60 days in spring and autumn of the ambient and warmed years. We assessed leaf-associated microbial diversity by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and identification of fungal conidial morphotypes and microbial activity by quantifying leaf mass loss and productivity of fungi and bacteria. In the ambient year, no differences were found in leaf decomposition rates and microbial productivities either between seasons or stream halves. In the warmed year, phosphorus concentration in the stream water, leaf decomposition rates, and productivity of bacteria were higher in spring than in autumn. They did not differ between stream halves, except for leaf decomposition, which was higher in the experimental half in spring. Fungal and bacterial communities differed between seasons in both years. Seasonal changes in stream water variables had a greater impact on the activity and diversity of microbial decomposers than a warming regime simulating a predicted global warming scenario.

Sex moderates the effects of positive and negative affect on clinical pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Speed, Traci J; Richards, Jessica M; Finan, Patrick H; Smith, Michael T

2017-07-01

Sex differences in clinical pain severity and response to experimental pain are commonly reported, with women generally showing greater vulnerability. Affect, including state (a single rating) and stable (average daily ratings over two weeks) positive affect and negative affect has also been found to impact pain sensitivity and severity, and research suggests that affect may modulate pain differentially as a function of sex. The current study aimed to examine sex as a moderator of the relationships between affect and pain-related outcomes among participants with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). One hundred and seventy-nine participants (59 men) with KOA completed electronic diaries assessing clinical pain, positive affect, and negative affect. A subset of participants (n=120) underwent quantitative sensory testing, from which a single index of central sensitization to pain was derived. We used multiple regression models to test for the interactive effects of sex and affect (positive versus negative and stable versus state) on pain-related outcomes. We used mixed effects models to test for the moderating effects of sex on the relationships between state affect and pain over time. Sex differences in affect and pain were identified, with men reporting significantly higher stable positive affect and lower central sensitization to pain indexed by quantitative sensory testing, as well as marginally lower KOA-specific clinical pain compared to women. Moreover, there was an interaction between stable positive affect and sex on KOA-specific clinical pain and average daily non-specific pain ratings. Post hoc analyses revealed that men showed trends towards an inverse relationship between stable positive affect and pain outcomes, while women showed no relationship between positive affect and pain. There was also a significant interaction between sex and stable negative affect and sex on KOA-specific pain such that men showed a significantly stronger positive relationship between

Sex differences in physiological and affective responses to stress in remitted depression.

PubMed

Bagley, Sara L; Weaver, Terri L; Buchanan, Tony W

2011-08-03

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with alterations in stress physiology. Severe melancholic depression is characterized by hypercortisolism, but community dwelling mildly depressed individuals and those with remitted MDD have shown reduced or normal reactivity to stress. There are also pronounced sex differences both in the incidence of MDD and in stress reactivity. To explore the relationships among depression history, sex differences, and stress, we examined stress reactivity in people with and without a history of MDD. Twenty-two participants with remitted MDD (12 men and 10 women) and 36 never depressed comparison participants (22 men and 14 women) participated in the study. Cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) were sampled from saliva before, 10 min after, and 30 min after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Participants filled out the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before and after they underwent the TSST. Women with remitted MDD showed reduced cortisol response to the TSST compared with the never MDD women, while men with remitted MDD showed comparable cortisol reactivity to the never depressed men. The groups did not differ on sAA reactivity to stress. The remitted MDD group (overall and men and women separately) reported greater negative affect both before and after stress compared to the never depressed group. Women from both groups reported greater post-stress negative affect than men. In contrast, men from both groups reported higher positive affect before and after stress than women. Given that the sex difference findings were not dependent on depression history, self-reported affective differences in response to stress may predate depressive symptoms and contribute to sex differences in depression incidence. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Minho Affective Sentences (MAS): Probing the roles of sex, mood, and empathy in affective ratings of verbal stimuli.

PubMed

Pinheiro, Ana P; Dias, Marcelo; Pedrosa, João; Soares, Ana P

2017-04-01

During social communication, words and sentences play a critical role in the expression of emotional meaning. The Minho Affective Sentences (MAS) were developed to respond to the lack of a standardized sentence battery with normative affective ratings: 192 neutral, positive, and negative declarative sentences were strictly controlled for psycholinguistic variables such as numbers of words and letters and per-million word frequency. The sentences were designed to represent examples of each of the five basic emotions (anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and happiness) and of neutral situations. These sentences were presented to 536 participants who rated the stimuli using both dimensional and categorical measures of emotions. Sex differences were also explored. Additionally, we probed how personality, empathy, and mood from a subset of 40 participants modulated the affective ratings. Our results confirmed that the MAS affective norms are valid measures to guide the selection of stimuli for experimental studies of emotion. The combination of dimensional and categorical ratings provided a more fine-grained characterization of the affective properties of the sentences. Moreover, the affective ratings of positive and negative sentences were not only modulated by participants' sex, but also by individual differences in empathy and mood state. Together, our results indicate that, in their quest to reveal the neurofunctional underpinnings of verbal emotional processing, researchers should consider not only the role of sex, but also of interindividual differences in empathy and mood states, in responses to the emotional meaning of sentences.

Does Sex Education Affect Adolescent Sexual Behaviors and Health?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabia, Joseph J.

2006-01-01

This study examines whether offering sex education to young teenagers affects several measures of adolescent sexual behavior and health: virginity status, contraceptive use, frequency of intercourse, likelihood of pregnancy, and probability of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent…

Climate and sex ratio variation in a viviparous lizard.

PubMed

Cunningham, George D; While, Geoffrey M; Wapstra, Erik

2017-05-01

The extent to which key biological processes, such as sex determination, respond to environmental fluctuations is fundamental for assessing species' susceptibility to ongoing climate change. Few studies, however, address how climate affects offspring sex in the wild. We monitored two climatically distinct populations of the viviparous skink Niveoscincus ocellatus for 16 years, recording environmental temperatures, offspring sex and date of birth. We found strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex, with female offspring more common in warm years at the lowland site but no effect at the highland site. In contrast, date of birth advanced similarly in response to temperature at both sites. These results suggest strong population-specific effects of temperature on offspring sex that are independent of climatic effects on other physiological processes. These results have significant implications for our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of variation in sex ratios under climate change. © 2017 The Author(s).

Sex differences in amygdala activation during the perception of facial affect.

PubMed

Killgore, W D; Yurgelun-Todd, D A

2001-08-08

The cognitive and affective systems of the cerebral cortex are often more lateralized in males than females, but it is unclear whether these differences extend to subcortical systems. We used fMRI to examine sex differences in lateralized amygdala activity during happy and fearful face perception. Amygdala activation differed for men and women depending on the valence of the expression. Overall, males were more lateralized than females, but the direction differed between valence conditions. Happy faces produced greater right than left amygdala activation for males but not females. Both sexes showed greater left amygdala activation for fearful faces. These findings suggest that the lateralization of affective function may extend beyond the cortex to subcortical regions such as the amygdala.

Sex, age, and sex hormones affect recall of words in a directed forgetting paradigm.

PubMed

Kerschbaum, Hubert H; Hofbauer, Ildiko; Gföllner, Anna; Ebner, Birgit; Bresgen, Nikolaus; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

2017-01-02

During the course of serious discussion, an unexpected interruption may induce forgetting of the original topic of a conversation. Sex, age, and sex hormone levels may affect frequency and extension of forgetting. In a list-method directed forgetting paradigm, subjects have to learn two word lists. After learning list 1, subjects receive either a forget or a remember list 1 cue. When the participants had learned list 2 and completed a distraction task, they were asked to write down as many recalled items as possible, starting either with list 1 or list 2 items. In the present study, 96 naturally cycling women, 60 oral contraceptive users, 56 postmenopausal women, and 41 young men were assigned to one of these different experimental conditions. Forget-cued young subjects recall fewer list 1 items (list 1 forgetting) but more list 2 items (list 2 enhancement) compared with remember-cued subjects. However, forget-cued postmenopausal women showed reduced list 1 forgetting but enhanced list 2 retention. Remember-cued naturally cycling women recalled more list 1 items than oral contraceptive users, young men, and postmenopausal women. In forget-cued follicular women, salivary progesterone correlated positively with recalled list 2 items. Salivary 17β-estradiol did not correlate with recalled list 1 or list 2 items in either remember- or forget-cued young women. However, salivary 17β-estradiol correlated with item recall in remember-cued postmenopausal women. Our findings suggest that sex hormones do not globally modulate verbal memory or forgetting, but selectively affect cue-specific processing. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Do scientific theories affect men's evaluations of sex crimes?

PubMed

Dar-Nimrod, Ilan; Heine, Steven J; Cheung, Benjamin Y; Schaller, Mark

2011-01-01

Evolutionary psychology accounts of gender differences in sexual behaviors in general and men's sexual aggression, in particular, has been criticized for legitimizing males' sexual misconduct. To empirically assess such critiques, two studies examined how men's judgments of male sex crimes (solicitation of sex from a prostitute; rape) are influenced by exposure to (a) evolutionary psychological theories and (b) social-constructivist theories. Across two studies, a consistent pattern emerged compared with a control condition (a) exposure to evolutionary psychology theories had no observable impact on male judgments of men's criminal sexual behavior, whereas (b) exposure to social-constructivist theories did affect judgments, leading men to evaluate sex crimes more harshly. Additional results (from Study 2) indicate that this effect is mediated by perceptions of male control over sexual urges. These results have implications for journalists, educators, and scientists. Aggr. Behav. 37:440-449, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

How does warming affect carbon allocation, respiration and residence time in trees? An isotope tracer approach in a eucalypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendall, E.; Drake, J. E.; Furze, M.; Barton, C. V.; Carillo, Y.; Richter, A.; Tjoelker, M. G.

2017-12-01

Climate warming has the potential to alter the balance between photosynthetic carbon assimilation and respiratory losses in forest trees, leading to uncertainty in predicting their future physiological functioning. In a previous experiment, warming decreased canopy CO2 assimilation (A) rates of Eucalyptus tereticornis trees, but respiration (R) rates were usually not significantly affected, due to physiological acclimation to temperature. This led to a slight increase in (R/A) and thus decrease in plant carbon use efficiency with climate warming. In contrast to carbon fluxes, the effect of warming on carbon allocation and residence time in trees has received less attention. We conducted a study to test the hypothesis that warming would decrease the allocation of C belowground owing to reduced cost of nutrient uptake. E. parramattensis trees were grown in the field in unique whole-tree chambers operated at ambient and ambient +3 °C temperature treatments (n=3 per treatment). We applied a 13CO2 pulse and followed the label in CO2 respired from leaves, roots, canopy and soil, in plant sugars, and in rhizosphere microbes over a 3-week period in conjunction with measurements of tree growth. The 9-m tall, 57 m3 whole-tree chambers were monitored for CO2 concentrations in independent canopy and below ground (root and soil) compartments; periodic monitoring of δ13C values in air in the compartments allowed us to quantify the amount of 13CO2 assimilated and respired by each tree. Warmed trees grew faster and assimilated more of the label than control trees, but the 13C allocation to canopy, root and soil respiration was not altered. However, warming appeared to reduce the residence time of carbon respired from leaves, and especially from roots and soil, indicating that autotrophic respiration has the potential to feedback to climate change. This experiment provides insights into how warming may affect the fate of assimilated carbon from the leaf to the ecosystem scale.

Do scientific theories affect men’s evaluations of sex crimes?

PubMed Central

DAR-NIMROD, ILAN; HEINE, STEVEN J.; CHEUNG, BENJAMIN Y.; SCHALLER, MARK

2012-01-01

Evolutionary Psychology accounts of gender differences in sexual behaviors in general and men’s sexual aggression in particular, have been criticized for legitimizing males’ sexual misconduct. To empirically assess such critiques, two studies examined how men’s judgments of male sex crimes (solicitation of sex from a prostitute; rape) are influenced by exposure to (a) evolutionary psychological theories, and (b) social-constructivist theories. Across two studies a consistent pattern emerged: compared to a control condition, (a) exposure to evolutionary psychology theories had no observable impact on male judgments of men’s criminal sexual behavior, whereas (b) exposure to social-constructivist theories did affect judgments, leading men to evaluate sex crimes more harshly. Additional results (from Study 2) indicate that this effect is mediated by perceptions of male control over sexual urges. These results have implications, for journalists, educators, and scientists. PMID:21678431

Startling Differences: Using the Acoustic Startle Response to Study Sex Differences and Neurosteroids in Affective Disorders.

PubMed

Hantsoo, Liisa; Golden, Carla E M; Kornfield, Sara; Grillon, Christian; Epperson, C Neill

2018-05-18

Neuroactive steroid hormones, such as estradiol and progesterone, likely play a role in the pathophysiology of female-specific psychiatric disorders such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and postpartum depression and may contribute to the marked sex differences observed in the incidence and presentation of affective disorders. However, few tools are available to study the precise contributions of these neuroactive steroids (NSs). In this review, we propose that the acoustic startle response (ASR), an objective measure of an organism's response to an emotional context or stressor, is sensitive to NSs. As such, the ASR represents a unique translational tool that may help to elucidate the contribution of NSs to sex differences in psychiatric disorders. Findings suggest that anxiety-potentiated startle (APS) and prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) are the most robust ASR paradigms for assessing contribution of NSs to affective disorders, while affective startle response modulation (ASRM) appears less diagnostic of sex or menstrual cycle (MC) effects. However, few studies have appropriately used ASR to test a priori hypotheses about sex or MC differences. We recommend that ASR studies account for sex as a biological variable (SABV) and hormonal status to further knowledge of NS contribution to affective disorders.

Developmental and sex-related differences in preschoolers' affective decision making.

PubMed

Heilman, Renata M; Miu, Andrei C; Benga, Oana

2009-01-01

This study investigated developmental and sex-related differences in affective decision making, using a two-deck version of Children's Gambling Task administered to 3- and 4-year-old children. The main findings were that 4-year-old children displayed better decision-making performance than 3-year-olds. This effect was independent of developmental changes in inductive reasoning, language, and working memory. There were also sex differences in decision-making performance, which were apparent only in 3-year-old children and favored girls. Moreover, age predicted awareness of task and the correlation between the latter and decision-making performance was significant, but only in 4-year-old children. This study thus indicates that there is a remarkable developmental leap in affective decision making, whose effects are apparent around the age of 4, which according to our results, also marks the age when the correlation of declarative knowledge and decision-making performance becomes significant.

How does whole ecosystem warming of a peatland affect methane production and consumption?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopple, A.; Brunik, K.; Keller, J.; Pfeifer-Meister, L.; Woerndle, G.; Zalman, C.; Hanson, P.; Bridgham, S. D.

2017-12-01

Peatlands are among Earth's most important terrestrial ecosystems due to their massive soil carbon (C) stores and significant release of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. Methane has a sustained-flux global warming potential 45-times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), and the accuracy of Earth system model projections relies on our mechanistic understanding of peatland CH4 cycling in the context of environmental change. The objective of this study was to determine, under in situ conditions, how heating of the peat profile affects ecosystem-level anaerobic C cycling. We assessed the response of CO2 and CH4 production, as well as the anaerobic oxidation of CH4 (AOM), in a boreal peatland following 13 months of deep peat heating (DPH) and 16 months of subsequent whole-ecosystem warming (surface and deep heating; WEW) as part of the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) project in northern Minnesota, USA. The study uses a regression-based experimental design including 5 temperature treatments that warmed the entire 2 m peat profile from 0 to +9 °C above ambient temperature. Soil cores were collected at multiple depths (25-200 cm) from each experimental chamber at the SPRUCE site and anaerobically incubated at in situ temperatures for 1-2 weeks. Methane and CO2 production in surface peat were positively correlated with elevated temperature, but no consistent temperature response was found at depth (75-200 cm) following DPH. However, during WEW, we observed significant increases in both surface and deep peat methanogenesis with increasing temperature. Surface peat had greater CH4 production rates than deeper peat, implying that the increased CH4 emissions observed in the field were largely driven by surface peat warming. The CO2:CH4 ratio was inversely correlated with temperature across all depths following 16 months of WEW, indicating that the entire peat profile is becoming more methanogenic with warming. We also observed AOM throughout

Affected parent sex and severity of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: a retrospective cohort study
.

PubMed

Nowak, Kristen L; Chonchol, Michel; You, Zhiying; Gupta, Malika; Gitomer, Berenice

2018-03-01

Parental inheritance may differentially affect autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (-ADPKD) severity via genetic imprinting or in utero epigenetic modifications; however, evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a longitudinal retrospective cohort study to assess the association between sex of the affected parent and time to hypertension diagnosis, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and death in patients with the PKD1 genotype. 814 individuals who participated in research at the University of Colorado were studied. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. The predictor was parental sex, and outcomes were diagnosis of hypertension, progression to ESRD, and death. We also examined associations in four strata according to affected parent and participant sex, as previous studies have reported earlier onset of ESRD in males compared to females. The median follow-up for each outcome was as follows: hypertension, 30 (interquartile range (IQR): 18, 37); ESRD, 43 (IQR: 31, 52), death 39 (IQR: 25, 52) years of age. Among affected offspring in the entire cohort, there was no difference in hypertension diagnosis (p = 0.97) or progression to ESRD (p = 0.79) according to affected parent sex; however, participants with an affected mother were more likely to die than participants with an affected father (p < 0.05). In stratified analyses, males were more likely than females to develop hypertension and reach ESRD when the affected parent was the father (p < 0.01) but not when the affected parent was the mother (p ≥ 0.11). Our results are largely in contrast to the hypothesis that severity of ADPKD is worse with maternal inheritance of disease.
.

Variation in orbitofrontal cortex volume: relation to sex, emotion regulation and affect.

PubMed

Welborn, B Locke; Papademetris, Xenophon; Reis, Deidre L; Rajeevan, Nallakkandi; Bloise, Suzanne M; Gray, Jeremy R

2009-12-01

Sex differences in brain structure have been examined extensively but are not completely understood, especially in relation to possible functional correlates. Our two aims in this study were to investigate sex differences in brain structure, and to investigate a possible relation between orbitofrontal cortex subregions and affective individual differences. We used tensor-based morphometry to estimate local brain volume from MPRAGE images in 117 healthy right-handed adults (58 female), age 18-40 years. We entered estimates of local brain volume as the dependent variable in a GLM, controlling for age, intelligence and whole-brain volume. Men had larger left planum temporale. Women had larger ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), right lateral orbitofrontal (rlOFC), cerebellum, and bilateral basal ganglia and nearby white matter. vmPFC but not rlOFC volume covaried with self-reported emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, suppression), expressivity of positive emotions (but not of negative), strength of emotional impulses, and cognitive but not somatic anxiety. vmPFC volume statistically mediated sex differences in emotion suppression. The results confirm prior reports of sex differences in orbitofrontal cortex structure, and are the first to show that normal variation in vmPFC volume is systematically related to emotion regulation and affective individual differences.

Sex differences in negative affect and lapse behavior during acute tobacco abstinence: a laboratory study.

PubMed

Pang, Raina D; Leventhal, Adam M

2013-08-01

Heightened negative affect during acute tobacco abstinence in women relative to men could be an important factor underlying sex differences in smoking motivation. However, little controlled experimental work addresses this hypothesis. The current study investigated sex differences in withdrawal-related negative affect, time to start smoking on a lab analogue smoking lapse task, and the interrelation between sex, withdrawal-related negative affect, and smoking lapse behavior. Following a baseline session, current smokers (women: n = 68, men: n = 131) attended two counterbalanced lab sessions (16 hours smoking abstinence and ad libitum smoking) during which they completed self-report measures of mood and withdrawal symptoms followed by a laboratory analogue smoking lapse task. In this task participants are monetarily rewarded for delaying smoking. Performance on this task serves as an analogue model of smoking lapse behavior by measuring smoker's capability to resist temptation to smoke under conditions where abstinence is advantageous. Females showed greater abstinence induced increases in composite negative affect as well as several particular negative affect states (i.e., POMS Anger, Anxiety, Depression, and Confusion, ps < .05) but no differences in abstinence induced changes in other forms of affect or craving. Females also exhibited marginally greater abstinence induced decreases in their willingness to delay smoking for money (p = .10), which was mediated by abstinence induced increases in anger (p < .05). These results suggest that differential sensitivity to abstinence induced negative affect, particularly anger, could underlie sex specific smoking patterns. Negative affect during tobacco abstinence may be an important factor for understanding and treating nicotine addiction in women. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Urban warming reduces aboveground carbon storage.

PubMed

Meineke, Emily; Youngsteadt, Elsa; Dunn, Robert R; Frank, Steven D

2016-10-12

A substantial amount of global carbon is stored in mature trees. However, no experiments to date test how warming affects mature tree carbon storage. Using a unique, citywide, factorial experiment, we investigated how warming and insect herbivory affected physiological function and carbon sequestration (carbon stored per year) of mature trees. Urban warming increased herbivorous arthropod abundance on trees, but these herbivores had negligible effects on tree carbon sequestration. Instead, urban warming was associated with an estimated 12% loss of carbon sequestration, in part because photosynthesis was reduced at hotter sites. Ecosystem service assessments that do not consider urban conditions may overestimate urban tree carbon storage. Because urban and global warming are becoming more intense, our results suggest that urban trees will sequester even less carbon in the future. © 2016 The Author(s).

Does warming the breasts affect the amount of breastmilk production?

PubMed

Yiğit, Feride; Çiğdem, Zerrin; Temizsoy, Ebru; Cingi, Melek Ersoy; Korel, Özlem; Yıldırım, Egemen; Ovalı, Fahri

2012-12-01

Increasing the amount of breastmilk is vital for both the nursing mother and child. Warming up breasts before using electrical pumps to pump out breastmilk may help to increase the amount of breastmilk, especially in the mothers of babies who are being nursed in the neonatal intensive care unit. Thirty-nine mothers whose babies had been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit were analyzed. A breast compress that was warmed up in a microwave oven for 1 minute at 180 W was applied to one of the breasts for 20 minutes, and both breasts were sucked by an electrical breast pump for 15 minutes. The amount of breastmilk after each procedure was recorded. The amount of breastmilk that was obtained from warmed breasts was significantly higher than that obtained from nonwarmed breasts (maximum, 47.02 ± 23.01 mL vs. 33.15 ± 19.98 mL) (p=0.000). Warming up breasts by a breast compress is easy and affordable, and this procedure increases the amount of breastmilk, thus facilitating infant nutrition and recovery especially in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Warming will affect phytoplankton differently: evidence through a mechanistic approach

PubMed Central

Huertas, I. Emma; Rouco, Mónica; López-Rodas, Victoria; Costas, Eduardo

2011-01-01

Although the consequences of global warming in aquatic ecosystems are only beginning to be revealed, a key to forecasting the impact on aquatic communities is an understanding of individual species' vulnerability to increased temperature. Despite their microscopic size, phytoplankton support about half of the global primary production, drive essential biogeochemical cycles and represent the basis of the aquatic food web. At present, it is known that phytoplankton are important targets and, consequently, harbingers of climate change in aquatic systems. Therefore, investigating the capacity of phytoplankton to adapt to the predicted warming has become a relevant issue. However, considering the polyphyletic complexity of the phytoplankton community, different responses to increased temperature are expected. We experimentally tested the effects of warming on 12 species of phytoplankton isolated from a variety of environments by using a mechanistic approach able to assess evolutionary adaptation (the so-called ratchet technique). We found different degrees of tolerance to temperature rises and an interspecific capacity for genetic adaptation. The thermal resistance level reached by each species is discussed in relation to their respective original habitats. Our study additionally provides evidence on the most resistant phytoplankton groups in a future warming scenario. PMID:21508031

Warming will affect phytoplankton differently: evidence through a mechanistic approach.

PubMed

Huertas, I Emma; Rouco, Mónica; López-Rodas, Victoria; Costas, Eduardo

2011-12-07

Although the consequences of global warming in aquatic ecosystems are only beginning to be revealed, a key to forecasting the impact on aquatic communities is an understanding of individual species' vulnerability to increased temperature. Despite their microscopic size, phytoplankton support about half of the global primary production, drive essential biogeochemical cycles and represent the basis of the aquatic food web. At present, it is known that phytoplankton are important targets and, consequently, harbingers of climate change in aquatic systems. Therefore, investigating the capacity of phytoplankton to adapt to the predicted warming has become a relevant issue. However, considering the polyphyletic complexity of the phytoplankton community, different responses to increased temperature are expected. We experimentally tested the effects of warming on 12 species of phytoplankton isolated from a variety of environments by using a mechanistic approach able to assess evolutionary adaptation (the so-called ratchet technique). We found different degrees of tolerance to temperature rises and an interspecific capacity for genetic adaptation. The thermal resistance level reached by each species is discussed in relation to their respective original habitats. Our study additionally provides evidence on the most resistant phytoplankton groups in a future warming scenario.

Deforestation and stream warming affect body size of Amazonian fishes.

PubMed

Ilha, Paulo; Schiesari, Luis; Yanagawa, Fernando I; Jankowski, KathiJo; Navas, Carlos A

2018-01-01

Declining body size has been suggested to be a universal response of organisms to rising temperatures, manifesting at all levels of organization and in a broad range of taxa. However, no study to date evaluated whether deforestation-driven warming could trigger a similar response. We studied changes in fish body size, from individuals to assemblages, in streams in Southeastern Amazonia. We first conducted sampling surveys to validate the assumption that deforestation promoted stream warming, and to test the hypothesis that warmer deforested streams had reduced fish body sizes relative to cooler forest streams. As predicted, deforested streams were up to 6 °C warmer and had fish 36% smaller than forest streams on average. This body size reduction could be largely explained by the responses of the four most common species, which were 43-55% smaller in deforested streams. We then conducted a laboratory experiment to test the hypothesis that stream warming as measured in the field was sufficient to cause a growth reduction in the dominant fish species in the region. Fish reared at forest stream temperatures gained mass, whereas those reared at deforested stream temperatures lost mass. Our results suggest that deforestation-driven stream warming is likely to be a relevant factor promoting observed body size reductions, although other changes in stream conditions, like reductions in organic matter inputs, can also be important. A broad scale reduction in fish body size due to warming may be occurring in streams throughout the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation, with potential implications for the conservation of Amazonian fish biodiversity and food supply for people around the Basin.

Deforestation and stream warming affect body size of Amazonian fishes

PubMed Central

Yanagawa, Fernando I.; Jankowski, KathiJo; Navas, Carlos A.

2018-01-01

Declining body size has been suggested to be a universal response of organisms to rising temperatures, manifesting at all levels of organization and in a broad range of taxa. However, no study to date evaluated whether deforestation-driven warming could trigger a similar response. We studied changes in fish body size, from individuals to assemblages, in streams in Southeastern Amazonia. We first conducted sampling surveys to validate the assumption that deforestation promoted stream warming, and to test the hypothesis that warmer deforested streams had reduced fish body sizes relative to cooler forest streams. As predicted, deforested streams were up to 6 °C warmer and had fish 36% smaller than forest streams on average. This body size reduction could be largely explained by the responses of the four most common species, which were 43–55% smaller in deforested streams. We then conducted a laboratory experiment to test the hypothesis that stream warming as measured in the field was sufficient to cause a growth reduction in the dominant fish species in the region. Fish reared at forest stream temperatures gained mass, whereas those reared at deforested stream temperatures lost mass. Our results suggest that deforestation-driven stream warming is likely to be a relevant factor promoting observed body size reductions, although other changes in stream conditions, like reductions in organic matter inputs, can also be important. A broad scale reduction in fish body size due to warming may be occurring in streams throughout the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation, with potential implications for the conservation of Amazonian fish biodiversity and food supply for people around the Basin. PMID:29718960

Does increasing active warm-up duration affect afternoon short-term maximal performance during Ramadan?

PubMed

Baklouti, Hana; Aloui, Asma; Chtourou, Hamdi; Briki, Walid; Chaouachi, Anis; Souissi, Nizar

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of active warm-up duration on short-term maximal performance assessed during Ramadan in the afternoon. Twelve healthy active men took part in the study. The experimental design consisted of four test sessions conducted at 5 p.m., before and during Ramadan, either with a 5-minute or a 15-minute warm-up. The warm-up consisted in pedaling at 50% of the power output obtained at the last stage of a submaximal multistage cycling test. During each session, the subjects performed two vertical jump tests (squat jump and counter movement jump) for measurement of vertical jump height followed by a 30-second Wingate test for measurement of peak and mean power. Oral temperature was recorded at rest and after warming-up. Moreover, ratings of perceived exertion were obtained immediately after the Wingate test. Oral temperature was higher before Ramadan than during Ramadan at rest, and was higher after the 15-minute warm-up than the 5-minute warm-up both before and during Ramadan. In addition, vertical jump heights were not significantly different between the two warm-up conditions before and during Ramadan, and were lower during Ramadan than before Ramadan after both warm-up conditions. Peak and mean power were not significantly different between the two warm-up durations before Ramadan, but were significantly higher after the 5-minute warm-up than the 15-minute warm-up during Ramadan. Moreover, peak and mean power were lower during Ramadan than before Ramadan after both warm-up conditions. Furthermore, ratings of perceived exertion were higher after the 15-minute warm-up than the 5-minute warm-up only during Ramadan. The prolonged active warm-up has no effect on vertical jump height but impairs anaerobic power assessed during Ramadan in the afternoon.

Does Increasing Active Warm-Up Duration Affect Afternoon Short-Term Maximal Performance during Ramadan?

PubMed Central

Baklouti, Hana; Aloui, Asma; Chtourou, Hamdi; Briki, Walid; Chaouachi, Anis; Souissi, Nizar

2015-01-01

Aim The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of active warm-up duration on short-term maximal performance assessed during Ramadan in the afternoon. Methods Twelve healthy active men took part in the study. The experimental design consisted of four test sessions conducted at 5 p.m., before and during Ramadan, either with a 5-minute or a 15-minute warm-up. The warm-up consisted in pedaling at 50% of the power output obtained at the last stage of a submaximal multistage cycling test. During each session, the subjects performed two vertical jump tests (squat jump and counter movement jump) for measurement of vertical jump height followed by a 30-second Wingate test for measurement of peak and mean power. Oral temperature was recorded at rest and after warming-up. Moreover, ratings of perceived exertion were obtained immediately after the Wingate test. Results Oral temperature was higher before Ramadan than during Ramadan at rest, and was higher after the 15-minute warm-up than the 5-minute warm-up both before and during Ramadan. In addition, vertical jump heights were not significantly different between the two warm-up conditions before and during Ramadan, and were lower during Ramadan than before Ramadan after both warm-up conditions. Peak and mean power were not significantly different between the two warm-up durations before Ramadan, but were significantly higher after the 5-minute warm-up than the 15-minute warm-up during Ramadan. Moreover, peak and mean power were lower during Ramadan than before Ramadan after both warm-up conditions. Furthermore, ratings of perceived exertion were higher after the 15-minute warm-up than the 5-minute warm-up only during Ramadan. Conclusion The prolonged active warm-up has no effect on vertical jump height but impairs anaerobic power assessed during Ramadan in the afternoon. PMID:25646955

Global warming: Clouds cooled the Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauritsen, Thorsten

2016-12-01

The slow instrumental-record warming is consistent with lower-end climate sensitivity. Simulations and observations now show that changing sea surface temperature patterns could have affected cloudiness and thereby dampened the warming.

Sex-Specific Differences in Shoaling Affect Parasite Transmission in Guppies

PubMed Central

Richards, E. Loys; van Oosterhout, Cock; Cable, Joanne

2010-01-01

Background Individuals have to trade-off the costs and benefits of group membership during shoaling behaviour. Shoaling can increase the risk of parasite transmission, but this cost has rarely been quantified experimentally. Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are a model system for behavioural studies, and they are commonly infected by gyrodactylid parasites, notorious fish pathogens that are directly transmitted between guppy hosts. Methodology/Principal Findings Parasite transmission in single sex shoals of male and female guppies were observed using an experimental infection of Gyrodactylus turnbulli. Parasite transmission was affected by sex-specific differences in host behaviour, and significantly more parasites were transmitted when fish had more frequent and more prolonged contact with each other. Females shoaled significantly more than males and had a four times higher risk to contract an infection. Conclusions/Significance Intersexual differences in host behaviours such as shoaling are driven by differences in natural and sexual selection experienced by both sexes. Here we show that the potential benefits of an increased shoaling tendency are traded off against increased risks of contracting an infectious parasite in a group-living species. PMID:20949014

Reliving emotional personal memories: affective biases linked to personality and sex-related differences.

PubMed

Denkova, Ekaterina; Dolcos, Sanda; Dolcos, Florin

2012-06-01

Although available evidence suggests that the emotional valence and recollective properties of autobiographical memories (AMs) may be influenced by personality- and sex-related differences, overall these relationships remain poorly understood. The present study investigated these issues by comparing the effect of general personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) and specific traits linked to emotion regulation (ER) strategies (reappraisal and suppression) on the retrieval of emotional AMs and on the associated postretrieval emotional states, in men and women. First, extraversion predicted recollection of positive AMs in both men and women, whereas neuroticism predicted the proportion of negative AMs in men and the frequency of rehearsing negative AMs in women. Second, reappraisal predicted positive AMs in men, and suppression predicted negative AMs in women. Third, while reliving of positive memories had an overall indirect effect on postretrieval positive mood through extraversion, reliving of negative AMs had a direct effect on postretrieval negative mood, which was linked to inefficient engagement of suppression in women. Our findings suggest that personality traits associated with positive affect predict recollection of positive AMs and maintenance of a positive mood, whereas personality traits associated with negative affect, along with differential engagement of habitual ER strategies in men and women, predict sex-related differences in the recollection and experiencing of negative AMs. These findings provide insight into the factors that influence affective biases in reliving AMs, and into their possible link to sex-related differences in the susceptibility to affective disorders.

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence Attachment, Affect and Sex

PubMed Central

Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M.; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents. PMID:27468997

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence: Attachment, Affect and Sex.

PubMed

Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.

Nickel and ocean warming affect scleractinian coral growth.

PubMed

Biscéré, T; Lorrain, A; Rodolfo-Metalpa, R; Gilbert, A; Wright, A; Devissi, C; Peignon, C; Farman, R; Duvieilbourg, E; Payri, C; Houlbrèque, F

2017-07-15

The sensitivity of corals and their Symbiodinium to warming has been extensively documented; however very few studies considered that anthropogenic inputs such as metal pollution have already an impact on many fringing reefs. Thus, today, nickel releases are common in coastal ecosystems. In this study, two major reef-building species Acropora muricata and Pocillopora damicornis were exposed in situ to ambient and moderate nickel concentrations on a short-term period (1h) using benthic chamber experiments. Simultaneously, we tested in laboratory conditions the combined effects of a chronic exposure (8weeks) to moderate nickel concentrations and ocean warming on A. muricata. The in situ experiment highlighted that nickel enrichment, at ambient temperature, stimulated by 27 to 47% the calcification rates of both species but not their photosynthetic performances. In contrast, an exposure to higher nickel concentration, in combination with elevated temperature simulated in aquaria, severely depressed by 30% the growth of A. muricata. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sex-Specific Effect of Recalled Parenting on Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Adulthood.

PubMed

Lyons, Minna T; Brewer, Gayle; Bethell, Emily J

2017-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated the influence of parenting on the development of children's empathy. However, few studies have considered the impact of parents on empathy in adulthood, specific components of empathy, or the importance of parent and child biological sex. In the present study, 226 participants (71 men) completed online versions of the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker et al. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1-10 1979), Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163-175 2004), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85 1980). Paternal care and overprotection influenced affective empathy in men, whilst maternal overprotection predicted affective empathy in women. Further, maternal care related to cognitive empathy in men, whilst none of the parental care variables related to cognitive empathy in women. Findings are discussed in relation to sex differences in childhood parenting experiences on adult cognitive and affective empathy.

Incubation under climate warming affects learning ability and survival in hatchling lizards.

PubMed

Dayananda, Buddhi; Webb, Jonathan K

2017-03-01

Despite compelling evidence for substantial individual differences in cognitive performance, it is unclear whether cognitive ability influences fitness of wild animals. In many animals, environmental stressors experienced in utero can produce substantial variation in the cognitive abilities of offspring. In reptiles, incubation temperatures experienced by embryos can influence hatchling brain function and learning ability. Under climate warming, the eggs of some lizard species may experience higher temperatures, which could affect the cognitive abilities of hatchlings. Whether such changes in cognitive abilities influence the survival of hatchlings is unknown. To determine whether incubation-induced changes in spatial learning ability affect hatchling survival, we incubated velvet gecko, Amalosia lesueurii , eggs using two fluctuating temperature regimes to mimic current (cold) versus future (hot) nest temperatures. We measured the spatial learning ability of hatchlings from each treatment, and released individually marked animals at two field sites in southeastern Australia. Hatchlings from hot-incubated eggs were slower learners than hatchlings from cold-incubated eggs. Survival analyses revealed that hatchlings with higher learning scores had higher survival than hatchlings with poor learning scores. Our results show that incubation temperature affects spatial learning ability in hatchling lizards, and that such changes can influence the survival of hatchlings in the wild. © 2017 The Author(s).

Meeting your match: how attractiveness similarity affects approach behavior in mixed-sex dyads.

PubMed

van Straaten, Ischa; Engels, Rutger C M E; Finkenauer, Catrin; Holland, Rob W

2009-06-01

This experimental study investigated approach behavior toward opposite-sex others of similar versus dissimilar physical attractiveness. Furthermore, it tested the moderating effects of sex. Single participants interacted with confederates of high and low attractiveness. Observers rated their behavior in terms of relational investment (i.e., behavioral efforts related to the improvement of interaction fluency, communication of positive interpersonal affect, and positive self-presentation). As expected, men displayed more relational investment behavior if their own physical attractiveness was similar to that of the confederate. For women, no effects of attractiveness similarity on relational investment behavior were found. Results are discussed in the light of positive assortative mating, preferences for physically attractive mates, and sex differences in attraction-related interpersonal behaviors.

Ecological context and metapopulation dynamics affect sex-ratio variation among dioecious plant populations.

PubMed

Field, David L; Pickup, Melinda; Barrett, Spencer C H

2013-05-01

Populations of dioecious flowering plants commonly exhibit heterogeneity in sex ratios and deviations from the equilibrium expectation of equal numbers of females and males. Yet the role of ecological and demographic factors in contributing towards biased sex ratios is currently not well understood. Species-level studies from the literature were analysed to investigate ecological correlates of among-population sex-ratio variation and metapopulation models and empirical data were used to explore the influence of demography and non-equilibrium conditions on flowering sex ratios. The survey revealed significant among-population heterogeneity in sex ratios and this was related to the degree of sampling effort. For some species, sex-ratio bias was associated with the proportion of non-reproductive individuals, with greater male bias in populations with a lower proportion of individuals that were flowering. Male-biased ratios were also found at higher altitudes and latitudes, and in more xeric sites. Simulations and empirical data indicated that clonal species exhibited greater heterogeneity in sex ratios than non-clonal species as a result of their slower approach to equilibrium. The simulations also indicated the importance of interactions between reproductive mode and founder effects, with greater departures from equilibrium in clonal populations with fewer founding individuals. The results indicate that sex-based differences in costs of reproduction and non-equilibrium conditions can each play important roles in affecting flowering sex ratios in populations of dioecious plants.

Is the distribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus ecotypes in the Mediterranean Sea affected by global warming?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mella-Flores, D.; Mazard, S.; Humily, F.; Partensky, F.; Mahé, F.; Bariat, L.; Courties, C.; Marie, D.; Ras, J.; Mauriac, R.; Jeanthon, C.; Mahdi Bendif, E.; Ostrowski, M.; Scanlan, D. J.; Garczarek, L.

2011-09-01

Biological communities populating the Mediterranean Sea, which is situated at the northern boundary of the subtropics, are often claimed to be particularly affected by global warming. This is indicated, for instance, by the introduction of (sub)tropical species of fish or invertebrates that can displace local species. This raises the question of whether microbial communities are similarly affected, especially in the Levantine basin where sea surface temperatures have significantly risen over the last 25 years (0.50 ± 0.11 °C in average per decade, P < 0.01). In this paper, the genetic diversity of the two most abundant members of the phytoplankton community, the picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, was examined during two cruises through both eastern and western Mediterranean Sea basins held in September 1999 (PROSOPE cruise) and in June-July 2008 (BOUM cruise). Diversity was studied using dot blot hybridization with clade-specific 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes and/or clone libraries of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region, with a focus on the abundance of clades that may constitute bioindicators of warm waters. During both cruises, the dominant Prochlorococcus clade in the upper mixed layer at all stations was HLI, a clade typical of temperate waters, whereas the HLII clade, the dominant group in (sub)tropical waters, was only present at very low concentrations. The Synechococcus community was dominated by clades I, III and IV in the northwestern waters of the Gulf of Lions and by clade III and groups genetically related to clades WPC1 and VI in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, only a few sequences of clade II, a group typical of warm waters, were observed. These data indicate that local cyanobacterial populations have not yet been displaced by their (sub)tropical counterparts.

Climate-driven shifts in adult sex ratios via sex reversals: the type of sex determination matters.

PubMed

Bókony, Veronika; Kövér, Szilvia; Nemesházi, Edina; Liker, András; Székely, Tamás

2017-09-19

Sex reversals whereby individuals of one genetic sex develop the phenotype of the opposite sex occur in ectothermic vertebrates with genetic sex-determination systems that are sensitive to extreme temperatures during sexual differentiation. Recent rises in global temperatures have led researchers to predict that sex reversals will become more common, resulting in the distortion of many populations' sex ratios. However, it is unclear whether susceptibility to climate-driven sex-ratio shifts depends on the type of sex determination that varies across species. First, we show here using individual-based theoretical models that XX/XY (male-heterogametic) and ZZ/ZW (female-heterogametic) sex-determination systems can respond differentially to temperature-induced sex reversals. Interestingly, the impacts of climate warming on adult sex ratio (ASR) depend on the effects of both genotypic and phenotypic sex on survival and reproduction. Second, we analyse the temporal changes of ASR in natural amphibian populations using data from the literature, and find that ASR shifted towards males in ZZ/ZW species over the past 60 years, but did not change significantly in XX/XY species. Our results highlight the fact that we need a better understanding of the interactions between genetic and environmental sex-determining mechanisms to predict the responses of ectotherms to climate change and the associated extinction risks.This article is part of the themed issue 'Adult sex ratios and reproductive decisions: a critical re-examination of sex differences in human and animal societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Rate of warming affects temperature sensitivity of anaerobic peat decomposition and greenhouse gas production.

PubMed

Sihi, Debjani; Inglett, Patrick W; Gerber, Stefan; Inglett, Kanika S

2018-01-01

Temperature sensitivity of anaerobic carbon mineralization in wetlands remains poorly represented in most climate models and is especially unconstrained for warmer subtropical and tropical systems which account for a large proportion of global methane emissions. Several studies of experimental warming have documented thermal acclimation of soil respiration involving adjustments in microbial physiology or carbon use efficiency (CUE), with an initial decline in CUE with warming followed by a partial recovery in CUE at a later stage. The variable CUE implies that the rate of warming may impact microbial acclimation and the rate of carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) production. Here, we assessed the effects of warming rate on the decomposition of subtropical peats, by applying either a large single-step (10°C within a day) or a slow ramping (0.1°C/day for 100 days) temperature increase. The extent of thermal acclimation was tested by monitoring CO 2 and CH 4 production, CUE, and microbial biomass. Total gaseous C loss, CUE, and MBC were greater in the slow (ramp) warming treatment. However, greater values of CH 4 -C:CO 2 -C ratios lead to a greater global warming potential in the fast (step) warming treatment. The effect of gradual warming on decomposition was more pronounced in recalcitrant and nutrient-limited soils. Stable carbon isotopes of CH 4 and CO 2 further indicated the possibility of different carbon processing pathways under the contrasting warming rates. Different responses in fast vs. slow warming treatment combined with different endpoints may indicate alternate pathways with long-term consequences. Incorporations of experimental results into organic matter decomposition models suggest that parameter uncertainties in CUE and CH 4 -C:CO 2 -C ratios have a larger impact on long-term soil organic carbon and global warming potential than uncertainty in model structure, and shows that particular rates of warming are central to understand the

Chemosterilization of male sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) does not affect sex pheromone release

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siefkes, Michael J.; Bergstedt, Roger A.; Twohey, Michael B.; Li, Weiming

2003-01-01

Release of males sterilized by injection with bisazir is an important experimental technique in management of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), an invasive, nuisance species in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Sea lampreys are semelparous and sterilization can theoretically eliminate a male's reproductive capacity and, if the ability to obtain mates is not affected, waste the sex products of females spawning with him. It has been demonstrated that spermiating males release a sex pheromone that attracts ovulating females. We demonstrated that sterilized, spermiating males also released the pheromone and attracted ovulating females. In a two-choice maze, ovulating females increased searching behavior and spent more time in the side of the maze containing chemical stimuli from sterilized, spermiating males. This attraction response was also observed in spawning stream experiments. Also, electro-olfactograms showed that female olfactory organs were equally sensitive to chemical stimuli from sterilized and nonsterilized, spermiating males. Finally, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry showed that extracts from water conditioned with sterilized and nonsterilized, spermiating males contained the same pheromonal molecule at similar levels. We concluded that injection of bisazir did not affect the efficacy of sex pheromone in sterilized males.

Global Warming?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eichman, Julia Christensen; Brown, Jeff A.

1994-01-01

Presents information and data on an experiment designed to test whether different atmosphere compositions are affected by light and temperature during both cooling and heating. Although flawed, the experiment should help students appreciate the difficulties that researchers face when trying to find evidence of global warming. (PR)

Effects of global warming on fish reproductive endocrine axis, with special emphasis in pejerrey Odontesthes bonariensis.

PubMed

Miranda, Leandro Andrés; Chalde, Tomás; Elisio, Mariano; Strüssmann, Carlos Augusto

2013-10-01

The ongoing of global warming trend has led to an increase in temperature of several water bodies. Reproduction in fish, compared with other physiological processes, only occurs in a bounded temperature range; therefore, small changes in water temperature could significantly affect this process. This review provides evidence that fish reproduction may be directly affected by further global warming and that abnormal high water temperature impairs the expression of important genes throughout the brain-pituitary-gonad axis. In all fishes studied, gonads seem to be the organ more readily damaged by heat treatments through the inhibition of the gene expression and subsequent synthesis of different gonadal steroidogenic enzymes. In view of the feedback role of sex steroids upon the synthesis and release of GnRH and GtHs in fish, it is possible that the inhibition observed at brain and pituitary levels in treated fish is consequence of the sharp decrease in plasma steroids levels. Results of in vitro studies on the inhibition of pejerrey gonad aromatase expression by high temperature corroborate that ovary functions are directly disrupted by high temperature independently of the brain-pituitary axis. For the reproductive responses obtained in laboratory fish studies, it is plausible to predict changes in the timing and magnitude of reproductive activity or even the total failure of spawning season may occur in warm years, reducing annual reproductive output and affecting future populations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breeding sex ratios in adult leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) may compensate for female-biased hatchling sex ratios.

PubMed

Stewart, Kelly R; Dutton, Peter H

2014-01-01

For vertebrates with temperature-dependent sex determination, primary (or hatchling) sex ratios are often skewed, an issue of particular relevance to concerns over effects of climate change on populations. However, the ratio of breeding males to females, or the operational sex ratio (OSR), is important to understand because it has consequences for population demographics and determines the capacity of a species to persist. The OSR also affects mating behaviors and mate choice, depending on the more abundant sex. For sea turtles, hatchling and juvenile sex ratios are generally female-biased, and with warming nesting beach temperatures, there is concern that populations may become feminized. Our purpose was to evaluate the breeding sex ratio for leatherback turtles at a nesting beach in St. Croix, USVI. In 2010, we sampled nesting females and later sampled their hatchlings as they emerged from nests. Total genomic DNA was extracted and all individuals were genotyped using 6 polymorphic microsatellite markers. We genotyped 662 hatchlings from 58 females, matching 55 females conclusively to their nests. Of the 55, 42 females mated with one male each, 9 mated with 2 males each and 4 mated with at least 3 males each, for a multiple paternity rate of 23.6%. Using GERUD1.0, we reconstructed parental genotypes, identifying 47 different males and 46 females for an estimated breeding sex ratio of 1.02 males for every female. Thus we demonstrate that there are as many actively breeding males as females in this population. Concerns about female-biased adult sex ratios may be premature, and mate choice or competition may play more of a role in sea turtle reproduction than previously thought. We recommend monitoring breeding sex ratios in the future to allow the integration of this demographic parameter in population models.

Breeding Sex Ratios in Adult Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) May Compensate for Female-Biased Hatchling Sex Ratios

PubMed Central

Stewart, Kelly R.; Dutton, Peter H.

2014-01-01

For vertebrates with temperature-dependent sex determination, primary (or hatchling) sex ratios are often skewed, an issue of particular relevance to concerns over effects of climate change on populations. However, the ratio of breeding males to females, or the operational sex ratio (OSR), is important to understand because it has consequences for population demographics and determines the capacity of a species to persist. The OSR also affects mating behaviors and mate choice, depending on the more abundant sex. For sea turtles, hatchling and juvenile sex ratios are generally female-biased, and with warming nesting beach temperatures, there is concern that populations may become feminized. Our purpose was to evaluate the breeding sex ratio for leatherback turtles at a nesting beach in St. Croix, USVI. In 2010, we sampled nesting females and later sampled their hatchlings as they emerged from nests. Total genomic DNA was extracted and all individuals were genotyped using 6 polymorphic microsatellite markers. We genotyped 662 hatchlings from 58 females, matching 55 females conclusively to their nests. Of the 55, 42 females mated with one male each, 9 mated with 2 males each and 4 mated with at least 3 males each, for a multiple paternity rate of 23.6%. Using GERUD1.0, we reconstructed parental genotypes, identifying 47 different males and 46 females for an estimated breeding sex ratio of 1.02 males for every female. Thus we demonstrate that there are as many actively breeding males as females in this population. Concerns about female-biased adult sex ratios may be premature, and mate choice or competition may play more of a role in sea turtle reproduction than previously thought. We recommend monitoring breeding sex ratios in the future to allow the integration of this demographic parameter in population models. PMID:24505403

The interdecadal worsening of weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in the Beijing area in relation to climate warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoye; Zhong, Junting; Wang, Jizhi; Wang, Yaqiang; Liu, Yanju

2018-04-01

The weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in Beijing and its vicinity (BIV) in wintertime have worsened in recent years, particularly after 2010. The relation between interdecadal changes in weather conditions and climate warming is uncertain. Here, we analyze long-term variations of an integrated pollution-linked meteorological index (which is approximately and linearly related to aerosol pollution), the extent of changes in vertical temperature differences in the boundary layer (BL) in BIV, and northerly surface winds from Lake Baikal during wintertime to evaluate the potential contribution of climate warming to changes in meteorological conditions directly related to aerosol pollution in this area; this is accomplished using NCEP reanalysis data, surface observations, and long-term vertical balloon sounding observations since 1960. The weather conditions affecting BIV aerosol pollution are found to have worsened since the 1960s as a whole. This worsening is more significant after 2010, with PM2.5 reaching unprecedented high levels in many cities in China, particularly in BIV. The decadal worsening of meteorological conditions in BIV can partly be attributed to climate warming, which is defined by more warming in the higher layers of the boundary layer (BL) than the lower layers. This worsening can also be influenced by the accumulation of aerosol pollution, to a certain extent (particularly after 2010), because the increase in aerosol pollution from the ground leads to surface cooling by aerosol-radiation interactions, which facilitates temperature inversions, increases moisture accumulations, and results in the extra deterioration of meteorological conditions. If analyzed as a linear trend, weather conditions have worsened by ˜ 4 % each year from 2010 to 2017. Given such a deterioration rate, the worsening of weather conditions may lead to a corresponding amplitude increase in PM2.5 in BIV during wintertime in the next 5 years (i.e., 2018 to 2022

Characteristics of activities that affect the development of women's same-sex relationships.

PubMed

Davis-Delano, Laurel R

2014-01-01

The author utilized semistructured interviews with 56 women to explore how a wide range of activities affected the development of the participants' same-sex attractions and relationships. The researcher was able to identify and describe some aspects of the process by which eight characteristics of activities that are more or less present in various social contexts have the potential to impact whether these contexts are more or less conducive or hindering to the development of women's same-sex attractions and relationships. Activities were more apt to nurture the development of the participants' same-sex attractions and relationships when the activity (a) included lesbians, (b) was composed primarily of women, (c) affirmed women, (d) facilitated bonding, (e) featured a climate of acceptance of lesbians/gays/bisexuals, (f) did not feature a climate that emphasized heteronormativity, (g) was perceived as gender neutral, and (h) generated or drew participants who were similar to each other.

Soil Minerals Affect Extracellular Enzyme Activities in Cold and Warm Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Z.; Morin, M. M.; Graham, D. E.; Wullschleger, S. D.; Gu, B.

2017-12-01

Extracellular enzymes are mainly responsible for degrading and cycling soil organic matter (SOM) in both cold and warm terrestrial ecosystems. Minerals can play important roles in affecting soil enzyme activities, however, the interactions between enzyme and soil minerals remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed a model soil-enzyme system to examine the mineral effects on a hydrolytic enzyme (i.e., β-glucosidase) under both cold (4°C) and relatively warm (20 and 30°C) conditions. Minerals including iron oxides and clays (e.g., kaolinite and montmorillonite) were used to mimic different types of soils, and enzyme adsorption experiments were conducted to determine the enzyme interactions with different mineral surfaces. Time-series experiments were also carried out to measure enzymatic degradation of the organic substrates, such as cellobiose and indican. We observed that fractions of adsorbed enzyme and the hydrolytic activity were higher on iron oxides (e.g., hematite) compared to kaolinite and montmorillonite at given experimental conditions. The degradation of cellobiose was significantly faster than that of indican in the presence of minerals. We also found that the adsorption of enzyme was not dependent on the mineral surface areas, but was controlled by the mineral surface charge. In addition, temperature increase from 4 to 30°C enhanced mineral-assisted glucosidase hydrolysis by 2 to 4 fold, suggesting greater degradation under warmer environments. The present work demonstrates that the enzyme activity is influenced not only by the soil temperature but also by the surface chemistry of soil minerals. Our results highlight the need to consider the physical and chemical properties of minerals in biogeochemical models, which could provide a better prediction for enzyme-facilitated SOM transformations in terrestrial ecosystems.

Seagrass ecophysiological performance under ocean warming and acidification.

PubMed

Repolho, Tiago; Duarte, Bernardo; Dionísio, Gisela; Paula, José Ricardo; Lopes, Ana R; Rosa, Inês C; Grilo, Tiago F; Caçador, Isabel; Calado, Ricardo; Rosa, Rui

2017-02-01

Seagrasses play an essential ecological role within coastal habitats and their worldwide population decline has been linked to different types of anthropogenic forces. We investigated, for the first time, the combined effects of future ocean warming and acidification on fundamental biological processes of Zostera noltii, including shoot density, leaf coloration, photophysiology (electron transport rate, ETR; maximum PSII quantum yield, F v /F m ) and photosynthetic pigments. Shoot density was severely affected under warming conditions, with a concomitant increase in the frequency of brownish colored leaves (seagrass die-off). Warming was responsible for a significant decrease in ETR and F v /F m (particularly under control pH conditions), while promoting the highest ETR variability (among experimental treatments). Warming also elicited a significant increase in pheophytin and carotenoid levels, alongside an increase in carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio and De-Epoxidation State (DES). Acidification significantly affected photosynthetic pigments content (antheraxanthin, β-carotene, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin), with a significant decrease being recorded under the warming scenario. No significant interaction between ocean acidification and warming was observed. Our findings suggest that future ocean warming will be a foremost determinant stressor influencing Z. noltii survival and physiological performance. Additionally, acidification conditions to occur in the future will be unable to counteract deleterious effects posed by ocean warming.

Seagrass ecophysiological performance under ocean warming and acidification

PubMed Central

Repolho, Tiago; Duarte, Bernardo; Dionísio, Gisela; Paula, José Ricardo; Lopes, Ana R.; Rosa, Inês C.; Grilo, Tiago F.; Caçador, Isabel; Calado, Ricardo; Rosa, Rui

2017-01-01

Seagrasses play an essential ecological role within coastal habitats and their worldwide population decline has been linked to different types of anthropogenic forces. We investigated, for the first time, the combined effects of future ocean warming and acidification on fundamental biological processes of Zostera noltii, including shoot density, leaf coloration, photophysiology (electron transport rate, ETR; maximum PSII quantum yield, Fv/Fm) and photosynthetic pigments. Shoot density was severely affected under warming conditions, with a concomitant increase in the frequency of brownish colored leaves (seagrass die-off). Warming was responsible for a significant decrease in ETR and Fv/Fm (particularly under control pH conditions), while promoting the highest ETR variability (among experimental treatments). Warming also elicited a significant increase in pheophytin and carotenoid levels, alongside an increase in carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio and De-Epoxidation State (DES). Acidification significantly affected photosynthetic pigments content (antheraxanthin, β-carotene, violaxanthin and zeaxanthin), with a significant decrease being recorded under the warming scenario. No significant interaction between ocean acidification and warming was observed. Our findings suggest that future ocean warming will be a foremost determinant stressor influencing Z. noltii survival and physiological performance. Additionally, acidification conditions to occur in the future will be unable to counteract deleterious effects posed by ocean warming. PMID:28145531

Warming by immersion or exercise affects initial cooling rate during subsequent cold water immersion.

PubMed

Scott, Chris G; Ducharme, Michel B; Haman, François; Kenny, Glen P

2004-11-01

We examined the effect of prior heating, by exercise and warm-water immersion, on core cooling rates in individuals rendered mildly hypothermic by immersion in cold water. There were seven male subjects who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) seated rest for 15 min (control); 2) cycling ergometry for 15 min at 70% Vo2 peak (active warming); or 3) immersion in a circulated bath at 40 degrees C to an esophageal temperature (Tes) similar to that at the end of exercise (passive warming). Subjects were then immersed in 7 degrees C water to a Tes of 34.5 degrees C. Initial Tes cooling rates (initial approximately 6 min cooling) differed significantly among the treatment conditions (0.074 +/- 0.045, 0.129 +/- 0.076, and 0.348 +/- 0.117 degrees C x min(-1) for control, active, and passive warming conditions, respectively); however, secondary cooling rates (rates following initial approximately 6 min cooling to the end of immersion) were not different between treatments (average of 0.102 +/- 0.085 degrees C x min(-1)). Overall Tes cooling rates during the full immersion period differed significantly and were 0.067 +/- 0.047, 0.085 +/- 0.045, and 0.209 +/- 0.131 degrees C x min(-1) for control, active, and passive warming, respectively. These results suggest that prior warming by both active and, to a greater extent, passive warming, may predispose a person to greater heat loss and to experience a larger decline in core temperature when subsequently exposed to cold water. Thus, functional time and possibly survival time could be reduced when cold water immersion is preceded by whole-body passive warming, and to a lesser degree by active warming.

Ownership of dwelling affects the sex ratio at birth in Uganda.

PubMed

Wallner, Bernard; Fieder, Martin; Seidler, Horst

2012-01-01

Socio-economic conditions can affect the secondary sex ratio in humans. Mothers under good environmental conditions are predicted to increase the birth rates of sons according to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (TWH). This study analyzed the effects of ownership and non-ownership of dwellings on the sex ratio at birth (SRB) on a Ugandan sample. Our investigation included 438,640 mothers aged between 12 and 54 years. The overall average SRB was 0.5008. Mothers who live in owned dwellings gave increased births to sons (0.5019) compared to those who live in non-owned dwellings (0.458). Multivariate statistics revealed the strongest effects of dwelling ownership when controlling for demographic and social variables such as marital status, type of marriage, mothers' age, mothers' education, parity and others. The results are discussed in the framework of recent plausible models dealing with the adjustment of the sex ratio. We conclude that the aspect of dwelling status could represent an important socio-economic parameter in relation to SRB variations in humans if further studies are able to analyze it between different countries in a comparative way.

Relationship Satisfaction, Affectivity, and Gay-Specific Stressors in Same-Sex Couples Joined in Civil Unions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Todosijevic, Jelica; Rothblum, Esther D.; Solomon, Sondra E.

2005-01-01

Relationship satisfaction, affect, and stress were examined in 313 same-sex couples who had had civil unions in Vermont during the first year of this legislation. Similarity between partners on age and on positive/negative affectivity was related to relationship satisfaction whereas there was no association with similarity in income, education,…

Is the distribution of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus ecotypes in the Mediterranean Sea affected by global warming?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mella-Flores, D.; Mazard, S.; Humily, F.; Partensky, F.; Mahé, F.; Bariat, L.; Courties, C.; Marie, D.; Ras, J.; Mauriac, R.; Jeanthon, C.; Bendif, E. M.; Ostrowski, M.; Scanlan, D. J.; Garczarek, L.

2011-05-01

Biological communities populating the Mediterranean Sea, which is situated at the northern boundary of the subtropics, are often claimed to be particularly affected by global warming. This is indicated, for instance, by the introduction of (sub)tropical species of fish or invertebrates that can displace local species. This raises the question of whether microbial communities are similarly affected, especially in the Levantine basin where sea surface temperatures have risen in recent years. In this paper, the genetic diversity of the two most abundant members of the phytoplankton community, the picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, was examined on a transect from the South coast of France to Cyprus in the summer of 2008 (BOUM cruise). Diversity was studied using dot blot hybridization with clade-specific 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes and clone libraries of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Data were compared with those obtained during the PROSOPE cruise held almost a decade earlier, with a focus on the abundance of clades that may constitute bioindicators of warm waters. During both cruises, the dominant Prochlorococcus clade in the upper mixed layer at all stations was HLI, a clade typical of temperate waters, whereas the HLII clade, the dominant group in (sub)tropical waters, was only present at very low concentrations. The Synechococcus community was dominated by clades I, III and IV in the northwestern waters of the Gulf of Lions and by clade III and groups genetically related to clades WPC1 and VI in the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, only a few sequences of clade II, a group typical of warm waters, were observed. These data indicate that local cyanobacterial populations have not yet been displaced by their (sub)tropical counterparts. This is discussed in the context of the low phosphorus concentrations found in surface waters in the eastern Mediterranean basin, as this may constitute a barrier to

Experimental evaluation of reproductive response to climate warming in an oviparous skink.

PubMed

Lu, Hongliang; Wang, Yong; Tang, Wenqi; DU, Weiguo

2013-06-01

The impact of climate warming on organisms is increasingly being recognized. The experimental evaluation of phenotypically plastic responses to warming is a critical step in understanding the biological effects and adaptive capacity of organisms to future climate warming. Oviparous Scincella modesta live in deeply-shaded habitats and they require low optimal temperatures during embryonic development, which makes them suitable subjects for testing the effects of warming on reproduction. We raised adult females and incubated their eggs under different thermal conditions that mimicked potential climate warming. Female reproduction, embryonic development and hatchling traits were monitored to evaluate the reproductive response to warming. Experimental warming induced females to lay eggs earlier, but it did not affect the developmental stage of embryos at oviposition or the reproductive output. The high temperatures experienced by gravid females during warming treatments reduced the incubation period and increased embryonic mortality. The locomotor performance of hatchlings was not affected by the maternal thermal environment, but it was affected by the warming treatment during embryonic development. Our results suggest that climate warming might have a profound effect on fitness-relevant traits both at embryonic and post-embryonic stages in oviparous lizards. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd, ISZS and IOZ/CAS.

Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline.

PubMed

Okano, Kyoko; Bret-Harte, M Syndonia

2015-01-01

Climate change is expected to be pronounced towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Warming triggers treeline and vegetation shifts, which may aggravate interspecific competition and affect biodiversity. This research tested the effects of a warming climate, habitat type, and neighboring plant competition on the establishment and growth of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings in a subarctic mountain region. P. glauca seedlings were planted in June 2010 under 4 different treatments (high/control temperatures, with/without competition) in 3 habitats (alpine ridge above treeline/tundra near treeline /forest below treeline habitats). After two growing seasons in 2011, growth, photosynthesis and foliar C and N data were obtained from a total of 156, one-and-a-half year old seedlings that had survived. Elevated temperatures increased growth and photosynthetic rates above and near treeline, but decreased them below treeline. Competition was increased by elevated temperatures in all habitat types. Our results suggest that increasing temperatures will have positive effects on the growth of P. glauca seedlings at the locations where P. glauca is expected to expand its habitat, but increasing temperatures may have negative effects on seedlings growing in mature forests. Due to interspecific competition, possibly belowground competition, the upslope expansion of treelines may not be as fast in the future as it was the last fifty years.

Sex and rank affect how infant rhesus macaques look at faces

PubMed Central

Paukner, Annika; Slonecker, Emily M.; Murphy, Ashley M.; Wooddell, Lauren J.; Dettmer, Amanda M.

2017-01-01

We investigated how differences in infant sex and mothers’ dominance status affect infant rhesus macaques’ (Macaca mulatta) interest in visually exploring emotional facial expressions. Thirty-eight infants were presented with animated avatars of macaque facial expressions during the first month of life. Sons of high-ranking mothers looked more at faces, especially the eye region, than sons of low-ranking mothers, but no difference in looking duration was found for daughters. Males looked significantly more at eyes than females, but this effect was reversed in infants who were reared without mothers in a primate nursery facility. In addition, in mother-infant interactions, mothers of sons were more likely to gaze at their infant’s face compared to mothers of daughters. Combined with previous research indicating that rhesus macaque mothers interact differently with infants based on their own rank and infant’s sex, these results support the view that social experiences shape early face preferences in rhesus macaques. PMID:29165801

Realigning government action with public health evidence: the legal and policy environment affecting sex work and HIV in Asia.

PubMed

Gruskin, Sofia; Pierce, Gretchen Williams; Ferguson, Laura

2014-01-01

The HIV epidemic has shed light on how government regulation of sex work directly affects the health and well-being of sex workers, their families and communities. A review of the public health evidence highlights the need for supportive legal and policy environments, yet criminalisation of sex work remains standard around the world. Emerging evidence, coupled with evolving political ideologies, is increasingly shaping legal environments that promote the rights and health of sex workers but even as new legislation is created, contradictions often exist with standing problematic legislation. As a region, Asia provides a compelling example in that progressive HIV policies often sit side by side with laws that criminalise sex work. Data from the 21 Asian countries reporting under the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV in 2010 were analysed to provide evidence of how countries' approach to sex-work regulation might affect HIV-related outcomes. Attention to the links between law and HIV-related outcomes can aid governments to meet their international obligations and ensure appropriate legal environments that cultivate the safe and healthy development and expression of sexuality, ensure access to HIV and other related services and promote and protect human rights.

Stage- and sex-specific heat tolerance in the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria.

PubMed

Blanckenhorn, Wolf U; Gautier, Roland; Nick, Marcel; Puniamoorthy, Nalini; Schäfer, Martin A

2014-12-01

Thermal tolerance varies at all hierarchical levels of biological organization: among species, populations, individuals, and even within individuals. Age- or developmental stage- and sex-specific thermal effects have received relatively little attention in the literature, despite being crucial for understanding thermal adaptation in nature and responses to global warming. We document stage- and sex- specific heat tolerance in the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae), a species common throughout the northern hemisphere that generally favours cool climates. Exposure of eggs to temperatures up to 32°C did not affect larval hatching rate, but subsequent egg-to-adult survival at a benign temperature was reduced. Permanent transfer from benign (18°C) to hot temperatures (up to 31°C) at different larval and pupal stages strongly decreased egg-to-adult survival, though survival continuously improved the later the transfer occurred. Temporary transfer for only two days increased mortality more weakly, survival being lowest when temperature stress was imposed early during the larval or pupal stages. Adult flies provided with sugar and water tolerated 31°C longer than previously thought (5 days in males to 9 days in females). Eggs were thus less susceptible to thermal stress than larvae, pupae or adults, in agreement with the hypothesis that more mobile stages require less physiological protection against heat because they can behaviourally thermoregulate. The probability of mating, of laying a clutch, and hatching success were generally independently reduced by exposure of females or males to warm temperatures (24°C) during the juvenile or adult stages, with some interactions evident. High temperature stress thus affects survival differentially depending on when it occurs during the juvenile or the pre-reproductive adult life stage, and affects reproductive success via the mating behaviour of both sexes, female physiology in terms of

Factors affecting sex education in the school system.

PubMed

Woo, G W; Soon, R; Thomas, J M; Kaneshiro, B

2011-06-01

To describe the current status of school based sex education and to determine predictors of providing a comprehensive sex education curriculum. Cross-sectional mailed survey Hawaii Seventh and eighth grade health teachers Participants were surveyed regarding the content, quality, and influences on sex education for the 2007 to 2008 academic year. Measures of association (chi-square, ANOVA) and multiple logistic regression were used to determine predictors for teaching comprehensive sex education topics including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy prevention. Approximately 80% of teachers incorporated some form of sex education into their curriculum and 54.4% of teachers incorporated a comprehensive education. Teachers indicated that personal values and the availability of curriculum had the greatest influence on the content of the curriculum. Specific factors which were associated with an increased likelihood of providing a comprehensive curriculum included teaching in a public school (public 66.7% versus private 34.6%, P = 0.01), receiving formal training in sex education (received training 77.8% versus did not receive training 50.0%, P = 0.03) and having contact with a student who became pregnant (contact 72.7% versus no contact 46.7%, P = 0.04). Although most teachers incorporate some form of sex education, only half incorporate a comprehensive curriculum. Personal values as well as teacher resources play an important role in the content of the curriculum. Copyright © 2011 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recent Warming of Lake Kivu

PubMed Central

Katsev, Sergei; Aaberg, Arthur A.; Crowe, Sean A.; Hecky, Robert E.

2014-01-01

Lake Kivu in East Africa has gained notoriety for its prodigious amounts of dissolved methane and dangers of limnic eruption. Being meromictic, it is also expected to accumulate heat due to rising regional air temperatures. To investigate the warming trend and distinguish between atmospheric and geothermal heating sources, we compiled historical temperature data, performed measurements with logging instruments, and simulated heat propagation. We also performed isotopic analyses of water from the lake's main basin and isolated Kabuno Bay. The results reveal that the lake surface is warming at the rate of 0.12°C per decade, which matches the warming rates in other East African lakes. Temperatures increase throughout the entire water column. Though warming is strongest near the surface, warming rates in the deep waters cannot be accounted for solely by propagation of atmospheric heat at presently assumed rates of vertical mixing. Unless the transport rates are significantly higher than presently believed, this indicates significant contributions from subterranean heat sources. Temperature time series in the deep monimolimnion suggest evidence of convection. The progressive deepening of the depth of temperature minimum in the water column is expected to accelerate the warming in deeper waters. The warming trend, however, is unlikely to strongly affect the physical stability of the lake, which depends primarily on salinity gradient. PMID:25295730

Recent warming of lake Kivu.

PubMed

Katsev, Sergei; Aaberg, Arthur A; Crowe, Sean A; Hecky, Robert E

2014-01-01

Lake Kivu in East Africa has gained notoriety for its prodigious amounts of dissolved methane and dangers of limnic eruption. Being meromictic, it is also expected to accumulate heat due to rising regional air temperatures. To investigate the warming trend and distinguish between atmospheric and geothermal heating sources, we compiled historical temperature data, performed measurements with logging instruments, and simulated heat propagation. We also performed isotopic analyses of water from the lake's main basin and isolated Kabuno Bay. The results reveal that the lake surface is warming at the rate of 0.12°C per decade, which matches the warming rates in other East African lakes. Temperatures increase throughout the entire water column. Though warming is strongest near the surface, warming rates in the deep waters cannot be accounted for solely by propagation of atmospheric heat at presently assumed rates of vertical mixing. Unless the transport rates are significantly higher than presently believed, this indicates significant contributions from subterranean heat sources. Temperature time series in the deep monimolimnion suggest evidence of convection. The progressive deepening of the depth of temperature minimum in the water column is expected to accelerate the warming in deeper waters. The warming trend, however, is unlikely to strongly affect the physical stability of the lake, which depends primarily on salinity gradient.

Predicting the variation in Echinogammarus marinus at its southernmost limits under global warming scenarios: can the sex-ratio make a difference?

PubMed

Guerra, Alexandra; Leite, Nuno; Marques, João Carlos; Ford, Alex T; Martins, Irene

2014-01-01

Understanding the environmental parameters that constrain the distribution of a species at its latitudinal extremes is critical for predicting how ecosystems react to climate change. Our first aim was to predict the variation in the amphipod populations of Echinogammarus marinus from the southernmost limit of its distribution under global warming scenarios. Our second aim was to test whether sex-ratio fluctuations - a mechanism frequently displayed by amphipods - respond to the variations in populations under altered climate conditions. To achieve these aims, scenarios were run with a validated model of E. marinus populations. Simulations were divided into: phase I - simulation of the effect of climate change on amphipod populations, and phase II - simulation of the effect of climate change on populations with male and female proportions. In both phases, temperature (T), salinity (S) and temperature and salinity (T-S) were tested. Results showed that E. marinus populations are highly sensitive to increases in temperature (>2 °C), which has adverse effects on amphipod recruitment and growth. Results from the climate change scenarios coupled with the sex-ratio fluctuations depended largely on the degree of female bias within population. Temperature increase of 2 °C had less impact on female-biased populations, particularly when conjugated with increases in salinity. Male-biased populations were highly sensitive to any variation in temperature and/or salinity; these populations exhibited a long-term decline in density. Simulations in which temperature increased more than 4 °C led to a continuous decline in the E. marinus population. According to this work, E. marinus populations at their southernmost limit are vulnerable to global warming. We anticipate that in Europe, temperature increases of 2 °C will incite a withdrawal of the population of 5°N from the amphipod species located at southernmost geographical borders. This effect is discussed in relation to the

Detecting urban warming signals in climate records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yuting; Jia, Gensuo; Hu, Yonghong; Zhou, Zijiang

2013-07-01

Determining whether air temperatures recorded at meteorological stations have been contaminated by the urbanization process is still a controversial issue at the global scale. With support of historical remote sensing data, this study examined the impacts of urban expansion on the trends of air temperature at 69 meteorological stations in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province over the last three decades. There were significant positive relations between the two factors at all stations. Stronger warming was detected at the meteorological stations that experienced greater urbanization, i.e., those with a higher urbanization rate. While the total urban area affects the absolute temperature values, the change of the urban area (urbanization rate) likely affects the temperature trend. Increases of approximately 10% in urban area around the meteorological stations likely contributed to the 0.13°C rise in air temperature records in addition to regional climate warming. This study also provides a new approach to selecting reference stations based on remotely sensed urban fractions. Generally, the urbanization-induced warming contributed to approximately 44.1% of the overall warming trends in the plain region of study area during the past 30 years, and the regional climate warming was 0.30°C (10 yr)-1 in the last three decades.

Sex-dependent mechanisms for expansions and contractions of the CAG repeat on affected Huntington disease chromosomes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kremer, B.; Theilmann, J.; Spence, N.

1995-08-01

A total of 254 affected parent-child pairs with Huntington disease (HD) and 440 parent-child pairs with CAG size in the normal range were assessed to determine the nature and frequency of intergenerational CAG changes in the HD gene. Intergenerational CAG changes are extremely rare (3/440 [0.68%]) on normal chromosomes. In contrast, on HD chromosomes, changes in CAG size occur in {approximately}70% of meioses on HD chromosomes, with expansions accounting for 73% of these changes. These intergenerational CAG changes make a significant but minor contribution to changes in age at onset (r{sup 2}=.19). The size of the CAG repeat influenced largermore » intergenerational expansions (>7 CAG repeats), but the likelihood of smaller expansions or contractions was not influenced by CAG size. Large expansions (>7 CAG repeats) occur almost exclusively through paternal transmission (0.96%; P<10{sub -7}), while offspring of affected mothers are more likely to show no change (P=.01) or contractions in CAG size (P=.002). This study demonstrates that sex of the transmitting parent is the major determinant for CAG intergenerational changes in the HD gene. Similar paternal sex effects are seen in the evolution of new mutations for HD from intermediate alleles and for large expansions on affected chromosomes. Affected mothers almost never transmit a significantly expanded CAG repeat, despite the fact that many have similar large-sized alleles, compared with affected fathers. The sex-dependent effects of major expansion and contractions of the CAG repeat in the HD gene implicate different effects of gametogenesis, in males versus females, on intergenerational CAG repeat stability. 22 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.« less

Beauty and the Eye of the Beholder: Gender and Attractiveness Affect Judgments in Teacher Sex Offense Cases.

PubMed

Mackelprang, Emily; Becker, Judith V

2017-06-01

The present study investigated the effects of gender and attractiveness on judgments of bail requirements, incarceration, and sex offender registration lengths, and attitudes toward offenders and victims in a teacher-student sexual perpetration scenario. Researchers presented 432 undergraduate students at a large southwestern university with one of four vignettes detailing a sexual relationship between a 35-year-old teacher and a 14-year-old student. Vignettes varied by both attractiveness and gender of the offender (using heterosexual offender-victim dyads). Results indicate that both gender and attractiveness affect judgments of sex offenders; specifically, female sexual offenders were viewed more leniently and judged less punitively than male sexual offenders. Although attractive female sexual offenders were given particularly lenient treatment, attractiveness did not affect judgments toward male sex offenders. In addition, although male and female participants tended to rate male offenders similarly, male participants were more lenient toward female offenders than were female participants. Finally, post hoc analyses revealed that, for many variables, unattractive female sexual offenders may not be viewed differently from male sexual offenders. These results have serious implications for the legal system, sex offender management, and societal views regarding male and female sexual offenders and their victims.

Warm-adapted microbial communities enhance their carbon-use efficiency in warmed soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousk, Johannes; Frey, Serita

2017-04-01

Ecosystem models predict that climate warming will stimulate microbial decomposition of soil carbon (C), resulting in a positive feedback to increasing temperatures. The current generation of models assume that the temperature sensitivities of microbial processes do not respond to warming. However, recent studies have suggested that the ability of microbial communities to adapt to warming can lead both strengthened and weakened feedbacks. A further complication is that the balance between microbial C used for growth to that used for respiration - the microbial carbon-use efficiency (CUE) - also has been shown through both modelling and empirical study to respond to warming. In our study, we set out to assess how chronic warming (+5°C over ambient during 9 years) of a temperate hardwood forest floor (Harvard Forest LTER, USA) affected temperature sensitivities of microbial processes in soil. To do this, we first determined the temperature relationships for bacterial growth, fungal growth, and respiration in plots exposed to warmed or ambient conditions. Secondly, we parametrised the established temperature functions microbial growth and respiration with plot-specific measured soil temperature data at a hourly time-resolution over the course of 3 years to estimate the real-time variation of in situ microbial C production and respiration. To estimate the microbial CUE, we also divided the microbial C production with the sum of microbial C production and respiration as a proxy for substrate use. We found that warm-adapted bacterial and fungal communities both shifted their temperature relationships to grow at higher rates in warm conditions which coincided with reduced rates at cool conditions. As such, their optimal temperature (Topt), minimum temperature (Tmin) and temperature sensitivity (Q10) were all increased. The temperature relationship for temperature, in contrast, was only marginally shifted in the same direction, but at a much smaller effect size, with

Shyness Trajectories in Slow-to-Warm-Up Infants: Relations with Child Sex and Maternal Parenting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grady, Jessica Stoltzfus; Karraker, Katherine; Metzger, Aaron

2012-01-01

Little is known about slow-to-warm-up temperament in infancy. This study examined the trajectory of shyness in children who were slow-to-warm-up in infancy in comparison to children with other temperament profiles in infancy. Participants were 996 mothers and children in the NICHD SECC studied from 6 months to first grade. Latent growth curve…

Climatic warming strengthens a positive feedback between alpine shrubs and fire.

PubMed

Camac, James S; Williams, Richard J; Wahren, Carl-Henrik; Hoffmann, Ary A; Vesk, Peter A

2017-08-01

Climate change is expected to increase fire activity and woody plant encroachment in arctic and alpine landscapes. However, the extent to which these increases interact to affect the structure, function and composition of alpine ecosystems is largely unknown. Here we use field surveys and experimental manipulations to examine how warming and fire affect recruitment, seedling growth and seedling survival in four dominant Australian alpine shrubs. We found that fire increased establishment of shrub seedlings by as much as 33-fold. Experimental warming also doubled growth rates of tall shrub seedlings and could potentially increase their survival. By contrast, warming had no effect on shrub recruitment, postfire tussock regeneration, or how tussock grass affected shrub seedling growth and survival. These findings indicate that warming, coupled with more frequent or severe fires, will likely result in an increase in the cover and abundance of evergreen shrubs. Given that shrubs are one of the most flammable components in alpine and tundra environments, warming is likely to strengthen an existing feedback between woody species abundance and fire in these ecosystems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sex Differences, Sex-Role Orientation, and Reward Allocations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olejnik, Anthony B.

1982-01-01

In separate studies, examined (1) ways that college students allocated rewards to children performing in team and competitive situations, and (2) the relationship between sex role orientation and reward allocations. Found that sex and situational differences in reward allocations are affected by sex role orientation and differential socialization…

Circumpolar dynamics of a marine top-predator track ocean warming rates.

PubMed

Descamps, Sébastien; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Barrett, Robert T; Irons, David B; Merkel, Flemming; Robertson, Gregory J; Yoccoz, Nigel G; Mallory, Mark L; Montevecchi, William A; Boertmann, David; Artukhin, Yuri; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Signe; Erikstad, Kjell-Einar; Gilchrist, H Grant; Labansen, Aili L; Lorentsen, Svein-Håkon; Mosbech, Anders; Olsen, Bergur; Petersen, Aevar; Rail, Jean-Francois; Renner, Heather M; Strøm, Hallvard; Systad, Geir H; Wilhelm, Sabina I; Zelenskaya, Larisa

2017-09-01

Global warming is a nonlinear process, and temperature may increase in a stepwise manner. Periods of abrupt warming can trigger persistent changes in the state of ecosystems, also called regime shifts. The responses of organisms to abrupt warming and associated regime shifts can be unlike responses to periods of slow or moderate change. Understanding of nonlinearity in the biological responses to climate warming is needed to assess the consequences of ongoing climate change. Here, we demonstrate that the population dynamics of a long-lived, wide-ranging marine predator are associated with changes in the rate of ocean warming. Data from 556 colonies of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla distributed throughout its breeding range revealed that an abrupt warming of sea-surface temperature in the 1990s coincided with steep kittiwake population decline. Periods of moderate warming in sea temperatures did not seem to affect kittiwake dynamics. The rapid warming observed in the 1990s may have driven large-scale, circumpolar marine ecosystem shifts that strongly affected kittiwakes through bottom-up effects. Our study sheds light on the nonlinear response of a circumpolar seabird to large-scale changes in oceanographic conditions and indicates that marine top predators may be more sensitive to the rate of ocean warming rather than to warming itself. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Warm-up and performance in competitive swimming.

PubMed

Neiva, Henrique P; Marques, Mário C; Barbosa, Tiago M; Izquierdo, Mikel; Marinho, Daniel A

2014-03-01

Warm-up before physical activity is commonly accepted to be fundamental, and any priming practices are usually thought to optimize performance. However, specifically in swimming, studies on the effects of warm-up are scarce, which may be due to the swimming pool environment, which has a high temperature and humidity, and to the complexity of warm-up procedures. The purpose of this study is to review and summarize the different studies on how warming up affects swimming performance, and to develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of warm-up before competition. Most of the main proposed effects of warm-up, such as elevated core and muscular temperatures, increased blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscle cells and higher efficiency of muscle contractions, support the hypothesis that warm-up enhances performance. However, while many researchers have reported improvements in performance after warm-up, others have found no benefits to warm-up. This lack of consensus emphasizes the need to evaluate the real effects of warm-up and optimize its design. Little is known about the effectiveness of warm-up in competitive swimming, and the variety of warm-up methods and swimming events studied makes it difficult to compare the published conclusions about the role of warm-up in swimming. Recent findings have shown that warm-up has a positive effect on the swimmer's performance, especially for distances greater than 200 m. We recommend that swimmers warm-up for a relatively moderate distance (between 1,000 and 1,500 m) with a proper intensity (a brief approach to race pace velocity) and recovery time sufficient to prevent the early onset of fatigue and to allow the restoration of energy reserves (8-20 min).

Sex and secrecy: How HIV-status disclosure affects safe sex among HIV-positive adolescents.

PubMed

Toska, Elona; Cluver, Lucie D; Hodes, Rebecca; Kidia, Khameer K

2015-01-01

HIV-positive adolescents who engage in unsafe sex are at heightened risk for transmitting or re-acquiring HIV. Disclosure of HIV-status to sexual partners may impact on condom use, but no study has explored the effects of (i) adolescent knowledge of one's HIV-status, (ii) knowledge of partner status and (iii) disclosure to partners, on safer sex behaviour. This study aimed to identify whether knowledge of HIV-status by HIV-positive adolescents and partners was associated with safer sex. Eight fifty eight HIV-positive adolescents (10-19 years old, 52% female, 68.1% vertically infected) who had ever initiated antiretroviral treatment in 41 health facilities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, were interviewed using standardised questionnaires. Quantitative analyses used multivariate logistic regressions, controlling for confounders. Qualitative research included interviews, focus group discussions and observations with 43 HIV-positive teenagers and their healthcare workers. N = 128 (14.9%) of the total sample had ever had sex, while N = 109 (85.1%) of sexually active adolescents had boy/girlfriend. In total, 68.1% of the sample knew their status, 41.5% of those who were sexually active and in relationships knew their partner's status, and 35.5% had disclosed to their partners. For adolescents, knowing one's status was associated with safer sex (OR = 4.355, CI 1.085-17.474, p = .038). Neither knowing their partner's status, nor disclosing one's HIV-status to a partner, were associated with safer sex. HIV-positive adolescents feared rejection, stigma and public exposure if disclosing to sexual and romantic partners. Counselling by healthcare workers for HIV-positive adolescents focused on benefits of disclosure, but did not address the fears and risks associated with disclosure. These findings challenge assumptions that disclosure is automatically protective in sexual and romantic relationships for HIV-positive adolescents, who may be ill-equipped to

Interactions between rates of temperature change and acclimation affect latitudinal patterns of warming tolerance

PubMed Central

Allen, Jessica L; Chown, Steven L; Janion-Scheepers, Charlene; Clusella-Trullas, Susana

2016-01-01

Abstract Critical thermal limits form an increasing component of the estimation of impacts of global change on ectotherms. Whether any consistent patterns exist in the interactive effects of rates of temperature change (or experimental ramping rates) and acclimation on critical thermal limits and warming tolerance (one way of assessing sensitivity to climate change) is, however, far from clear. Here, we examine the interacting effects of ramping rate and acclimation on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and minima (CTmin) and warming tolerance of six species of springtails from sub-tropical, temperate and polar regions. We also provide microhabitat temperatures from 26 sites spanning 5 years in order to benchmark environmentally relevant rates of temperature change. Ramping rate has larger effects than acclimation on CTmax, but the converse is true for CTmin. Responses to rate and acclimation effects are more consistent among species for CTmax than for CTmin. In the latter case, interactions among ramping rate and acclimation are typical of polar species, less marked for temperate ones, and reduced in species from the sub-tropics. Ramping rate and acclimation have substantial effects on estimates of warming tolerance, with the former being more marked. At the fastest ramping rates (>1.0°C/min), tropical species have estimated warming tolerances similar to their temperate counterparts, whereas at slow ramping rates (<0.4°C/min) the warming tolerance is much reduced in tropical species. Rates of temperate change in microhabitats relevant to the springtails are typically <0.05°C/min, with rare maxima of 0.3–0.5°C/min depending on the site. These findings emphasize the need to consider the environmental setting and experimental conditions when assessing species’ vulnerability to climate change using a warming tolerance approach. PMID:27933165

Interactions between rates of temperature change and acclimation affect latitudinal patterns of warming tolerance.

PubMed

Allen, Jessica L; Chown, Steven L; Janion-Scheepers, Charlene; Clusella-Trullas, Susana

2016-01-01

Critical thermal limits form an increasing component of the estimation of impacts of global change on ectotherms. Whether any consistent patterns exist in the interactive effects of rates of temperature change (or experimental ramping rates) and acclimation on critical thermal limits and warming tolerance (one way of assessing sensitivity to climate change) is, however, far from clear. Here, we examine the interacting effects of ramping rate and acclimation on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and minima (CTmin) and warming tolerance of six species of springtails from sub-tropical, temperate and polar regions. We also provide microhabitat temperatures from 26 sites spanning 5 years in order to benchmark environmentally relevant rates of temperature change. Ramping rate has larger effects than acclimation on CTmax, but the converse is true for CTmin. Responses to rate and acclimation effects are more consistent among species for CTmax than for CTmin. In the latter case, interactions among ramping rate and acclimation are typical of polar species, less marked for temperate ones, and reduced in species from the sub-tropics. Ramping rate and acclimation have substantial effects on estimates of warming tolerance, with the former being more marked. At the fastest ramping rates (>1.0°C/min), tropical species have estimated warming tolerances similar to their temperate counterparts, whereas at slow ramping rates (<0.4°C/min) the warming tolerance is much reduced in tropical species. Rates of temperate change in microhabitats relevant to the springtails are typically <0.05°C/min, with rare maxima of 0.3-0.5°C/min depending on the site. These findings emphasize the need to consider the environmental setting and experimental conditions when assessing species' vulnerability to climate change using a warming tolerance approach.

When You're Hot, You're Hot! Warm-Cold Effects in First Impressions of Persons and Teaching Effectiveness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Widmeyer, W. Neil; Loy, John W.

1988-01-01

The warm/cold manipulation's effect on first impressions of persons and teaching ability was studied using 240 university students. The lecturer was perceived as more effective and less unpleasant when students were told in advance that he was a warm person. Neither academic discipline nor sex influenced student perceptions. (SLD)

King penguin population threatened by Southern Ocean warming.

PubMed

Le Bohec, Céline; Durant, Joël M; Gauthier-Clerc, Michel; Stenseth, Nils C; Park, Young-Hyang; Pradel, Roger; Grémillet, David; Gendner, Jean-Paul; Le Maho, Yvon

2008-02-19

Seabirds are sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems and might integrate and/or amplify the effects of climate forcing on lower levels in food chains. Current knowledge on the impact of climate changes on penguins is primarily based on Antarctic birds identified by using flipper bands. Although flipper bands have helped to answer many questions about penguin biology, they were shown in some penguin species to have a detrimental effect. Here, we present for a Subantarctic species, king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), reliable results on the effect of climate on survival and breeding based on unbanded birds but instead marked by subcutaneous electronic tags. We show that warm events negatively affect both breeding success and adult survival of this seabird. However, the observed effect is complex because it affects penguins at several spatio/temporal levels. Breeding reveals an immediate response to forcing during warm phases of El Niño Southern Oscillation affecting food availability close to the colony. Conversely, adult survival decreases with a remote sea-surface temperature forcing (i.e., a 2-year lag warming taking place at the northern boundary of pack ice, their winter foraging place). We suggest that this time lag may be explained by the delay between the recruitment and abundance of their prey, adjusted to the particular 1-year breeding cycle of the king penguin. The derived population dynamic model suggests a 9% decline in adult survival for a 0.26 degrees C warming. Our findings suggest that king penguin populations are at heavy extinction risk under the current global warming predictions.

Global warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houghton, John

2005-06-01

'Global warming' is a phrase that refers to the effect on the climate of human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and large-scale deforestation, which cause emissions to the atmosphere of large amounts of 'greenhouse gases', of which the most important is carbon dioxide. Such gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface and act as blankets over the surface keeping it warmer than it would otherwise be. Associated with this warming are changes of climate. The basic science of the 'greenhouse effect' that leads to the warming is well understood. More detailed understanding relies on numerical models of the climate that integrate the basic dynamical and physical equations describing the complete climate system. Many of the likely characteristics of the resulting changes in climate (such as more frequent heat waves, increases in rainfall, increase in frequency and intensity of many extreme climate events) can be identified. Substantial uncertainties remain in knowledge of some of the feedbacks within the climate system (that affect the overall magnitude of change) and in much of the detail of likely regional change. Because of its negative impacts on human communities (including for instance substantial sea-level rise) and on ecosystems, global warming is the most important environmental problem the world faces. Adaptation to the inevitable impacts and mitigation to reduce their magnitude are both necessary. International action is being taken by the world's scientific and political communities. Because of the need for urgent action, the greatest challenge is to move rapidly to much increased energy efficiency and to non-fossil-fuel energy sources.

Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism.

PubMed

Lai, Meng-Chuan; Lombardo, Michael V; Suckling, John; Ruigrok, Amber N V; Chakrabarti, Bhismadev; Ecker, Christine; Deoni, Sean C L; Craig, Michael C; Murphy, Declan G M; Bullmore, Edward T; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2013-09-01

In autism, heterogeneity is the rule rather than the exception. One obvious source of heterogeneity is biological sex. Since autism was first recognized, males with autism have disproportionately skewed research. Females with autism have thus been relatively overlooked, and have generally been assumed to have the same underlying neurobiology as males with autism. Growing evidence, however, suggests that this is an oversimplification that risks obscuring the biological base of autism. This study seeks to answer two questions about how autism is modulated by biological sex at the level of the brain: (i) is the neuroanatomy of autism different in males and females? and (ii) does the neuroanatomy of autism fit predictions from the 'extreme male brain' theory of autism, in males and/or in females? Neuroanatomical features derived from voxel-based morphometry were compared in a sample of equal-sized high-functioning male and female adults with and without autism (n = 120, n = 30/group). The first question was investigated using a 2 × 2 factorial design, and by spatial overlap analyses of the neuroanatomy of autism in males and females. The second question was tested through spatial overlap analyses of specific patterns predicted by the extreme male brain theory. We found that the neuroanatomy of autism differed between adult males and females, evidenced by minimal spatial overlap (not different from that occurred under random condition) in both grey and white matter, and substantially large white matter regions showing significant sex × diagnosis interactions in the 2 × 2 factorial design. These suggest that autism manifests differently by biological sex. Furthermore, atypical brain areas in females with autism substantially and non-randomly (P < 0.001) overlapped with areas that were sexually dimorphic in neurotypical controls, in both grey and white matter, suggesting neural 'masculinization'. This was not seen in males with autism. How differences in neuroanatomy

Relevance of the Tripartite Dimensions of Affect for Anxiety and Depression in Youth: Examining Sex and Psychopathology Status

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Bolle, Marleen; Decuyper, Mieke; De Clercq, Barbara; De Fruyt, Filip

2010-01-01

Using a combined sample (N = 1,215) of referred children and children from the general population aged between 8 and 14 years, the present study addressed two research goals: First, latent mean differences (depending on the individual's sex or psychopathology level) in anxiety, depression, Positive Affect (PA), Negative Affect (NA) and…

Nighttime warming enhances drought resistance of plant communities in a temperate steppe

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhongling; Jiang, Lin; Su, Fanglong; Zhang, Qian; Xia, Jianyang; Wan, Shiqiang

2016-01-01

Drought events could have profound influence on plant community structure and ecosystem function, and have subsequent impacts on community stability, but we know little about how different climate warming scenarios affect community resistance and resilience to drought. Combining a daytime and nighttime warming experiment in the temperate steppe of north China with a natural drought event during the study period, we tested how daytime and nighttime warming influences drought resistance and resilience. Our results showed that the semi-arid steppe in north China was resistant to both daytime and nighttime warming, but vulnerable to drought. Nighttime warming, but not daytime warming, enhanced community resistance to drought via stimulating carbon sequestration, whereas neither daytime nor nighttime warming affected community resilience to drought. Large decline in plant community cover, primarily caused by the reduction in the cover of dominant and rare species rather than subordinate species during drought, did not preclude rapid ecosystem recovery. These findings suggest that nighttime warming may facilitate ecosystem sustainability and highlight the need to assess the effects of climate extremes on ecosystem functions at finer temporal resolutions than based on diurnal mean temperature. PMID:26987482

Nighttime warming enhances drought resistance of plant communities in a temperate steppe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhongling; Jiang, Lin; Su, Fanglong; Zhang, Qian; Xia, Jianyang; Wan, Shiqiang

2016-03-01

Drought events could have profound influence on plant community structure and ecosystem function, and have subsequent impacts on community stability, but we know little about how different climate warming scenarios affect community resistance and resilience to drought. Combining a daytime and nighttime warming experiment in the temperate steppe of north China with a natural drought event during the study period, we tested how daytime and nighttime warming influences drought resistance and resilience. Our results showed that the semi-arid steppe in north China was resistant to both daytime and nighttime warming, but vulnerable to drought. Nighttime warming, but not daytime warming, enhanced community resistance to drought via stimulating carbon sequestration, whereas neither daytime nor nighttime warming affected community resilience to drought. Large decline in plant community cover, primarily caused by the reduction in the cover of dominant and rare species rather than subordinate species during drought, did not preclude rapid ecosystem recovery. These findings suggest that nighttime warming may facilitate ecosystem sustainability and highlight the need to assess the effects of climate extremes on ecosystem functions at finer temporal resolutions than based on diurnal mean temperature.

Experimental winter warming modifies thermal performance and primes acorn ants for warm weather.

PubMed

MacLean, Heidi J; Penick, Clint A; Dunn, Robert R; Diamond, Sarah E

2017-07-01

The frequency of warm winter days is increasing under global climate change, but how organisms respond to warmer winters is not well understood. Most studies focus on growing season responses to warming. Locomotor performance is often highly sensitive to temperature, and can determine fitness outcomes through a variety of mechanisms including resource acquisition and predator escape. As a consequence, locomotor performance, and its impacts on fitness, may be strongly affected by winter warming in winter-active species. Here we use the acorn ant, Temnothorax curvispinosus, to explore how thermal performance (temperature-driven plasticity) in running speed is influenced by experimental winter warming of 3-5°C above ambient in a field setting. We used running speed as a measure of performance as it is a common locomotor trait that influences acquisition of nest sites and food in acorn ants. Experimental winter warming significantly altered thermal performance for running speed at high (26 and 36°C) but not low test temperatures (6 and 16°C). Although we saw little differentiation in thermal performance at cooler test temperatures, we saw a marked increase in running speed at the hotter test temperatures for ants that experienced warmer winters compared with those that experienced cooler winters. Our results provide evidence that overwintering temperatures can substantially influence organismal performance, and suggest that we cannot ignore overwintering effects when forecasting organismal responses to environmental changes in temperature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in settings affected by armed conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East: systematic review.

PubMed

McAlpine, Alys; Hossain, Mazeda; Zimmerman, Cathy

2016-12-28

Sex trafficking and sexual exploitation has been widely reported, especially in conflict-affected settings, which appear to increase women's and children's vulnerabilities to these extreme abuses. We conducted a systematic search of ten databases and extensive grey literature to gather evidence of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in conflict-affected settings. International definitions of "sexual exploitation" and "sex trafficking" set the indicator parameters. We focused on sexual exploitation in forms of early or forced marriage, forced combatant sexual exploitation and sexual slavery. We extracted prevalence measures, health outcomes and sexual exploitation terminology definitions. The review adhered to PRISMA guidelines and includes quality appraisal. The search identified 29 eligible papers with evidence of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation in armed conflict settings in twelve countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The evidence was limited and not generalizable, due to few prevalence estimates and inconsistent definitions of "sexual exploitation". The prevalence estimates available indicate that females were more likely than males to be victims of sexual exploitation in conflict settings. In some settings, as many as one in four forced marriages took place before the girls reached 18 years old. Findings suggest that the vast majority of former female combatants were sexually exploited during the conflict. These studies provided various indicators of sexual exploitation compatible to the United Nation's definition of sex trafficking, but only 2 studies identified the exploitation as trafficking. None of the studies solely aimed to measure the prevalence of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation. Similar descriptions of types of sexual exploitation and trafficking were found, but the inconsistent terminology or measurements inhibited a meta-analysis. Findings indicate there are various forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in

Sex differences in smoking cue reactivity: craving, negative affect, and preference for immediate smoking.

PubMed

Doran, Neal

2014-01-01

Female smokers have greater difficulty quitting, possibly due to increased reactivity to smoking-related cues. This study assessed sex differences in craving, affect, and preference for immediate smoking after cue exposure. Regular smokers (n = 60; 50% female) were exposed to smoking and neutral cues in separate, counterbalanced sessions. Outcomes included changes in craving and affect and preference for immediate smoking following cue exposure. Findings indicated that women exhibited greater preference for immediate smoking (p = .004), and reported greater cue-induced increases in cigarette craving (p = .046) and negative affect (p = .025). These data suggest that women may have greater difficulty inhibiting smoking after cue exposure, possibly as a consequence of greater increases in craving and negative affect. Findings suggest a mechanism that may contribute to greater cessation failure among female smokers. © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Combined Effects of Ocean Warming and Acidification on Copepod Abundance, Body Size and Fatty Acid Content.

PubMed

Garzke, Jessica; Hansen, Thomas; Ismar, Stefanie M H; Sommer, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Concerns about increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global warming have initiated studies on the consequences of multiple-stressor interactions on marine organisms and ecosystems. We present a fully-crossed factorial mesocosm study and assess how warming and acidification affect the abundance, body size, and fatty acid composition of copepods as a measure of nutritional quality. The experimental set-up allowed us to determine whether the effects of warming and acidification act additively, synergistically, or antagonistically on the abundance, body size, and fatty acid content of copepods, a major group of lower level consumers in marine food webs. Copepodite (developmental stages 1-5) and nauplii abundance were antagonistically affected by warming and acidification. Higher temperature decreased copepodite and nauplii abundance, while acidification partially compensated for the temperature effect. The abundance of adult copepods was negatively affected by warming. The prosome length of copepods was significantly reduced by warming, and the interaction of warming and CO2 antagonistically affected prosome length. Fatty acid composition was also significantly affected by warming. The content of saturated fatty acids increased, and the ratios of the polyunsaturated essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic- (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) to total fatty acid content increased with higher temperatures. Additionally, here was a significant additive interaction effect of both parameters on arachidonic acid. Our results indicate that in a future ocean scenario, acidification might partially counteract some observed effects of increased temperature on zooplankton, while adding to others. These may be results of a fertilizing effect on phytoplankton as a copepod food source. In summary, copepod populations will be more strongly affected by warming rather than by acidifying oceans, but ocean acidification effects can modify some temperature impacts.

Experimental evidence that corticosterone affects offspring sex ratios in quail

PubMed Central

Pike, Thomas W; Petrie, Marion

2006-01-01

Recent studies have shown that some species of birds have a remarkable degree of control over the sex ratio of offspring they produce. However, the mechanism by which they achieve this feat is unknown. Hormones circulating in the breeding female are particularly sensitive to environmental perturbations, and so could provide a mechanism for her to bias the sex ratio of her offspring in favour of the sex that would derive greatest benefit from the prevailing environmental conditions. Here, we present details of an experiment in which we manipulated levels of testosterone, 17β-oestradiol and corticosterone in breeding female Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) using Silastic implants and looked for effects on the sex ratio of offspring produced. Offspring sex ratio in this species was significantly correlated with faecal concentrations of the principal avian stress hormone, corticosterone, and artificially elevated levels of corticosterone resulted in significantly female-biased sex ratios at laying. Varying testosterone and 17β-oestradiol had no effect on sex ratio alone, and faecal levels of these hormones did not vary in response to corticosterone. Our results suggest that corticosterone may be part of the sex-biasing process in birds. PMID:16600886

Sex differences in the brain response to affective scenes with or without humans.

PubMed

Proverbio, Alice Mado; Adorni, Roberta; Zani, Alberto; Trestianu, Laura

2009-10-01

Recent findings have demonstrated that women might be more reactive than men to viewing painful stimuli (vicarious response to pain), and therefore more empathic [Han, S., Fan, Y., & Mao, L. (2008). Gender difference in empathy for pain: An electrophysiological investigation. Brain Research, 1196, 85-93]. We investigated whether the two sexes differed in their cerebral responses to affective pictures portraying humans in different positive or negative contexts compared to natural or urban scenarios. 440 IAPS slides were presented to 24 Italian students (12 women and 12 men). Half the pictures displayed humans while the remaining scenes lacked visible persons. ERPs were recorded from 128 electrodes and swLORETA (standardized weighted Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography) source reconstruction was performed. Occipital P115 was greater in response to persons than to scenes and was affected by the emotional valence of the human pictures. This suggests that processing of biologically relevant stimuli is prioritized. Orbitofrontal N2 was greater in response to positive than negative human pictures in women but not in men, and not to scenes. A late positivity (LP) to suffering humans far exceeded the response to negative scenes in women but not in men. In both sexes, the contrast suffering-minus-happy humans revealed a difference in the activation of the occipito/temporal, right occipital (BA19), bilateral parahippocampal, left dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC) and left amygdala. However, increased right amygdala and right frontal area activities were observed only in women. The humans-minus-scenes contrast revealed a difference in the activation of the middle occipital gyrus (MOG) in men, and of the left inferior parietal (BA40), left superior temporal gyrus (STG, BA38) and right cingulate (BA31) in women (270-290 ms). These data indicate a sex-related difference in the brain response to humans, possibly supporting human empathy.

The Great Warming Brian Fagan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagan, B. M.

2010-12-01

The Great Warming is a journey back to the world of a thousand years ago, to the Medieval Warm Period. Five centuries of irregular warming from 800 to 1250 had beneficial effects in Europe and the North Atlantic, but brought prolonged droughts to much of the Americas and lands affected by the South Asian monsoon. The book describes these impacts of warming on medieval European societies, as well as the Norse and the Inuit of the far north, then analyzes the impact of harsh, lengthy droughts on hunting societies in western North America and the Ancestral Pueblo farmers of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. These peoples reacted to drought by relocating entire communities. The Maya civilization was much more vulnerable that small-scale hunter-gatherer societies and subsistence farmers in North America. Maya rulers created huge water storage facilities, but their civilization partially collapsed under the stress of repeated multiyear droughts, while the Chimu lords of coastal Peru adapted with sophisticated irrigation works. The climatic villain was prolonged, cool La Niñalike conditions in the Pacific, which caused droughts from Venezuela to East Asia, and as far west as East Africa. The Great Warming argues that the warm centuries brought savage drought to much of humanity, from China to Peru. It also argues that drought is one of the most dangerous elements in today’s humanly created global warming, often ignored by preoccupied commentators, but with the potential to cause over a billion people to starve. Finally, I use the book to discuss the issues and problems of communicating multidisciplinary science to the general public.

Global metabolic impacts of recent climate warming.

PubMed

Dillon, Michael E; Wang, George; Huey, Raymond B

2010-10-07

Documented shifts in geographical ranges, seasonal phenology, community interactions, genetics and extinctions have been attributed to recent global warming. Many such biotic shifts have been detected at mid- to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere-a latitudinal pattern that is expected because warming is fastest in these regions. In contrast, shifts in tropical regions are expected to be less marked because warming is less pronounced there. However, biotic impacts of warming are mediated through physiology, and metabolic rate, which is a fundamental measure of physiological activity and ecological impact, increases exponentially rather than linearly with temperature in ectotherms. Therefore, tropical ectotherms (with warm baseline temperatures) should experience larger absolute shifts in metabolic rate than the magnitude of tropical temperature change itself would suggest, but the impact of climate warming on metabolic rate has never been quantified on a global scale. Here we show that estimated changes in terrestrial metabolic rates in the tropics are large, are equivalent in magnitude to those in the north temperate-zone regions, and are in fact far greater than those in the Arctic, even though tropical temperature change has been relatively small. Because of temperature's nonlinear effects on metabolism, tropical organisms, which constitute much of Earth's biodiversity, should be profoundly affected by recent and projected climate warming.

Population risk perceptions of global warming in Australia.

PubMed

Agho, Kingsley; Stevens, Garry; Taylor, Mel; Barr, Margo; Raphael, Beverley

2010-11-01

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), global warming has the potential to dramatically disrupt some of life's essential requirements for health, water, air and food. Understanding how Australians perceive the risk of global warming is essential for climate change policy and planning. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of, and socio-demographic factors associated with, high levels of perceived likelihood that global warming would worsen, concern for self and family and reported behaviour changes. A module of questions on global warming was incorporated into the New South Wales Population Health Survey in the second quarter of 2007. This Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) was completed by a representative sample of 2004 adults. The weighted sample was comparable to the Australian population. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted to examine the socio-demographic and general health factors. Overall 62.1% perceived that global warming was likely to worsen; 56.3% were very or extremely concerned that they or their family would be directly affected by global warming; and 77.6% stated that they had made some level of change to the way they lived their lives, because of the possibility of global warming. After controlling for confounding factors, multivariate analyses revealed that those with high levels of psychological distress were 2.17 (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=2.17; CI: 1.16-4.03; P=0.015) times more likely to be concerned about global warming than those with low psychological distress levels. Those with a University degree or equivalent and those who lived in urban areas were significantly more likely to think that global warming would worsen compared to those without a University degree or equivalent and those who lived in the rural areas. Females were significantly (AOR=1.69; CI: 1.23-2.33; P=0.001) more likely to report they had made changes to the way they lived their lives due to the risk of

Cultural, religious and socio-economic factors affecting sex education in Turkey.

PubMed

Koral, S

1991-05-01

Although professional pressure groups attempted to address the need for formal sex education in the 1970's, the Family Planning Association of Turkey (FPAT) has successfully introduced sex education subjects into school programs. It has also been endorsed as a major resource by the Ministry of Health; however, the Ministry of Education has been backsliding recently on sex education and in general has not generated zealous supporters of sex education. Different attitudes and practices prevail. Sex education is not usually discussed in the home, but there is support for sex education in schools. Its importance is recognized. Turkish society tends to be conservative particularly among middle socioeconomic stratum. Upper classes tend to be more liberal, and lower classes perceive sexuality as the normal way of life. The term sex is associated with eroticism, sex education as sex techniques; so sexuality must fall within the confines of health education. Within the Muslim faith, views on sex support discussion of sexual issues with couples, for example, or among students of Islamic jurisprudence. According to Quaranic teachings, women have a right to a sex life, including divorce options if sexuality is not fulfilled. Misinterpretations of Quaranic teachings have hindered the effort to plan an appropriate sex education program. Islamic values are liberal in their support for family planning. The FPAT's objective is to change the image of sex education and eliminate the fear that established values will be challenged by sex education.

Extremely preterm birth affects boys more and socio-economic and neonatal variables pose sex-specific risks.

PubMed

Månsson, Johanna; Fellman, Vineta; Stjernqvist, Karin

2015-05-01

The early identification of at-risk extremely preterm (EPT) children could improve long-term outcomes. This study sought to investigate sex differences in developmental outcomes and to identify sex-specific predictors at two and a half years of age. We assessed 217 boys and 181 girls born before 27-week gestation using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition (Bayley-III), as a part of the Extremely Preterm Infants in Sweden Study. Sex-specific differences were calculated. Socio-economic, birth and neonatal factors were calculated separately for boys and girls using regression models. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on all Bayley-III indices. In both sexes, brain injury, long-term ventilator treatment and foreign-born mothers predicted lower scores. Receiving breast milk by hospital discharge predicted higher scores. Severe retinopathy of prematurity was the strongest predictor of cognitive and language deficits in boys. High parental education predicted higher cognitive and language scores in girls, whereas severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia was the strongest predictor of motor deficits. Extreme prematurity seems to affect boys more than girls. Socio-economic and neonatal factors confer similar risks or protections on both sexes, but some variables pose sex-specific risks. An awareness of risk factors may provide the basis for treatment and follow-up guidelines. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism

PubMed Central

Lombardo, Michael V.; Suckling, John; Ruigrok, Amber N. V.; Chakrabarti, Bhismadev; Ecker, Christine; Deoni, Sean C. L.; Craig, Michael C.; Murphy, Declan G. M.; Bullmore, Edward T.; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2013-01-01

In autism, heterogeneity is the rule rather than the exception. One obvious source of heterogeneity is biological sex. Since autism was first recognized, males with autism have disproportionately skewed research. Females with autism have thus been relatively overlooked, and have generally been assumed to have the same underlying neurobiology as males with autism. Growing evidence, however, suggests that this is an oversimplification that risks obscuring the biological base of autism. This study seeks to answer two questions about how autism is modulated by biological sex at the level of the brain: (i) is the neuroanatomy of autism different in males and females? and (ii) does the neuroanatomy of autism fit predictions from the ‘extreme male brain’ theory of autism, in males and/or in females? Neuroanatomical features derived from voxel-based morphometry were compared in a sample of equal-sized high-functioning male and female adults with and without autism (n = 120, n = 30/group). The first question was investigated using a 2 × 2 factorial design, and by spatial overlap analyses of the neuroanatomy of autism in males and females. The second question was tested through spatial overlap analyses of specific patterns predicted by the extreme male brain theory. We found that the neuroanatomy of autism differed between adult males and females, evidenced by minimal spatial overlap (not different from that occurred under random condition) in both grey and white matter, and substantially large white matter regions showing significant sex × diagnosis interactions in the 2 × 2 factorial design. These suggest that autism manifests differently by biological sex. Furthermore, atypical brain areas in females with autism substantially and non-randomly (P < 0.001) overlapped with areas that were sexually dimorphic in neurotypical controls, in both grey and white matter, suggesting neural ‘masculinization’. This was not seen in males with autism. How differences in

Warming and top predator loss drive ecosystem multifunctionality.

PubMed

Antiqueira, Pablo Augusto P; Petchey, Owen L; Romero, Gustavo Quevedo

2018-01-01

Global change affects ecosystem functioning both directly by modifications in physicochemical processes, and indirectly, via changes in biotic metabolism and interactions. Unclear, however, is how multiple anthropogenic drivers affect different components of community structure and the performance of multiple ecosystem functions (ecosystem multifunctionality). We manipulated small natural freshwater ecosystems to investigate how warming and top predator loss affect seven ecosystem functions representing two major dimensions of ecosystem functioning, productivity and metabolism. We investigated their direct and indirect effects on community diversity and standing stock of multitrophic macro and microorganisms. Warming directly increased multifunctional ecosystem productivity and metabolism. In contrast, top predator loss indirectly affected multifunctional ecosystem productivity via changes in the diversity of detritivorous macroinvertebrates, but did not affect ecosystem metabolism. In addition to demonstrating how multiple anthropogenic drivers have different impacts, via different pathways, on ecosystem multifunctionality components, our work should further spur advances in predicting responses of ecosystems to multiple simultaneous environmental changes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Experimental warming increased soil nitrogen sink in the Tibetan permafrost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ruiying; Wang, Genxu; Yang, Yuanhe; Chen, Xiaopeng

2017-07-01

In permafrost soil, warming regulates the nitrogen (N) cycle either by stimulating N transformation or by enhancing cryoturbation, the mixture of soil layers due to repeated freeze thaw. Here N isotopic values (δ15N) of plants and the soil were investigated in a 7 year warming experiment in a permafrost-affected alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results revealed that warming significantly decreased the δ15N in the plant (aboveground and belowground parts) and different soil fractions (clay and silt fraction, aggregate, and bulk soil). The decreased soil δ15N was associated with an increase in soil N stock due to greater N fixation. The incremental N retention in plants and soil mineral-associated fractions from warming resulted in a decrease in soil inorganic N, which constrains the role of nitrification/denitrification in soil δ15N, suggesting a restrained rather than an open N cycle. Furthermore, enhanced cryoturbation under warming, identified by a downward redistribution of 137Cs into deeper layers, promoted N protection from transformation. Overall, the decrease in soil δ15N indicated higher rates of N input through fixation relative to N loss through nitrification and denitrification in permafrost-affected ecosystems under warming conditions.

Combined Effects of Ocean Warming and Acidification on Copepod Abundance, Body Size and Fatty Acid Content

PubMed Central

Hansen, Thomas; Ismar, Stefanie M. H.; Sommer, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Concerns about increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global warming have initiated studies on the consequences of multiple-stressor interactions on marine organisms and ecosystems. We present a fully-crossed factorial mesocosm study and assess how warming and acidification affect the abundance, body size, and fatty acid composition of copepods as a measure of nutritional quality. The experimental set-up allowed us to determine whether the effects of warming and acidification act additively, synergistically, or antagonistically on the abundance, body size, and fatty acid content of copepods, a major group of lower level consumers in marine food webs. Copepodite (developmental stages 1–5) and nauplii abundance were antagonistically affected by warming and acidification. Higher temperature decreased copepodite and nauplii abundance, while acidification partially compensated for the temperature effect. The abundance of adult copepods was negatively affected by warming. The prosome length of copepods was significantly reduced by warming, and the interaction of warming and CO2 antagonistically affected prosome length. Fatty acid composition was also significantly affected by warming. The content of saturated fatty acids increased, and the ratios of the polyunsaturated essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic- (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) to total fatty acid content increased with higher temperatures. Additionally, here was a significant additive interaction effect of both parameters on arachidonic acid. Our results indicate that in a future ocean scenario, acidification might partially counteract some observed effects of increased temperature on zooplankton, while adding to others. These may be results of a fertilizing effect on phytoplankton as a copepod food source. In summary, copepod populations will be more strongly affected by warming rather than by acidifying oceans, but ocean acidification effects can modify some temperature impacts. PMID:27224476

Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder: Neuroimaging Evidence of Sex Difference during an Affective Go/No-Go Task.

PubMed

Chuang, Jie-Yu; Hagan, Cindy C; Murray, Graham K; Graham, Julia M E; Ooi, Cinly; Tait, Roger; Holt, Rosemary J; Elliott, Rebecca; van Nieuwenhuizen, Adrienne O; Bullmore, Edward T; Lennox, Belinda R; Sahakian, Barbara J; Goodyer, Ian M; Suckling, John

2017-01-01

Compared to female major depressive disorder (MDD), male MDD often receives less attention. However, research is warranted since there are significant sex differences in the clinical presentation of MDD and a higher rate of suicide in depressed men. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with a large sample addressing putative sex differences in MDD during adolescence, a period when one of the most robust findings in psychiatric epidemiology emerges; that females are twice as likely to suffer from MDD than males. Twenty-four depressed and 10 healthy male adolescents, together with 82 depressed and 24 healthy female adolescents, aged 11-18 years, undertook an affective go/no-go task during fMRI acquisition. In response to sad relative to neutral distractors, significant sex differences (in the supramarginal gyrus) and group-by-sex interactions (in the supramarginal gyrus and the posterior cingulate cortex) were found. Furthermore, in contrast to the healthy male adolescents, depressed male adolescents showed decreased activation in the cerebellum with a significant group-by-age interaction in connectivity. Future research may consider altered developmental trajectories and the possible implications of sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for MDD.

Biological sex and social setting affects pain intensity and observational coding of other people's pain behaviors.

PubMed

Vigil, Jacob M; Coulombe, Patrick

2011-09-01

This experiment examines the impact of biological sex and audience composition on laboratory-induced ischemic pain intensity and observational coding of other people's pain behaviors. Situational context was manipulated by varying the sex and number of audience stimuli in the laboratory setting during the pain task and during observational evaluations of other people's pain suffering. The analyses revealed sex differences in felt pain intensity and observable pain behaviors, with male subjects reporting lower pain intensity and evidencing fewer pain behaviors than female subjects on average. Follow-up analyses revealed that, after controlling for social anxiety, audience composition was linked to felt pain intensity, and this relation was moderated by participant sex and audience sex, such that only male subjects showed decreased pain intensity with increasing number of female audience members. Sex differences were also found in the rating of other people's pain behaviors, with male observers rating the pain of others lower than female observers. Composition of the audience influenced observers' pain ratings such that the presence of more male subjects in the audience correlated with lower observer ratings, whereas the presence of more female subjects correlated with higher observer ratings. This is the first study to show that the sex and the composition of the social context in which pain is experienced affects the intensity of felt pain and the evaluation of other people's pain suffering. Implications of the findings for measuring and interpreting pain suffering in male and female patients by male and female treatment providers in health care settings are discussed. Published by Elsevier B.V.

How Does Adult Attachment Affect Human Recognition of Love-related and Sex-related Stimuli: An ERP Study

PubMed Central

Hou, Juan; Chen, Xin; Liu, Jinqun; Yao, Fangshu; Huang, Jiani; Ndasauka, Yamikani; Ma, Ru; Zhang, Yuting; Lan, Jing; Liu, Lu; Fang, Xiaoyi

2016-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the relationship among three emotion-motivation systems (adult attachment, romantic love, and sex). We recorded event-related potentials in 37 healthy volunteers who had experienced romantic love while they viewed SEX, LOVE, FRIEND, SPORT, and NEUTRAL images. We also measured adult attachment styles, level of passionate love and sexual attitudes. As expected, results showed that, firstly, response to love-related image-stimuli and sex-related image-stimuli on the electrophysiological data significantly different on N1, N2, and positive slow wave (PSW) components. Secondly, the different adult attachment styles affected individuals’ recognition processing in response to love-related and sex-related images, especially, to sex-related images. Further analysis showed that voltages elicited by fearful attachment style individuals were significantly lower than voltages elicited by secure and dismissing attachment style individuals on sex-related images at frontal sites, on N1 and N2 components. Thirdly, from behavior data, we found that adult attachment styles were not significantly related to any dimension of sexual attitudes but were significantly related to passionate love scale (PLS) total points. Thus, the behavior results were not in line with the electrophysiological results. The present study proved that adult attachment styles might mediate individuals’ lust and attraction systems. PMID:27199830

How Does Adult Attachment Affect Human Recognition of Love-related and Sex-related Stimuli: An ERP Study.

PubMed

Hou, Juan; Chen, Xin; Liu, Jinqun; Yao, Fangshu; Huang, Jiani; Ndasauka, Yamikani; Ma, Ru; Zhang, Yuting; Lan, Jing; Liu, Lu; Fang, Xiaoyi

2016-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the relationship among three emotion-motivation systems (adult attachment, romantic love, and sex). We recorded event-related potentials in 37 healthy volunteers who had experienced romantic love while they viewed SEX, LOVE, FRIEND, SPORT, and NEUTRAL images. We also measured adult attachment styles, level of passionate love and sexual attitudes. As expected, results showed that, firstly, response to love-related image-stimuli and sex-related image-stimuli on the electrophysiological data significantly different on N1, N2, and positive slow wave (PSW) components. Secondly, the different adult attachment styles affected individuals' recognition processing in response to love-related and sex-related images, especially, to sex-related images. Further analysis showed that voltages elicited by fearful attachment style individuals were significantly lower than voltages elicited by secure and dismissing attachment style individuals on sex-related images at frontal sites, on N1 and N2 components. Thirdly, from behavior data, we found that adult attachment styles were not significantly related to any dimension of sexual attitudes but were significantly related to passionate love scale (PLS) total points. Thus, the behavior results were not in line with the electrophysiological results. The present study proved that adult attachment styles might mediate individuals' lust and attraction systems.

Effects of experimental throughfall reduction and soil warming on fine root biomass and its decomposition in a warm temperate oak forest.

PubMed

Liu, Yanchun; Liu, Shirong; Wan, Shiqiang; Wang, Jingxin; Wang, Hui; Liu, Kuan

2017-01-01

Fine root dynamics play a critical role in regulating carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Examining responses of fine root biomass and its decomposition to altered precipitation pattern and climate warming is crucial to understand terrestrial C dynamics and its feedback to climate change. Fine root biomass and its decomposition rate were investigated in a warm temperate oak forest through a field manipulation experiment with throughfall reduction and soil warming conducted. Throughfall reduction significantly interacted with soil warming in affecting fine root biomass and its decomposition. Throughfall reduction substantially increased fine root biomass and its decomposition in unheated plots, but negative effects occurred in warmed plots. Soil warming significantly enhanced fine root biomass and its decomposition under ambient precipitation, but the opposite effects exhibited under throughfall reduction. Different responses in fine root biomass among different treatments could be largely attributed to soil total nitrogen (N), while fine root decomposition rate was more depended on microbial biomass C and N. Our observations indicate that decreased precipitation may offset the positive effect of soil warming on fine root biomass and decomposition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex Differences in Affect Efficacy, Task Efficacy, Anxiety and Willingness To Participate in a Performance Situation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arch, Elizabeth C.

This study investigated responses of men and women to simulated performance situations as a means of determining if affect efficacy relates independently to willingness to participate in such situations, and whether its effect differs by sex. Questionnaires were distributed to 178 graduate students at a small private liberal arts institution. The…

Experimental warming differentially affects microbial structure and activity in two contrasted moisture sites in a Sphagnum-dominated peatland.

PubMed

Delarue, Frédéric; Buttler, Alexandre; Bragazza, Luca; Grasset, Laurent; Jassey, Vincent E J; Gogo, Sébastien; Laggoun-Défarge, Fatima

2015-04-01

Several studies on the impact of climate warming have indicated that peat decomposition/mineralization will be enhanced. Most of these studies deal with the impact of experimental warming during summer when prevalent abiotic conditions are favorable to decomposition. Here, we investigated the effect of experimental air warming by open-top chambers (OTCs) on water-extractable organic matter (WEOM), microbial biomasses and enzymatic activities in two contrasted moisture sites named Bog and Fen sites, the latter considered as the wetter ones. While no or few changes in peat temperature and water content appeared under the overall effect of OTCs, we observed that air warming smoothed water content differences and led to a decrease in mean peat temperature at the warmed Bog sites. This thermal discrepancy between the two sites led to contrasting changes in microbial structure and activities: a rise in hydrolytic activity at the warmed Bog sites and a relative enhancement of bacterial biomass at the warmed Fen sites. These features were not associated with any change in WEOM properties namely carbon and sugar contents and aromaticity, suggesting that air warming did not trigger any shift in OM decomposition. Using various tools, we show that the use of single indicators of OM decomposition can lead to fallacious conclusions. Lastly, these patterns may change seasonally as a consequence of complex interactions between groundwater level and air warming, suggesting the need to improve our knowledge using a high time-resolution approach. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Soil warming, carbon–nitrogen interactions, and forest carbon budgets

PubMed Central

Melillo, Jerry M.; Butler, Sarah; Johnson, Jennifer; Mohan, Jacqueline; Steudler, Paul; Lux, Heidi; Burrows, Elizabeth; Bowles, Francis; Smith, Rose; Scott, Lindsay; Vario, Chelsea; Hill, Troy; Burton, Andrew; Zhou, Yu-Mei; Tang, Jim

2011-01-01

Soil warming has the potential to alter both soil and plant processes that affect carbon storage in forest ecosystems. We have quantified these effects in a large, long-term (7-y) soil-warming study in a deciduous forest in New England. Soil warming has resulted in carbon losses from the soil and stimulated carbon gains in the woody tissue of trees. The warming-enhanced decay of soil organic matter also released enough additional inorganic nitrogen into the soil solution to support the observed increases in plant carbon storage. Although soil warming has resulted in a cumulative net loss of carbon from a New England forest relative to a control area over the 7-y study, the annual net losses generally decreased over time as plant carbon storage increased. In the seventh year, warming-induced soil carbon losses were almost totally compensated for by plant carbon gains in response to warming. We attribute the plant gains primarily to warming-induced increases in nitrogen availability. This study underscores the importance of incorporating carbon–nitrogen interactions in atmosphere–ocean–land earth system models to accurately simulate land feedbacks to the climate system. PMID:21606374

Simulated Warming Differentially Affects the Growth and Competitive Ability of Centaurea maculosa Populations from Home and Introduced Ranges

PubMed Central

He, Wei-Ming; Li, Jing-Ji; Peng, Pei-Hao

2012-01-01

Climate warming may drive invasions by exotic plants, thereby raising concerns over the risks of invasive plants. However, little is known about how climate warming influences the growth and competitive ability of exotic plants from their home and introduced ranges. We conducted a common garden experiment with an invasive plant Centaurea maculosa and a native plant Poa pratensis, in which a mixture of sand and vermiculite was used as a neutral medium, and contrasted the total biomass, competitive effects, and competitive responses of C. maculosa populations from Europe (home range) and North America (introduced range) under two different temperatures. The warming-induced inhibitory effects on the growth of C. maculosa alone were stronger in Europe than in North America. The competitive ability of C. maculosa plants from North America was greater than that of plants from Europe under the ambient condition whereas this competitive ability followed the opposite direction under the warming condition, suggesting that warming may enable European C. maculosa to be more invasive. Across two continents, warming treatment increased the competitive advantage instead of the growth advantage of C. maculosa, suggesting that climate warming may facilitate C. maculosa invasions through altering competitive outcomes between C. maculosa and its neighbors. Additionally, the growth response of C. maculosa to warming could predict its ability to avoid being suppressed by its neighbors. PMID:22303485

Simulated warming differentially affects the growth and competitive ability of Centaurea maculosa populations from home and introduced ranges.

PubMed

He, Wei-Ming; Li, Jing-Ji; Peng, Pei-Hao

2012-01-01

Climate warming may drive invasions by exotic plants, thereby raising concerns over the risks of invasive plants. However, little is known about how climate warming influences the growth and competitive ability of exotic plants from their home and introduced ranges. We conducted a common garden experiment with an invasive plant Centaurea maculosa and a native plant Poa pratensis, in which a mixture of sand and vermiculite was used as a neutral medium, and contrasted the total biomass, competitive effects, and competitive responses of C. maculosa populations from Europe (home range) and North America (introduced range) under two different temperatures. The warming-induced inhibitory effects on the growth of C. maculosa alone were stronger in Europe than in North America. The competitive ability of C. maculosa plants from North America was greater than that of plants from Europe under the ambient condition whereas this competitive ability followed the opposite direction under the warming condition, suggesting that warming may enable European C. maculosa to be more invasive. Across two continents, warming treatment increased the competitive advantage instead of the growth advantage of C. maculosa, suggesting that climate warming may facilitate C. maculosa invasions through altering competitive outcomes between C. maculosa and its neighbors. Additionally, the growth response of C. maculosa to warming could predict its ability to avoid being suppressed by its neighbors.

Sex differences and sex hormones in anxiety-like behavior of aging rats.

PubMed

Domonkos, Emese; Borbélyová, Veronika; Csongová, Melinda; Bosý, Martin; Kačmárová, Mária; Ostatníková, Daniela; Hodosy, Július; Celec, Peter

2017-07-01

Sex differences in the prevalence of affective disorders might be attributable to different sex hormone milieu. The effects of short-term sex hormone deficiency on behavior, especially on anxiety have been studied in numerous animal experiments, mainly on young adult rats and mice. However, sex differences in aged animals and the effects of long-term hypogonadism are understudied. The aim of our study was to analyze sex differences in anxiety-like behavior in aged rats and to prove whether they can be attributed to endogenous sex hormone production in males. A battery of tests was performed to assess anxiety-like behavior in aged female, male and gonadectomized male rats castrated before puberty. In addition, the aged gonadectomized male rats were treated with a single injection of estradiol or testosterone or supplemented with estradiol for two-weeks. Female rats displayed a less anxious behavior than male rats in most of the conducted behavioral tests except the light-dark box. Long-term androgen deficiency decreased the sex difference in anxiety either partially (open field, PhenoTyper cage) or completely (elevated plus maze). Neither single injection of sex hormones, nor two-week supplementation of estradiol in gonadectomized aged male rats significantly affected their anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. In conclusion, our results confirm sex differences in anxiety in aged rats likely mediated by endogenous testosterone production in males. Whether long-term supplementation with exogenous sex hormones could affect anxiety-like behavior in elderly individuals remains to be elucidated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predator contributions to belowground responses to warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maran, A. M.; Pelini, S. L.

Identifying the factors that control soil CO 2 emissions will improve our ability to predict the magnitude of climate change–soil ecosystem feedbacks. Despite the integral role of invertebrates in belowground systems, they are excluded from climate change models. Soil invertebrates have consumptive and nonconsumptive effects on microbes, whose respiration accounts for nearly half of soil CO 2 emissions. By altering the behavior and abundance of invertebrates that interact with microbes, invertebrate predators may have indirect effects on soil respiration. We examined the effects of a generalist arthropod predator on belowground respiration under different warming scenarios. Based on research suggesting invertebratesmore » may mediate soil CO 2 emission responses to warming, we predicted that predator presence would result in increased emissions by negatively affecting these invertebrates. We altered the presence of wolf spiders ( Pardosa spp.) in mesocosms containing a forest floor community. To simulate warming, we placed mesocosms of each treatment in ten open-top warming chambers ranging from 1.5° to 5.5°C above ambient at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. As expected, CO 2 emissions increased under warming and we found an interactive effect of predator presence and warming, although the effect was not consistent through time. The interaction between predator presence and warming was the inverse of our predictions: Mesocosms with predators had lower respiration at higher levels of warming than those without predators. Carbon dioxide emissions were not significantly associated with microbial biomass. Here, we did not find evidence of consumptive effects of predators on the invertebrate community, suggesting that predator presence mediates response of microbial respiration to warming through nonconsumptive means. In our system, we found a significant interaction between warming and predator presence that warrants further research into mechanism and

Predator contributions to belowground responses to warming

DOE PAGES

Maran, A. M.; Pelini, S. L.

2016-09-26

Identifying the factors that control soil CO 2 emissions will improve our ability to predict the magnitude of climate change–soil ecosystem feedbacks. Despite the integral role of invertebrates in belowground systems, they are excluded from climate change models. Soil invertebrates have consumptive and nonconsumptive effects on microbes, whose respiration accounts for nearly half of soil CO 2 emissions. By altering the behavior and abundance of invertebrates that interact with microbes, invertebrate predators may have indirect effects on soil respiration. We examined the effects of a generalist arthropod predator on belowground respiration under different warming scenarios. Based on research suggesting invertebratesmore » may mediate soil CO 2 emission responses to warming, we predicted that predator presence would result in increased emissions by negatively affecting these invertebrates. We altered the presence of wolf spiders ( Pardosa spp.) in mesocosms containing a forest floor community. To simulate warming, we placed mesocosms of each treatment in ten open-top warming chambers ranging from 1.5° to 5.5°C above ambient at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. As expected, CO 2 emissions increased under warming and we found an interactive effect of predator presence and warming, although the effect was not consistent through time. The interaction between predator presence and warming was the inverse of our predictions: Mesocosms with predators had lower respiration at higher levels of warming than those without predators. Carbon dioxide emissions were not significantly associated with microbial biomass. Here, we did not find evidence of consumptive effects of predators on the invertebrate community, suggesting that predator presence mediates response of microbial respiration to warming through nonconsumptive means. In our system, we found a significant interaction between warming and predator presence that warrants further research into mechanism and

Remote sensing, global warming, and vector-borne disease

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wood, B.; Beck, L.; Dister, S.

1997-12-31

The relationship between climate change and the pattern of vector-borne disease can be viewed at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. At one extreme are changes such as global warming, which are continental in scale and occur over periods of years, decades, or longer. At the opposite extreme are changes associated with severe weather events, which can occur at local and regional scales over periods of days, weeks, or months. Key ecological factors affecting the distribution of vector-borne diseases include temperature, precipitation, and habitat availability, and their impact on vectors, pathogens, reservoirs, and hosts. Global warming can potentially altermore » these factors, thereby affecting the spatial and temporal patterns of disease.« less

Ocean warming and acidification synergistically increase coral mortality

PubMed Central

Prada, F.; Caroselli, E.; Mengoli, S.; Brizi, L.; Fantazzini, P.; Capaccioni, B.; Pasquini, L.; Fabricius, K. E.; Dubinsky, Z.; Falini, G.; Goffredo, S.

2017-01-01

Organisms that accumulate calcium carbonate structures are particularly vulnerable to ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA), potentially reducing the socioeconomic benefits of ecosystems reliant on these taxa. Since rising atmospheric CO2 is responsible for global warming and increasing ocean acidity, to correctly predict how OW and OA will affect marine organisms, their possible interactive effects must be assessed. Here we investigate, in the field, the combined temperature (range: 16–26 °C) and acidification (range: pHTS 8.1–7.4) effects on mortality and growth of Mediterranean coral species transplanted, in different seasonal periods, along a natural pH gradient generated by a CO2 vent. We show a synergistic adverse effect on mortality rates (up to 60%), for solitary and colonial, symbiotic and asymbiotic corals, suggesting that high seawater temperatures may have increased their metabolic rates which, in conjunction with decreasing pH, could have led to rapid deterioration of cellular processes and performance. The net calcification rate of the symbiotic species was not affected by decreasing pH, regardless of temperature, while in the two asymbiotic species it was negatively affected by increasing acidification and temperature, suggesting that symbiotic corals may be more tolerant to increasing warming and acidifying conditions compared to asymbiotic ones. PMID:28102293

Sex differences in acute relief of abstinence-induced withdrawal and negative affect due to nicotine content in cigarettes.

PubMed

Perkins, Kenneth A; Karelitz, Joshua L

2015-04-01

Acute cigarette smoking may relieve withdrawal and negative affect due to tobacco abstinence to a greater extent in women versus men. Yet, the relative contribution of the cigarette's nicotine content to this sex difference is not clear. Non-quitting dependent adult smokers (N = 44; 21 males, 23 females) participated in 2 virtually identical sessions, each after abstaining overnight (CO < 10 ppm) and differing only in the nicotine content of the designated cigarette. While blind to brand markings, they consumed a total of 24 puffs in controlled fashion for 2 hr in each session, either from a nicotine (Quest 1, 0.6 mg) or denicotinized (Quest 3, 0.05 mg) cigarette. Withdrawal symptoms were obtained before and after smoking, and negative affect was assessed after each period of cigarette exposure consisting of 6 puffs every 25 min. Men and women did not differ in baseline withdrawal and negative affect due to overnight abstinence, but reductions in each symptom were significantly influenced by the interaction of sex × nicotine/denicotinized cigarette (both p < .05). In men, but not in women, each symptom was generally decreased more by the nicotine versus denicotinized cigarette, and the nicotine cigarette reduced each to a greater degree in men versus women. Sex differences in relief of abstinence-induced withdrawal and negative affect due to the nicotine content in cigarettes are consistent with prior research indicating that nicotine per se, compared to non-nicotine smoke stimuli, is less rewarding in women versus men. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Sex bias in paediatric autoimmune disease - Not just about sex hormones?

PubMed

Chiaroni-Clarke, Rachel C; Munro, Jane E; Ellis, Justine A

2016-05-01

Autoimmune diseases affect up to 10% of the world's population, and approximately 80% of those affected are female. The majority of autoimmune diseases occur more commonly in females, although some are more frequent in males, while others show no bias by sex. The mechanisms leading to sex biased disease prevalence are not well understood. However, for adult-onset autoimmune disease, at least some of the cause is usually ascribed to sex hormones. This is because levels of sex hormones are one of the most obvious physiological differences between adult males and females, and their impact on immune system function is well recognised. While for paediatric-onset autoimmune diseases a sex bias is not as common, there are several such diseases for which one sex predominates. For example, the oligoarticular subtype of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) occurs in approximately three times more girls than boys, with a peak age of onset well before the onset of puberty, and at a time when levels of androgen and oestrogen are low and not strikingly different between the sexes. Here, we review potential explanations for autoimmune disease sex bias with a particular focus on paediatric autoimmune disease, and biological mechanisms outside of sex hormone differences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ocean acidification ameliorates harmful effects of warming in primary consumer.

PubMed

Pedersen, Sindre Andre; Hanssen, Anja Elise

2018-01-01

Climate change-induced warming and ocean acidification are considered two imminent threats to marine biodiversity and current ecosystem structures. Here, we have for the first time examined an animal's response to a complete life cycle of exposure to co-occurring warming (+3°C) and ocean acidification (+1,600 μatm CO 2 ), using the key subarctic planktonic copepod, Calanus finmarchicus , as a model species. The animals were generally negatively affected by warming, which significantly reduced the females' energy status and reproductive parameters (respectively, 95% and 69%-87% vs. control). Unexpectedly, simultaneous acidification partially offset the negative effect of warming in an antagonistic manner, significantly improving reproductive parameters and hatching success (233%-340% improvement vs. single warming exposure). The results provide proof of concept that ocean acidification may partially offset negative effects caused by warming in some species. Possible explanations and ecological implications for the observed antagonistic effect are discussed.

Sex ratio of equine offspring is affected by the ages of the mare and stallion.

PubMed

Santos, Marianna Machado; Maia, Leonardo Lara; Nobre, Daniel Magalhães; Oliveira Neto, José Ferraz; Garcia, Tiago Rezende; Lage, Maria Coeli Gomes Reis; de Melo, Maria Isabel Vaz; Viana, Walmir Santos; Palhares, Maristela Silveira; da Silva Filho, José Monteiro; Santos, Renato Lima; Valle, Guilherme Ribeiro

2015-10-15

second trial, with a more restricted number of horses, confirmed the influence of the age of the mare on the offspring sex ratio. We concluded that the parental age affected the offspring sex ratio in horses and that this effect was stronger for the mares than for the stallions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Affective Norms for Polish Short Texts (ANPST) Database Properties and Impact of Participants’ Population and Sex on Affective Ratings

PubMed Central

Imbir, Kamil K.

2017-01-01

The Affective Norms for Polish Short Texts (ANPST) dataset (Imbir, 2016d) is a list of 718 affective sentence stimuli with known affective properties with respect to subjectively perceived valence, arousal, dominance, origin, subjective significance, and source. This article examines the reliability of the ANPST and the impact of population type and sex on affective ratings. The ANPST dataset was introduced to provide a recognized method of eliciting affective states with linguistic stimuli more complex than single words and that included contextual information and thus are less ambiguous in interpretation than single word. Analysis of the properties of the ANPST dataset showed that norms collected are reliable in terms of split-half estimation and that the distributions of ratings are similar to those obtained in other affective norms studies. The pattern of correlations was the same as that found in analysis of an affective norms dataset for words based on the same six variables. Female psychology students’ valence ratings were also more polarized than those of their female student peers studying other subjects, but arousal ratings were only higher for negative words. Differences also appeared for all other measured dimensions. Women’s valence ratings were found to be more polarized and arousal ratings were higher than those made by men, and differences were also present for dominance, origin, and subjective significance. The ANPST is the first Polish language list of sentence stimuli and could easily be adapted for other languages and cultures. PMID:28611707

Climate change affects low trophic level marine consumers: warming decreases copepod size and abundance.

PubMed

Garzke, Jessica; Ismar, Stefanie M H; Sommer, Ulrich

2015-03-01

Concern about climate change has re-ignited interest in universal ecological responses to temperature variations: (1) biogeographical shifts, (2) phenology changes, and (3) size shifts. In this study we used copepods as model organisms to study size responses to temperature because of their central role in the pelagic food web and because of the ontogenetic length constancy between molts, which facilitates the definition of size of distinct developmental stages. In order to test the expected temperature-induced shifts towards smaller body size and lower abundances under warming conditions, a mesocosm experiment using plankton from the Baltic Sea at three temperature levels (ambient, ambient +4 °C, ambient -4 °C) was performed in summer 2010. Overall copepod and copepodit abundances, copepod size at all life stages, and adult copepod size in particular, showed significant temperature effects. As expected, zooplankton peak abundance was lower in warm than in ambient treatments. Copepod size-at-immature stage significantly increased in cold treatments, while adult size significantly decreased in warm treatments.

Small pelagics in a changing ocean: biological responses of sardine early stages to warming

PubMed Central

Faleiro, Filipa; Pimentel, Marta; Pegado, Maria Rita; Bispo, Regina; Lopes, Ana Rita; Diniz, Mário S.; Rosa, Rui

2016-01-01

Small pelagic fishes are known to respond rapidly to changes in ocean climate. In this study, we evaluate the effects of future environmental warming (+2°C) during the early ontogeny of the European sardine, Sardina pilchardus. Warming reduced the survival of 30-day-old larvae by half. Length at hatching increased with temperature as expected, but no significant effect was observed on the length and growth at 30 days post-hatching. Warming did not significantly affect the thermal tolerance of sardine larvae, even though the mean lethal temperature increased by 1°C. In the warm conditions, sardine larvae showed signs of thermal stress, indicated by a pronounced increase in larval metabolism (Q10 = 7.9) and a 45% increase in the heat shock response. Lipid peroxidation was not significantly affected by the higher temperature, even though the mean value doubled. Warming did not affect the time larvae spent swimming, but decreased by 36% the frequency of prey attacks. Given the key role of these small pelagics in the trophic dynamics off the Western Iberian upwelling ecosystem, the negative effects of warming on the early stages may have important implications for fish recruitment and ecosystem structure. PMID:27293764

The Effect of Traditional Singing Warm-Up Versus Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises on the Acoustic Parameters of Singing Voice.

PubMed

Duke, Emily; Plexico, Laura W; Sandage, Mary J; Hoch, Matthew

2015-11-01

This study investigated the effect of traditional vocal warm-up versus semioccluded vocal tract exercises on the acoustic parameters of voice through three questions: does vocal warm-up condition significantly alter the singing power ratio of the singing voice? Is singing power ratio dependent upon vowel? Is perceived phonatory effort affected by warm-up condition? Hypotheses were that vocal warm-up would alter the singing power ratio, and that semioccluded vocal tract warm-up would affect the singing power ratio more than no warm-up or traditional warm-up, that singing power ratio would vary across vowel, and that perceived phonatory effort would vary with warm-up condition. This study was a within-participant repeated measures design with counterbalanced conditions. Thirteen male singers were recorded under three different conditions: no warm-up, traditional warm-up, and semioccluded vocal tract exercise warm-up. Recordings were made of these singers performing the Star Spangled Banner, and singing power ratio (SPR) was calculated from four vowels. Singers rated their perceived phonatory effort (PPE) singing the Star Spangled Banner after each warm-up condition. Warm-up condition did not significantly affect SPR. SPR was significantly different for /i/ and /e/. PPE was not significantly different between warm-up conditions. The present study did not find significant differences in SPR between warm-up conditions. SPR differences for /i/, support previous findings. PPE did not differ significantly across warm-up condition despite the expectation that traditional or semioccluded warm-up would cause a decrease. Copyright © 2015 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Role of Emotion in Global Warming Policy Support and Opposition

PubMed Central

Smith, Nicholas; Leiserowitz, Anthony

2014-01-01

Prior research has found that affect and affective imagery strongly influence public support for global warming. This article extends this literature by exploring the separate influence of discrete emotions. Utilizing a nationally representative survey in the United States, this study found that discrete emotions were stronger predictors of global warming policy support than cultural worldviews, negative affect, image associations, or sociodemographic variables. In particular, worry, interest, and hope were strongly associated with increased policy support. The results contribute to experiential theories of risk information processing and suggest that discrete emotions play a significant role in public support for climate change policy. Implications for climate change communication are also discussed. PMID:24219420

Global warming: a public health concern.

PubMed

Afzal, Brenda M

2007-05-31

Over the last 100 years the average temperature on the Earth has risen approximately 1ºFahrenheit (F), increasing at a rate twice as fast as has been noted for any period in the last 1,000 years. The Arctic ice cap is shrinking, glaciers are melting, and the Arctic permafrost is thawing. There is mounting evidence that these global climate changes are already affecting human health. This article provides a brief overview of global warming and climate changes, discusses effects of climate change on health, considers the factors which contribute to climate changes, and reviews individual and collective efforts related to reducing global warming.

Interactive effects of culture and sex hormones on the sex role self-concept

PubMed Central

Pletzer, Belinda; Petasis, Ourania; Ortner, Tuulia M.; Cahill, Larry

2015-01-01

Sex role orientation, i.e., a person's masculinity or femininity, influences cognitive and emotional performance, like biological sex. While it is now widely accepted that sex differences are modulated by the hormonal status of female participants (menstrual cycle, hormonal contraceptive use), the question, whether hormonal status and sex hormones also modulate participants sex role orientation has hardly been addressed previously. The present study assessed sex role orientation and hormonal status as well as sex hormone levels in three samples of participants from two different cultures (Northern American, Middle European). Menstrual cycle phase did not affect participant's masculinity or femininity, but had a significant impact on reference group. While women in their follicular phase (low levels of female sex hormones) determined their masculinity and femininity in reference to men, women in their luteal phase (high levels of female sex hormones) determined their masculinity and femininity in reference to women. Hormonal contraceptive users rated themselves as significantly more feminine and less masculine than naturally cycling women. Furthermore, the impact of biological sex on the factorial structure of sex role orientation as well as the relationship of estrogen to masculinity/femininity was modulated by culture. We conclude that culture and sex hormones interactively affect sex role orientation and hormonal status of participants should be controlled for when assessing masculinity and/or femininity. PMID:26236181

The effect of global warming on infectious diseases.

PubMed

Kurane, Ichiro

2010-12-01

Global warming has various effects on human health. The main indirect effects are on infectious diseases. Although the effects on infectious diseases will be detected worldwide, the degree and types of the effect are different, depending on the location of the respective countries and socioeconomical situations. Among infectious diseases, water- and foodborne infectious diseases and vector-borne infectious diseases are two main categories that are forecasted to be most affected. The effect on vector-borne infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever is mainly because of the expansion of the infested areas of vector mosquitoes and increase in the number and feeding activity of infected mosquitoes. There will be increase in the number of cases with water- and foodborne diarrhoeal diseases. Even with the strongest mitigation procedures, global warming cannot be avoided for decades. Therefore, implementation of adaptation measures to the effect of global warming is the most practical action we can take. It is generally accepted that the impacts of global warming on infectious diseases have not been apparent at this point yet in East Asia. However, these impacts will appear in one form or another if global warming continues to progress in future. Further research on the impacts of global warming on infectious diseases and on future prospects should be conducted.

Amplified Arctic warming by phytoplankton under greenhouse warming.

PubMed

Park, Jong-Yeon; Kug, Jong-Seong; Bader, Jürgen; Rolph, Rebecca; Kwon, Minho

2015-05-12

Phytoplankton have attracted increasing attention in climate science due to their impacts on climate systems. A new generation of climate models can now provide estimates of future climate change, considering the biological feedbacks through the development of the coupled physical-ecosystem model. Here we present the geophysical impact of phytoplankton, which is often overlooked in future climate projections. A suite of future warming experiments using a fully coupled ocean-atmosphere model that interacts with a marine ecosystem model reveals that the future phytoplankton change influenced by greenhouse warming can amplify Arctic surface warming considerably. The warming-induced sea ice melting and the corresponding increase in shortwave radiation penetrating into the ocean both result in a longer phytoplankton growing season in the Arctic. In turn, the increase in Arctic phytoplankton warms the ocean surface layer through direct biological heating, triggering additional positive feedbacks in the Arctic, and consequently intensifying the Arctic warming further. Our results establish the presence of marine phytoplankton as an important potential driver of the future Arctic climate changes.

Amplified Arctic warming by phytoplankton under greenhouse warming

PubMed Central

Park, Jong-Yeon; Kug, Jong-Seong; Bader, Jürgen; Rolph, Rebecca; Kwon, Minho

2015-01-01

Phytoplankton have attracted increasing attention in climate science due to their impacts on climate systems. A new generation of climate models can now provide estimates of future climate change, considering the biological feedbacks through the development of the coupled physical–ecosystem model. Here we present the geophysical impact of phytoplankton, which is often overlooked in future climate projections. A suite of future warming experiments using a fully coupled ocean−atmosphere model that interacts with a marine ecosystem model reveals that the future phytoplankton change influenced by greenhouse warming can amplify Arctic surface warming considerably. The warming-induced sea ice melting and the corresponding increase in shortwave radiation penetrating into the ocean both result in a longer phytoplankton growing season in the Arctic. In turn, the increase in Arctic phytoplankton warms the ocean surface layer through direct biological heating, triggering additional positive feedbacks in the Arctic, and consequently intensifying the Arctic warming further. Our results establish the presence of marine phytoplankton as an important potential driver of the future Arctic climate changes. PMID:25902494

Effects of in situ climate warming on monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) development.

PubMed

Lemoine, Nathan P; Capdevielle, Jillian N; Parker, John D

2015-01-01

Climate warming will fundamentally alter basic life history strategies of many ectothermic insects. In the lab, rising temperatures increase growth rates of lepidopteran larvae but also reduce final pupal mass and increase mortality. Using in situ field warming experiments on their natural host plants, we assessed the impact of climate warming on development of monarch (Danaus plexippus) larvae. Monarchs were reared on Asclepias tuberosa grown under 'Ambient' and 'Warmed' conditions. We quantified time to pupation, final pupal mass, and survivorship. Warming significantly decreased time to pupation, such that an increase of 1 °C corresponded to a 0.5 day decrease in pupation time. In contrast, survivorship and pupal mass were not affected by warming. Our results indicate that climate warming will speed the developmental rate of monarchs, influencing their ecological and evolutionary dynamics. However, the effects of climate warming on larval development in other monarch populations and at different times of year should be investigated.

Long-term forest soil warming alters microbial communities in temperate forest soils

PubMed Central

DeAngelis, Kristen M.; Pold, Grace; Topçuoğlu, Begüm D.; van Diepen, Linda T. A.; Varney, Rebecca M.; Blanchard, Jeffrey L.; Melillo, Jerry; Frey, Serita D.

2015-01-01

Soil microbes are major drivers of soil carbon cycling, yet we lack an understanding of how climate warming will affect microbial communities. Three ongoing field studies at the Harvard Forest Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site (Petersham, MA) have warmed soils 5°C above ambient temperatures for 5, 8, and 20 years. We used this chronosequence to test the hypothesis that soil microbial communities have changed in response to chronic warming. Bacterial community composition was studied using Illumina sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, and bacterial and fungal abundance were assessed using quantitative PCR. Only the 20-year warmed site exhibited significant change in bacterial community structure in the organic soil horizon, with no significant changes in the mineral soil. The dominant taxa, abundant at 0.1% or greater, represented 0.3% of the richness but nearly 50% of the observations (sequences). Individual members of the Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria showed strong warming responses, with one Actinomycete decreasing from 4.5 to 1% relative abundance with warming. Ribosomal RNA copy number can obfuscate community profiles, but is also correlated with maximum growth rate or trophic strategy among bacteria. Ribosomal RNA copy number correction did not affect community profiles, but rRNA copy number was significantly decreased in warming plots compared to controls. Increased bacterial evenness, shifting beta diversity, decreased fungal abundance and increased abundance of bacteria with low rRNA operon copy number, including Alphaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria, together suggest that more or alternative niche space is being created over the course of long-term warming. PMID:25762989

Changing forest water yields in response to climate warming: results from long-term experimental watershed sites across North America

Treesearch

Irena F. Creed; Adam T. Spargo; Julia A. Jones; Jim M. Buttle; Mary B. Adams; Fred D. Beall; Eric G. Booth; John L. Campbell; Dave Clow; Kelly Elder; Mark B. Green; Nancy B. Grimm; Chelcy Miniat; Patricia Ramlal; Amartya Saha; Stephen Sebestyen; Dave Spittlehouse; Shannon Sterling; Mark W. Williams; Rita Winkler; Huaxia Yao

2014-01-01

Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary.We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long-term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5-year cool and warm...

The role of emotion in global warming policy support and opposition.

PubMed

Smith, Nicholas; Leiserowitz, Anthony

2014-05-01

Prior research has found that affect and affective imagery strongly influence public support for global warming. This article extends this literature by exploring the separate influence of discrete emotions. Utilizing a nationally representative survey in the United States, this study found that discrete emotions were stronger predictors of global warming policy support than cultural worldviews, negative affect, image associations, or sociodemographic variables. In particular, worry, interest, and hope were strongly associated with increased policy support. The results contribute to experiential theories of risk information processing and suggest that discrete emotions play a significant role in public support for climate change policy. Implications for climate change communication are also discussed. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Modeling the impact of global warming on vector-borne infections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massad, Eduardo; Coutinho, Francisco Antonio Bezerra; Lopez, Luis Fernandez; da Silva, Daniel Rodrigues

2011-06-01

Global warming will certainly affect the abundance and distribution of disease vectors. The effect of global warming, however, depends on the complex interaction between the human host population and the causative infectious agent. In this work we review some mathematical models that were proposed to study the impact of the increase in ambient temperature on the spread and gravity of some insect-transmitted diseases.

Sex in the brain: hormones and sex differences.

PubMed

Marrocco, Jordan; McEwen, Bruce S

2016-12-01

Contrary to popular belief, sex hormones act throughout the entire brain of both males and females via both genomic and nongenomic receptors. Many neural and behavioral functions are affected by estrogens, including mood, cognitive function, blood pressure regulation, motor coordination, pain, and opioid sensitivity. Subtle sex differences exist for many of these functions that are developmentally programmed by hormones and by not yet precisely defined genetic factors, including the mitochondrial genome. These sex differences, and responses to sex hormones in brain regions and upon functions not previously regarded as subject to such differences, indicate that we are entering a new era in our ability to understand and appreciate the diversity of gender-related behaviors and brain functions.

Working Late: Do Workplace Sex Ratios Affect Partnership Formation and Dissolution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Svarer, Michael

2007-01-01

In this paper, I analyze the association between workplace sex ratios and partnership formation and dissolution. I find that the risk of dissolution increases with the fraction of coworkers of the opposite sex at both the female and male workplace. On the other hand, workplace sex ratios are not important for the overall transition rate from…

Warm-Up Strategies for Sport and Exercise: Mechanisms and Applications.

PubMed

McGowan, Courtney J; Pyne, David B; Thompson, Kevin G; Rattray, Ben

2015-11-01

It is widely accepted that warming-up prior to exercise is vital for the attainment of optimum performance. Both passive and active warm-up can evoke temperature, metabolic, neural and psychology-related effects, including increased anaerobic metabolism, elevated oxygen uptake kinetics and post-activation potentiation. Passive warm-up can increase body temperature without depleting energy substrate stores, as occurs during the physical activity associated with active warm-up. While the use of passive warm-up alone is not commonplace, the idea of utilizing passive warming techniques to maintain elevated core and muscle temperature throughout the transition phase (the period between completion of the warm-up and the start of the event) is gaining in popularity. Active warm-up induces greater metabolic changes, leading to increased preparedness for a subsequent exercise task. Until recently, only modest scientific evidence was available supporting the effectiveness of pre-competition warm-ups, with early studies often containing relatively few participants and focusing mostly on physiological rather than performance-related changes. External issues faced by athletes pre-competition, including access to equipment and the length of the transition/marshalling phase, have also frequently been overlooked. Consequently, warm-up strategies have continued to develop largely on a trial-and-error basis, utilizing coach and athlete experiences rather than scientific evidence. However, over the past decade or so, new research has emerged, providing greater insight into how and why warm-up influences subsequent performance. This review identifies potential physiological mechanisms underpinning warm-ups and how they can affect subsequent exercise performance, and provides recommendations for warm-up strategy design for specific individual and team sports.

Global Warming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hileman, Bette

1989-01-01

States the foundations of the theory of global warming. Describes methodologies used to measure the changes in the atmosphere. Discusses steps currently being taken in the United States and the world to slow the warming trend. Recognizes many sources for the warming and the possible effects on the earth. (MVL)

Signature of ocean warming in global fisheries catch.

PubMed

Cheung, William W L; Watson, Reg; Pauly, Daniel

2013-05-16

Marine fishes and invertebrates respond to ocean warming through distribution shifts, generally to higher latitudes and deeper waters. Consequently, fisheries should be affected by 'tropicalization' of catch (increasing dominance of warm-water species). However, a signature of such climate-change effects on global fisheries catch has so far not been detected. Here we report such an index, the mean temperature of the catch (MTC), that is calculated from the average inferred temperature preference of exploited species weighted by their annual catch. Our results show that, after accounting for the effects of fishing and large-scale oceanographic variability, global MTC increased at a rate of 0.19 degrees Celsius per decade between 1970 and 2006, and non-tropical MTC increased at a rate of 0.23 degrees Celsius per decade. In tropical areas, MTC increased initially because of the reduction in the proportion of subtropical species catches, but subsequently stabilized as scope for further tropicalization of communities became limited. Changes in MTC in 52 large marine ecosystems, covering the majority of the world's coastal and shelf areas, are significantly and positively related to regional changes in sea surface temperature. This study shows that ocean warming has already affected global fisheries in the past four decades, highlighting the immediate need to develop adaptation plans to minimize the effect of such warming on the economy and food security of coastal communities, particularly in tropical regions.

Simulative Global Warming Negatively Affects Cotton Fiber Length through Shortening Fiber Rapid Elongation Duration.

PubMed

Dai, Yanjiao; Yang, Jiashuo; Hu, Wei; Zahoor, Rizwan; Chen, Binglin; Zhao, Wenqing; Meng, Yali; Zhou, Zhiguo

2017-08-23

Global warming could possibly increase the air temperature by 1.8-4.0 °C in the coming decade. Cotton fiber is an essential raw material for the textile industry. Fiber length, which was found negatively related to the excessively high temperature, determines yarn quality to a great extent. To investigate the effects of global warming on cotton fiber length and its mechaism, cottons grown in artificially elevated temperature (34.6/30.5 °C, T day /T night ) and ambient temperature (31.6/27.3 °C) regions have been investigated. Becaused of the high sensitivities of enzymes V-ATPase, PEPC, and genes GhXTH1 and GhXTH2 during fiber elongation when responding to high temperature stress, the fiber rapid elongation duration (FRED) has been shortened, which led to a significant suppression on final fiber length. Through comprehensive analysis, T night had a great influence on fiber elongation, which means T n could be deemed as an ideal index for forecasting the degree of high temperature stress would happen to cotton fiber property in future. Therefore, we speculate the global warming would bring unfavorable effects on cotton fiber length, which needs to take actions in advance for minimizing the loss in cotton production.

Plant inputs, microbial carbon use in soil and decomposition under warming: effects of warming are depth dependent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendall, E.; Carrillo, Y.; Dijkstra, F. A.

2017-12-01

Future climate will include warmer conditions but impacts on soil C cycling remain uncertain and so are the potential warming-driven feedbacks. Net impacts will depend on the balance of effects on microbial activity and plant inputs. Soil depth is likely to be a critical factor driving this balance as it integrates gradients in belowground biomass, microbial activity and environmental variables. Most empirical studies focus on one soil layer and soil C forecasting relies on broad assumptions about effects of depth. Our limited understanding of the use of available C by soil microbes under climate change across depths is a critical source of uncertainty. Long-term labelling of plant biomass with C isotopic tracers in intact systems allows us to follow the dynamics of different soil C pools including the net accumulation of newly fixed C and the net loss of native C. These can be combined with concurrent observations of microbial use of C pools to explore the impacts of depth on the relationships between plant inputs and microbial C use. We evaluated belowground biomass, in-situ root decomposition and incorporation of plant-derived C into soil C and microbial C at 0-5 cm and 5-15 cmover 7 years at the Prairie Heating And CO2 Enrichment experiment. PHACE was a factorial manipulation of CO2 and warming in a native mixed grass prairie in Wyoming, USA. We used the continuous fumigation with labelled CO2 in the elevated CO2 treatments to study the C dynamics under unwarmed and warmed conditions. Shallower soils had three times the density of biomass as deeper soils. Warming increased biomass in both depths but this effect was weaker in deeper soils. Root litter mass loss in deeper soil was one third that of the shallow and was not affected by warming. Consistent with biomass distribution, incorporation of plant-derived C into soil and microbial C was lower in deeper soils and higher with warming. However, in contrast to the effect of warming on biomass, the effect of

Brain activity and connectivity in response to negative affective stimuli: Impact of dysphoric mood and sex across diagnoses.

PubMed

Mareckova, Klara; Holsen, Laura M; Admon, Roee; Makris, Nikos; Seidman, Larry; Buka, Stephen; Whitfield-Gabrieli, Susan; Goldstein, Jill M

2016-11-01

Negative affective stimuli elicit behavioral and neural responses which vary on a continuum from adaptive to maladaptive, yet are typically investigated in a dichotomous manner (healthy controls vs. psychiatric diagnoses). This practice may limit our ability to fully capture variance from acute responses to negative affective stimuli to psychopathology at the extreme end. To address this, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to examine the neural responses to negative valence/high arousal and neutral valence/low arousal images as a function of dysphoric mood and sex across individuals (n = 99) who represented traditional categories of healthy controls, major depressive disorder, bipolar psychosis, and schizophrenia. Observation of negative (vs. neutral) stimuli elicited blood oxygen-level dependent responses in the following circuitry: periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus (HYPO), amygdala (AMYG), hippocampus (HIPP), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and greater connectivity between AMYG and mPFC. Across all subjects, severity of dysphoric mood was associated with hyperactivity of HYPO, and, among females, right (R) AMYG. Females also demonstrated inverse relationships between severity of dysphoric mood and connectivity between HYPO - R OFC, R AMYG - R OFC, and R AMYG - R HIPP. Overall, our findings demonstrated sex-dependent deficits in response to negative affective stimuli increasing as a function of dysphoric mood state. Females demonstrated greater inability to regulate arousal as mood became more dysphoric. These findings contribute to elucidating biosignatures associated with response to negative stimuli across disorders and suggest the importance of a sex-dependent lens in determining these biosignatures. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3733-3744, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exploration of warm-up period in conceptual hydrological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kue Bum; Kwon, Hyun-Han; Han, Dawei

2018-01-01

One of the important issues in hydrological modelling is to specify the initial conditions of the catchment since it has a major impact on the response of the model. Although this issue should be a high priority among modelers, it has remained unaddressed by the community. The typical suggested warm-up period for the hydrological models has ranged from one to several years, which may lead to an underuse of data. The model warm-up is an adjustment process for the model to reach an 'optimal' state, where internal stores (e.g., soil moisture) move from the estimated initial condition to an 'optimal' state. This study explores the warm-up period of two conceptual hydrological models, HYMOD and IHACRES, in a southwestern England catchment. A series of hydrologic simulations were performed for different initial soil moisture conditions and different rainfall amounts to evaluate the sensitivity of the warm-up period. Evaluation of the results indicates that both initial wetness and rainfall amount affect the time required for model warm up, although it depends on the structure of the hydrological model. Approximately one and a half months are required for the model to warm up in HYMOD for our study catchment and climatic conditions. In addition, it requires less time to warm up under wetter initial conditions (i.e., saturated initial conditions). On the other hand, approximately six months is required for warm-up in IHACRES, and the wet or dry initial conditions have little effect on the warm-up period. Instead, the initial values that are close to the optimal value result in less warm-up time. These findings have implications for hydrologic model development, specifically in determining soil moisture initial conditions and warm-up periods to make full use of the available data, which is very important for catchments with short hydrological records.

Gender-stereotyping and cognitive sex differences in mixed- and same-sex groups.

PubMed

Hirnstein, Marco; Coloma Andrews, Lisa; Hausmann, Markus

2014-11-01

Sex differences in specific cognitive abilities are well documented, but the biological, psychological, and sociocultural interactions that may underlie these differences are largely unknown. We examined within a biopsychosocial approach how gender stereotypes affect cognitive sex differences when adult participants were tested in mixed- or same-sex groups. A total of 136 participants (70 women) were allocated to either mixed- or same-sex groups and completed a battery of sex-sensitive cognitive tests (i.e., mental rotation, verbal fluency, perceptual speed) after gender stereotypes or gender-neutral stereotypes (control) were activated. To study the potential role of testosterone as a mediator for group sex composition and stereotype boost/threat effects, saliva samples were taken before the stereotype manipulation and after cognitive testing. The results showed the typical male and female advantages in mental rotation and verbal fluency, respectively. In general, men and women who were tested in mixed-sex groups and whose gender stereotypes had not been activated performed best. Moreover, a stereotype threat effect emerged in verbal fluency with reduced performance in gender stereotyped men but not women. Testosterone levels did not mediate the effects of group sex composition and stereotype threat nor did we find any relationship between testosterone and cognitive performance in men and women. Taken together, the findings suggest that an interaction of gender stereotyping and group sex composition affects the performance of men and women in sex-sensitive cognitive tasks. Mixed-sex settings can, in fact, increase cognitive performance as long as gender-stereotyping is prevented.

Lasting effect of soil warming on organic matter decomposition depends on tillage practices

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Global warming affects various parts of carbon (C) cycle including acceleration of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition with strong feedback to atmospheric CO2 concentration. Despite many soil warming studies showed changes of microbial community structure, very few were focused on the effect of ...

He throws like a girl (but only when he's sad): emotion affects sex-decoding of biological motion displays.

PubMed

Johnson, Kerri L; McKay, Lawrie S; Pollick, Frank E

2011-05-01

Gender stereotypes have been implicated in sex-typed perceptions of facial emotion. Such interpretations were recently called into question because facial cues of emotion are confounded with sexually dimorphic facial cues. Here we examine the role of visual cues and gender stereotypes in perceptions of biological motion displays, thus overcoming the morphological confounding inherent in facial displays. In four studies, participants' judgments revealed gender stereotyping. Observers accurately perceived emotion from biological motion displays (Study 1), and this affected sex categorizations. Angry displays were overwhelmingly judged to be men; sad displays were judged to be women (Studies 2-4). Moreover, this pattern remained strong when stimuli were equated for velocity (Study 3). We argue that these results were obtained because perceivers applied gender stereotypes of emotion to infer sex category (Study 4). Implications for both vision sciences and social psychology are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient Warm-ups: Creating a Warm-up That Works.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauffenburger, Sandra Kay

1992-01-01

Proper warm-up is important for any activity, but designing an effective warm-up can be time consuming. An alternative approach is to take a cue from Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and consider movement design from the perspective of space and planes of motion. Efficient warm-up exercises using LMA are described. (SM)

Is the Risk of Autism in Younger Siblings of Affected Children Moderated by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, or Gestational Age?

PubMed

Xie, Fagen; Peltier, Morgan; Getahun, Darios

2016-10-01

To evaluate the recurrence risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in younger siblings of affected children and determine how it is modified by race/ethnicity and sex. Medical records of children born in a large health maintenance organization (Kaiser Permanent Southern California) hospitals from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2010, and who remained in our system until 2 to 11 years of age were used to assess the risk of recurrence of ASD in younger siblings. Children born at <28 or >42 weeks gestation, multiple births, or those who were not active members for ≥3 months were excluded. ASD diagnosis was ascertained from DSM-IV codes, and the magnitude of the association was estimated using adjusted relative risks (aRRs). Among eligible younger siblings, 592 (1.11%) had the diagnosis of ASD. The ASD rates were 11.30% and 0.92% for younger siblings of older affected and unaffected siblings, respectively (aRR: 14.27; 95% confidence interval, 11.41-17.83). This association remained after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Race/ethnicity- and gestational age-specific analyses revealed a positive association of similar magnitude across groups. Risk remained higher in younger boys than girls regardless of the sex of affected older siblings. The findings of this study suggest that the risk of ASD in younger siblings is higher if the older sibling has ASD. The risk of ASD in younger siblings of older affected siblings was comparable across gestational age at birth and child's race/ethnicity groups. However, risk remains higher for boys. This study contributes to a better understanding of the influence of race/ethnicity, sex, and gestational age at birth in identifying children at higher risk of ASD.

Relative roles of differential SST warming, uniform SST warming and land surface warming in determining the Walker circulation changes under global warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Li, Tim

2017-02-01

Most of CMIP5 models projected a weakened Walker circulation in tropical Pacific, but what causes such change is still an open question. By conducting idealized numerical simulations separating the effects of the spatially uniform sea surface temperature (SST) warming, extra land surface warming and differential SST warming, we demonstrate that the weakening of the Walker circulation is attributed to the western North Pacific (WNP) monsoon and South America land effects. The effect of the uniform SST warming is through so-called "richest-get-richer" mechanism. In response to a uniform surface warming, the WNP monsoon is enhanced by competing moisture with other large-scale convective branches. The strengthened WNP monsoon further induces surface westerlies in the equatorial western-central Pacific, weakening the Walker circulation. The increase of the greenhouse gases leads to a larger land surface warming than ocean surface. As a result, a greater thermal contrast occurs between American Continent and equatorial Pacific. The so-induced zonal pressure gradient anomaly forces low-level westerly anomalies over the equatorial eastern Pacific and weakens the Walker circulation. The differential SST warming also plays a role in driving low-level westerly anomalies over tropical Pacific. But such an effect involves a positive air-sea feedback that amplifies the weakening of both east-west SST gradient and Pacific trade winds.

Unabated global surface temperature warming: evaluating the evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karl, T. R.; Arguez, A.

2015-12-01

New insights related to time-dependent bias corrections in global surface temperatures have led to higher rates of warming over the past few decades than previously reported in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (2014). Record high global temperatures in the past few years have also contributed to larger trends. The combination of these factors and new analyses of the rate of temperature change show unabated global warming since at least the mid-Twentieth Century. New time-dependent bias corrections account for: (1) differences in temperatures measured from ships and drifting buoys; (2) improved corrections to ship measured temperatures; and (3) the larger rates of warming in polar regions (particularly the Arctic). Since 1951, the period over which IPCC (2014) attributes over half of the observed global warming to human causes, it is shown that there has been a remarkably robust and sustained warming, punctuated with inter-annual and decadal variability. This finding is confirmed through simple trend analysis and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD). Trend analysis however, especially for decadal trends, is sensitive to selection bias of beginning and ending dates. EMD has no selection bias. Additionally, it can highlight both short- and long-term processes affecting the global temperature times series since it addresses both non-linear and non-stationary processes. For the new NOAA global temperature data set, our analyses do not support the notion of a hiatus or slowing of long-term global warming. However, sub-decadal periods of little (or no warming) and rapid warming can also be found, clearly showing the impact of inter-annual and decadal variability that previously has been attributed to both natural and human-induced non-greenhouse forcings.

Policing the epidemic: High burden of workplace violence among female sex workers in conflict-affected northern Uganda.

PubMed

Muldoon, Katherine A; Akello, Monica; Muzaaya, Godfrey; Simo, Annick; Shoveller, Jean; Shannon, Kate

2017-01-01

Sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa experience a high burden of HIV with a paucity of data on violence and links to HIV risk among sex workers, and even less within conflict-affected environments. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of female sex workers in Gulu, northern Uganda (n = 400). Logistic regression was used to determine the specific association between policing and recent physical/sexual violence from clients. A total of 196 (49.0%) sex workers experienced physical/sexual violence by a client. From those who experienced client violence the most common forms included physical assault (58.7%), rape (38.3%), and gang rape (15.8%) Police harassment was very common, a total of 149 (37.3%) reported rushing negotiations with clients because of police presence, a practice that was significantly associated with increased odds of client violence (adjusted odds ratio: 1.61, 95% confidence intervals: 1.03-2.52). Inconsistent condom use with clients, servicing clients in a bar, and working for a manager/pimp were also independently associated with recent client violence. Structural and community-led responses, including decriminalisation, and engagement with police and policy stakeholders, remain critical to addressing violence, both a human rights and public health imperative.

Vertical structure of recent Arctic warming.

PubMed

Graversen, Rune G; Mauritsen, Thorsten; Tjernström, Michael; Källén, Erland; Svensson, Gunilla

2008-01-03

Near-surface warming in the Arctic has been almost twice as large as the global average over recent decades-a phenomenon that is known as the 'Arctic amplification'. The underlying causes of this temperature amplification remain uncertain. The reduction in snow and ice cover that has occurred over recent decades may have played a role. Climate model experiments indicate that when global temperature rises, Arctic snow and ice cover retreats, causing excessive polar warming. Reduction of the snow and ice cover causes albedo changes, and increased refreezing of sea ice during the cold season and decreases in sea-ice thickness both increase heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere. Changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation, as well as cloud cover, have also been proposed to cause Arctic temperature amplification. Here we examine the vertical structure of temperature change in the Arctic during the late twentieth century using reanalysis data. We find evidence for temperature amplification well above the surface. Snow and ice feedbacks cannot be the main cause of the warming aloft during the greater part of the year, because these feedbacks are expected to primarily affect temperatures in the lowermost part of the atmosphere, resulting in a pattern of warming that we only observe in spring. A significant proportion of the observed temperature amplification must therefore be explained by mechanisms that induce warming above the lowermost part of the atmosphere. We regress the Arctic temperature field on the atmospheric energy transport into the Arctic and find that, in the summer half-year, a significant proportion of the vertical structure of warming can be explained by changes in this variable. We conclude that changes in atmospheric heat transport may be an important cause of the recent Arctic temperature amplification.

Thyroid storm and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

PubMed

Moore, Joseph A; Gliga, Louise; Nagalla, Srikanth

2017-08-01

Graves' disease is often associated with other autoimmune disorders, including rare associations with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). We describe a unique presentation of thyroid storm and warm AIHA diagnosed concurrently in a young female with hyperthyroidism. The patient presented with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and altered mental status. Laboratory studies revealed hemoglobin 3.9g/dL, platelets 171×10 9 L -1 , haptoglobin <5mg/dL, reticulocytosis, and positive direct antiglobulin test (IgG, C3d, warm). Additional workup revealed serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) <0.01μIU/mL and serum free-T4 (FT4) level 7.8ng/dL. Our patient was diagnosed with concurrent thyroid storm and warm AIHA. She was started on glucocorticoids to treat both warm AIHA and thyroid storm, as well as antithyroid medications, propranolol and folic acid. Due to profound anemia and hemodynamic instability, the patient was transfused two units of uncrossmatched packed red blood cells slowly and tolerated this well. She was discharged on methimazole as well as a prolonged prednisone taper, and achieved complete resolution of the thyrotoxicosis and anemia at one month. Hyperthyroidism can affect all three blood cell lineages of the hematopoietic system. Anemia can be seen in 10-20% of patients with thyrotoxicosis. Several autoimmune processes can lead to anemia in Graves' disease, including pernicious anemia, celiac disease, and warm AIHA. This case illustrates a rarely described presentation of a patient with Graves' disease presenting with concurrent thyroid storm and warm AIHA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accelerated increase in the Arctic tropospheric warming events surpassing stratospheric warming events during winter: Accelerated Increase in Arctic Warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, S. -Y. Simon; Lin, Yen-Heng; Lee, Ming-Ying

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March-April. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as well as those documented in previous studies. Our results indicate a recent and accelerated increasemore » in the tropospheric warming type versus a flat trend in stratospheric warming type. Given that tropospheric warming events occur twice as fast than the stratospheric warming type, the noted increase in the former implies further intensification in midlatitude winter weather extremes similar to those experienced in early 2016. Forced simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model suggest that the reduced Arctic sea ice contributes to the observed increase in the tropospheric warming events and associated impact on the anomalously cold Siberia.« less

"Sex Is a sin": Afro-Caribbean Parent and Teen Perspectives on Sex Conversations.

PubMed

Gabbidon, Kemesha S; Shaw-Ridley, Mary

2018-01-18

This study characterized (a) mothers' childhood and teenage experiences with sex conversations and (b) families' perceptions of current parent-child sex conversations within two underserved Afro-Caribbean communities in the U.S. Fourteen dyads comprised of Haitian and Jamaican mothers and teens (aged 14-18) living in Miami, Florida, completed semi-structured interviews sharing their experiences with sex conversations. Researchers analyzed data using thematic content analysis. Mothers' mean age was 41.85 years, (SD = 5.50) and teens' mean age was 16.35 years, (SD = 1.31). Most mothers reported forbidden or little childhood experiences with parent-child sex conversations. They affected their sexual attitudes, behaviors, and ability to discuss sex with their children. Although some mothers benefited from educational and skill development others shared fear-based messages with their children that some teens believed adversely affected the mother-child relationship quality. Culturally appropriate, skill-based approaches are necessary to improve families' communication self-efficacy for healthy sex conversations to occur in Afro-Caribbean families.

[Sex and pregnancy termination].

PubMed

D'isle, B

1985-11-01

Sex is of the utmost importance in voluntary abortions, because it is the cause of the procedure and because it is always a subject at the time of the abortion. Abortion practitioners are conscious of the woman's sexuality and of sexual techniques. The sexual dimension in abortion is more acute than in other medical acts. Abortion announces the existence of sexual desire, the complexity of sex, and the uncontrollable aspect of sex. The public procedure of abortion removes the intimacy from sex. It is an oversimplification to believe that proper use of contraception could obviate all abortions, that good sex is sex with contraception and bad sex is sex with abortion. Such an attitude neglects the role of desire and the subconscious in sex. "Resistance" to contraception should be understood to mean subconscious defense against contraception which deprives one of one's sex or reduces it to impotence. Abortion exists because sex is not rational. The 1st request for an abortion usually does not cause any problems among practitioners, but requests for subsequent abortions tend to cause resentment and recourse to the domain of psychiatry for explanations. Multiple abortions may however not be a symptom but a sign that desire exists and is not codifiable. Abortion exists outside of the usual medical sequence of illness-treatment-cure and is not comprehensible in the usual medical terms. Abortion raises questions of life, death, and the very nature of men and women that are largely unanswerable. Women undergoing abortion admit to ambivalence and to suffering during the experience. The 1 thing to understand is that all persons should decide individually what course they would follow; there are no ideal responses, only personal solutions. The ideology that dictates that all pregnancies must be warmly welcomed just reduces women once again to their fertility. Contraception and abortion can increase freedom, and especially the right to sexual pleasure. Society should not fall

The importance of warm season warming to western U.S. streamflow changes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Das, T.; Pierce, D.W.; Cayan, D.R.; Vano, J.A.; Lettenmaier, D.P.

2011-01-01

Warm season climate warming will be a key driver of annual streamflow changes in four major river basins of the western U.S., as shown by hydrological model simulations using fixed precipitation and idealized seasonal temperature changes based on climate projections with SRES A2 forcing. Warm season (April-September) warming reduces streamflow throughout the year; streamflow declines both immediately and in the subsequent cool season. Cool season (October-March) warming, by contrast, increases streamflow immediately, partially compensating for streamflow reductions during the subsequent warm season. A uniform warm season warming of 3C drives a wide range of annual flow declines across the basins: 13.3%, 7.2%, 1.8%, and 3.6% in the Colorado, Columbia, Northern and Southern Sierra basins, respectively. The same warming applied during the cool season gives annual declines of only 3.5%, 1.7%, 2.1%, and 3.1%, respectively. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

A novel hypothesis for the adaptive maintenance of environmental sex determination in a turtle.

PubMed

Spencer, R-J; Janzen, F J

2014-08-22

Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) is widespread in reptiles, yet its adaptive significance and mechanisms for its maintenance remain obscure and controversial. Comparative analyses identify an ancient origin of TSD in turtles, crocodiles and tuatara, suggesting that this trait should be advantageous in order to persist. Based on this assumption, researchers primarily, and with minimal success, have employed a model to examine sex-specific variation in hatchling phenotypes and fitness generated by different incubation conditions. The unwavering focus on different incubation conditions may be misplaced at least in the many turtle species in which hatchlings overwinter in the natal nest. If overwintering temperatures differentially affect fitness of male and female hatchlings, TSD might be maintained adaptively by enabling embryos to develop as the sex best suited to those overwintering conditions. We test this novel hypothesis using the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), a species with TSD in which eggs hatch in late summer and hatchlings remain within nests until the following spring. We used a split-clutch design to expose field-incubated hatchlings to warm and cool overwintering (autumn-winter-spring) regimes in the laboratory and measured metabolic rates, energy use, body size and mortality of male and female hatchlings. While overall mortality rates were low, males exposed to warmer overwintering regimes had significantly higher metabolic rates and used more residual yolk than females, whereas the reverse occurred in the cool temperature regime. Hatchlings from mixed-sex nests exhibited similar sex-specific trends and, crucially, they were less energy efficient and grew less than same-sex hatchlings that originated from single-sex clutches. Such sex- and incubation-specific physiological adaptation to winter temperatures may enhance fitness and even extend the northern range of many species that overwinter terrestrially. © 2014 The Author

Sickness-induced changes in physiology do not affect fecundity or same-sex behavior.

PubMed

Sylvia, Kristyn E; Báez Ramos, Patricia; Demas, Gregory E

2018-02-01

Previous work in our lab has shown that early-life infection affects female reproductive physiology and function (i.e., smaller ovaries, abnormal estrous cycles) and alters investigation and aggression towards male conspecifics in a reproductive context. Although many studies have investigated the effects of postnatal immune challenge on physiological and behavioral development, fewer studies have examined whether these changes have ultimate effects on reproduction. In the current study, we paired Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) and simulated a bacterial infection in early life by administering lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to male and female pups on pnd3 and pnd5. In adulthood, hamsters were paired with novel individuals of the same sex, and we scored an array of social behaviors (e.g., investigation, aggression). We then paired animals with individuals of the opposite sex for 5 consecutive nights, providing them with the opportunity to mate. We found that females exhibited impaired reproductive physiology and function in adulthood (i.e., smaller ovaries and abnormal estrous cycles), similar to our previous work. However, both LPS-treated males and females exhibited similar same-sex social behavior when compared with saline-treated controls, they successfully mated, and there were no significant changes in fecundity. These data suggest that the physiological changes in response to neonatal immune challenge may not have long-term effects on reproductive success in a controlled environment. Collectively, the results of this study are particularly important when investigating the relationships between physiology and behavior within an ultimate context. Animals exposed to early-life stress may in fact be capable of compensating for changes in physiology in order to survive and reproduce in some contexts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrologic Response and Watershed Sensitivity to Climate Warming in California's Sierra Nevada

PubMed Central

Null, Sarah E.; Viers, Joshua H.; Mount, Jeffrey F.

2010-01-01

This study focuses on the differential hydrologic response of individual watersheds to climate warming within the Sierra Nevada mountain region of California. We describe climate warming models for 15 west-slope Sierra Nevada watersheds in California under unimpaired conditions using WEAP21, a weekly one-dimensional rainfall-runoff model. Incremental climate warming alternatives increase air temperature uniformly by 2°, 4°, and 6°C, but leave other climatic variables unchanged from observed values. Results are analyzed for changes in mean annual flow, peak runoff timing, and duration of low flow conditions to highlight which watersheds are most resilient to climate warming within a region, and how individual watersheds may be affected by changes to runoff quantity and timing. Results are compared with current water resources development and ecosystem services in each watershed to gain insight into how regional climate warming may affect water supply, hydropower generation, and montane ecosystems. Overall, watersheds in the northern Sierra Nevada are most vulnerable to decreased mean annual flow, southern-central watersheds are most susceptible to runoff timing changes, and the central portion of the range is most affected by longer periods with low flow conditions. Modeling results suggest the American and Mokelumne Rivers are most vulnerable to all three metrics, and the Kern River is the most resilient, in part from the high elevations of the watershed. Our research seeks to bridge information gaps between climate change modeling and regional management planning, helping to incorporate climate change into the development of regional adaptation strategies for Sierra Nevada watersheds. PMID:20368984

Sex and hibernaculum temperature predict survivorship in white-nose syndrome affected little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus).

PubMed

Grieneisen, Laura E; Brownlee-Bouboulis, Sarah A; Johnson, Joseph S; Reeder, DeeAnn M

2015-02-01

White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease caused by the novel fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has devastated North American bat populations since its discovery in 2006. The little brown myotis, Myotis lucifugus, has been especially affected. The goal of this 2-year captive study was to determine the impact of hibernacula temperature and sex on WNS survivorship in little brown myotis that displayed visible fungal infection when collected from affected hibernacula. In study 1, we found that WNS-affected male bats had increased survival over females and that bats housed at a colder temperature survived longer than those housed at warmer temperatures. In study 2, we found that WNS-affected bats housed at a colder temperature fared worse than unaffected bats. Our results demonstrate that WNS mortality varies among individuals, and that colder hibernacula are more favourable for survival. They also suggest that female bats may be more negatively affected by WNS than male bats, which has important implications for the long-term survival of the little brown myotis in eastern North America.

Modeling the impact of global warming on vector-borne infections.

PubMed

Massad, Eduardo; Coutinho, Francisco Antonio Bezerra; Lopez, Luis Fernandez; da Silva, Daniel Rodrigues

2011-06-01

Global warming will certainly affect the abundance and distribution of disease vectors. The effect of global warming, however, depends on the complex interaction between the human host population and the causative infectious agent. In this work we review some mathematical models that were proposed to study the impact of the increase in ambient temperature on the spread and gravity of some insect-transmitted diseases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Phenological Timetable of Oak Growth under Experimental Drought and Air Warming

PubMed Central

Kuster, Thomas M.; Dobbertin, Matthias; Günthardt-Goerg, Madeleine S.; Schaub, Marcus; Arend, Matthias

2014-01-01

Climate change is expected to increase temperature and decrease summer precipitation in Central Europe. Little is known about how warming and drought will affect phenological patterns of oaks, which are considered to possess excellent adaptability to these climatic changes. Here, we investigated bud burst and intra-annual shoot growth of Quercus robur, Q. petraea and Q. pubescens grown on two different forest soils and exposed to air warming and drought. Phenological development was assessed over the course of three growing seasons. Warming advanced bud burst by 1–3 days °C−1 and led to an earlier start of intra-annual shoot growth. Despite this phenological shift, total time span of annual growth and shoot biomass were not affected. Drought changed the frequency and intensity of intra-annual shoot growth and advanced bud burst in the subsequent spring of a severe summer drought by 1–2 days. After re-wetting, shoot growth recovered within a few days, demonstrating the superior drought tolerance of this tree genus. Our findings show that phenological patterns of oaks are modified by warming and drought but also suggest that ontogenetic factors and/or limitations of water and nutrients counteract warming effects on the biomass and the entire span of annual shoot growth. PMID:24586988

Research on trend of warm-humid climate in Central Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Zhi; Peng, Dailiang; Wen, Jingyi; Cai, Zhanqing; Wang, Tiantian; Hu, Yuekai; Ma, Yaxin; Xu, Junfeng

2017-07-01

Central Asia is a typical arid area, which is sensitive and vulnerable part of climate changes, at the same time, Central Asia is the Silk Road Economic Belt of the core district, the warm-humid climate change will affect the production and economic development of neighboring countries. The average annual precipitation, average anneal temperature and evapotranspiration are the important indexes to weigh the climate change. In this paper, the annual precipitation, annual average temperature and evapotranspiration data of every pixel point in Central Asia are analyzed by using long-time series remote sensing data to analyze the trend of warm and humid conditions. Finally, using the model to analyzed the distribution of warm-dry trend, the warm-wet trend, the cold-dry trend and the cold-wet trend in Central Asia and Xinjiang area. The results showed that most of the regions of Central Asia were warm-humid and warm-dry trends, but only a small number of regions showed warm-dry and cold-dry trends. It is of great significance to study the climatic change discipline and guarantee the ecological safety and improve the ability to cope with climate change in the region. It also provide scientific basis for the formulation of regional climate change program. The first section in your paper

Pathways from childhood abuse to prospective revictimization: depression, sex to reduce negative affect, and forecasted sexual behavior.

PubMed

Miron, Lynsey R; Orcutt, Holly K

2014-11-01

Research suggests that adverse events in childhood, such as childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, confer risk for later sexual assault. Psychological distress, coping strategies, and sexual behavior may help explain the path from childhood abuse to revictimization. The present study explored how the use of sex to regulate negative affect (SRNA) operates independently, and in combination with other psychosocial factors to increase college women's (N=541) risk of experiencing prospective adult sexual assault (ASA). Sequential multiple mediator models in Mplus were used to assess the effect of three different forms of childhood abuse on prospective ASA, both independently and while controlling for other forms of childhood abuse. The indirect effect of adolescent sexual assault (AdolSA), depressive symptoms, SRNA, and participants' response to a sex-related vignette was tested using bias-corrected bootstrapping. In the full path model, childhood emotional abuse and AdolSA predicted ASA, while childhood physical and sexual abuse were directly associated with AdolSA, but not ASA. Additionally, depressive symptoms and participants' estimate of their likely behavior in a sex-related vignette directly predicted prospective ASA. Results using bootstrapping revealed that a history of childhood abuse predicted prospective ASA via diverse direct and indirect paths, as well as through a similar multiple mediator path. Overall, findings suggest that a combination of affective, coping, and sexual expectancy factors contribute to risk for revictimization in adult survivors of childhood abuse. Future research directions and targets for risk-reduction programming are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathways from Childhood Abuse to Prospective Revictimization: Depression, Sex to Reduce Negative Affect, and Forecasted Sexual Behavior

PubMed Central

Miron, Lynsey R.; Orcutt, Holly K.

2014-01-01

Research suggests that adverse events in childhood, such as childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, confer risk for later sexual assault. Psychological distress, coping strategies, and sexual behavior may help explain the path from childhood abuse to revictimization. The present study explored how the use of sex to regulate negative affect (SRNA) operates independently, and in combination with other psychosocial factors to increase college women’s (N = 541) risk of experiencing prospective adult sexual assault (ASA). Sequential multiple mediator models in Mplus were used to assess the effect of three different forms of childhood abuse on prospective ASA, both independently and while controlling for other forms of childhood abuse. The indirect effect of adolescent sexual assault (AdolSA), depressive symptoms, SRNA, and participants’ response to a sex-related vignette was tested using bias-corrected bootstrapping. In the full path model, childhood emotional abuse and AdolSA predicted ASA, while childhood physical and sexual abuse were directly associated with AdolSA, but not ASA. Additionally, depressive symptoms and participants’ estimate of their likely behavior in a sex-related vignette directly predicted prospective ASA. Results using bootstrapping revealed that a history of childhood abuse predicted prospective ASA via diverse direct and indirect paths, as well as through a similar multiple mediator path. Overall, findings suggest that a combination of affective, coping, and sexual expectancy factors contribute to risk for revictimization in adult survivors of childhood abuse. Future research directions and targets for risk-reduction programming will be discussed. PMID:25455965

Multilevel dynamic systems affecting introduction of HIV/STI prevention innovations among Chinese women in sex work establishments.

PubMed

Weeks, Margaret R; Li, Jianghong; Liao, Susu; Zhang, Qingning; Dunn, Jennifer; Wang, Yanhong; Jiang, Jingmei

2013-10-01

Social and public health scientists are increasingly interested in applying system dynamics theory to improve understanding and to harness the forces of change within complex, multilevel systems that affect community intervention implementation, effects, and sustainability. Building a system dynamics model based on ethnographic case study has the advantage of using empirically documented contextual factors and processes of change in a real-world and real-time setting that can then be tested in the same and other settings. System dynamics modeling offers great promise for addressing persistent problems like HIV and other sexually transmitted epidemics, particularly in complex rapidly developing countries such as China. We generated a system dynamics model of a multilevel intervention we conducted to promote female condoms for HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention among Chinese women in sex work establishments. The model reflects factors and forces affecting the study's intervention, implementation, and effects. To build this conceptual model, we drew on our experiences and findings from this intensive, longitudinal mixed-ethnographic and quantitative four-town comparative case study (2007-2012) of the sex work establishments, the intervention conducted in them, and factors likely to explain variation in process and outcomes in the four towns. Multiple feedback loops in the sex work establishments, women's social networks, and the health organization responsible for implementing HIV/STI interventions in each town and at the town level directly or indirectly influenced the female condom intervention. We present the conceptual system dynamics model and discuss how further testing in this and other settings can inform future community interventions to reduce HIV and STIs.

Multilevel Dynamic Systems Affecting Introduction of HIV/STI Prevention Innovations among Chinese Women in Sex-work Establishments

PubMed Central

Weeks, Margaret R.; Li, Jianghong; Liao, Susu; Zhang, Qingning; Dunn, Jennifer; Wang, Yanhong; Jiang, Jingmei

2015-01-01

Social and public health scientists are increasingly interested in applying system dynamics theory to improve understanding and to harness the forces of change within complex, multilevel systems that affect community intervention implementation, effects, and sustainability. Building a system dynamics model based on ethnographic case study has the advantage of using empirically documented contextual factors and processes of change in a real world and real time setting that can then be tested in the same and other settings. System dynamics modeling offers great promise for addressing persistent problems like HIV and other sexually transmitted epidemics, particularly in complex rapidly developing countries like China. We generated a system dynamics model of a multilevel intervention we conducted to promote female condoms (FC) for HIV/STI prevention among Chinese women in sex-work establishments. The model reflects factors and forces affecting the study’s intervention implementation and effects. To build this conceptual model, we drew on our experiences and findings from this intensive, longitudinal mixed ethnographic and quantitative four-town comparative case study (2007–2012) of the sex-work establishments, the intervention conducted in them, and factors likely to explain variation in process and outcomes in the four towns. Multiple feedback loops in the sex-work establishments, women’s social networks, and the health organization responsible for implementing HIV/STI interventions in each town and at the town level directly or indirectly influenced the FC intervention. We present the conceptual system dynamics model and discuss how further testing in this and other settings can inform future community interventions to reduce HIV and STIs. PMID:24084394

Stratospheric warmings during February and March 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manney, G. L.; Zurek, R. W.; O'Neill, A.; Swinbank, R.; Kumer, J. B.; Mergenthaler, J. L.; Roche, A. E.

1994-01-01

Two stratospheric warmings during February and March 1993 are described using United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) analyses, calculated potential vorticity (PV) and diabetic heating, and N2O observed by the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer (CLAES) instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). The first warming affected temperatures over a larger region, while the second produced a larger region of reversed zonal winds. Tilted baroclinic zones formed in the temperature field, and the polar vortex tilted westward with height. Narrow tongues of high PV and low N2O were drawn off the polar vortex, and irreversibly mixed. Tongues of material were drawn from low latitudes into the region between the polar vortex and the anticyclone; diabatic descent was also strongest in this region. Increased N2O over a broad region near the edge of the polar vortex indicates the importance of horizontal transport. N2O decreased in the vortex, consistent with enhanced diabatic descent during the warmings.

Variation in sex pheromone emission does not reflect immunocompetence but affects attractiveness of male burying beetles—a combination of laboratory and field experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chemnitz, Johanna; Bagrii, Nadiia; Ayasse, Manfred; Steiger, Sandra

2017-08-01

Life history theory predicts a trade-off between male sexual trait expression and immunocompetence. Using burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides, as a model, we investigated the relationship between male immune function, sex pheromone emission, and attractiveness under field conditions. In the first experiment, we tested whether there is a positive correlation between immune capacity, sex pheromone characteristics (quantity, relative composition, and time invested in pheromone emission), and male attractiveness. As a measurement of immune capacity, we used an individual's encapsulation ability against a novel antigen. In the second experiment, we specifically examined whether a trade-off between chemical trait expression and immune function existed. To this end, we challenged the immune system and measured the subsequent investment in sex pheromone emission and the attractiveness of the male under field conditions. We found that a male's immunocompetence was neither related to the emission of the male's sex pheromone nor to its attractiveness in the field. Furthermore, none of the immune-challenge treatments affected the subsequent investment in pheromone emission or number of females attracted. However, we showed that the same males that emitted a high quantity of their sex pheromone in the laboratory were able to attract more females in the field. Our data suggest that the chemical signal is not a reliable predictor of a male's immunocompetence but rather is a general important fitness-related trait, with a higher emission of the sex pheromone measured in the laboratory directly affecting the attractiveness of a male under field conditions.

Variation in sex pheromone emission does not reflect immunocompetence but affects attractiveness of male burying beetles-a combination of laboratory and field experiments.

PubMed

Chemnitz, Johanna; Bagrii, Nadiia; Ayasse, Manfred; Steiger, Sandra

2017-08-01

Life history theory predicts a trade-off between male sexual trait expression and immunocompetence. Using burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides, as a model, we investigated the relationship between male immune function, sex pheromone emission, and attractiveness under field conditions. In the first experiment, we tested whether there is a positive correlation between immune capacity, sex pheromone characteristics (quantity, relative composition, and time invested in pheromone emission), and male attractiveness. As a measurement of immune capacity, we used an individual's encapsulation ability against a novel antigen. In the second experiment, we specifically examined whether a trade-off between chemical trait expression and immune function existed. To this end, we challenged the immune system and measured the subsequent investment in sex pheromone emission and the attractiveness of the male under field conditions. We found that a male's immunocompetence was neither related to the emission of the male's sex pheromone nor to its attractiveness in the field. Furthermore, none of the immune-challenge treatments affected the subsequent investment in pheromone emission or number of females attracted. However, we showed that the same males that emitted a high quantity of their sex pheromone in the laboratory were able to attract more females in the field. Our data suggest that the chemical signal is not a reliable predictor of a male's immunocompetence but rather is a general important fitness-related trait, with a higher emission of the sex pheromone measured in the laboratory directly affecting the attractiveness of a male under field conditions.

Sex differences in the brain-an interplay of sex steroid hormones and sex chromosomes.

PubMed

Grgurevic, Neza; Majdic, Gregor

2016-09-01

Although considerable progress has been made in our understanding of brain function, many questions remain unanswered. The ultimate goal of studying the brain is to understand the connection between brain structure and function and behavioural outcomes. Since sex differences in brain morphology were first observed, subsequent studies suggest different functional organization of the male and female brains in humans. Sex and gender have been identified as being a significant factor in understanding human physiology, health and disease, and the biological differences between the sexes is not limited to the gonads and secondary sexual characteristics, but also affects the structure and, more crucially, the function of the brain and other organs. Significant variability in brain structures between individuals, in addition to between the sexes, is factor that complicates the study of sex differences in the brain. In this review, we explore the current understanding of sex differences in the brain, mostly focusing on preclinical animal studies. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Design and performance of combined infrared canopy and belowground warming in the B4WarmED (Boreal Forest Warming at an Ecotone in Danger) experiment.

PubMed

Rich, Roy L; Stefanski, Artur; Montgomery, Rebecca A; Hobbie, Sarah E; Kimball, Bruce A; Reich, Peter B

2015-06-01

Conducting manipulative climate change experiments in complex vegetation is challenging, given considerable temporal and spatial heterogeneity. One specific challenge involves warming of both plants and soils to depth. We describe the design and performance of an open-air warming experiment called Boreal Forest Warming at an Ecotone in Danger (B4WarmED) that addresses the potential for projected climate warming to alter tree function, species composition, and ecosystem processes at the boreal-temperate ecotone. The experiment includes two forested sites in northern Minnesota, USA, with plots in both open (recently clear-cut) and closed canopy habitats, where seedlings of 11 tree species were planted into native ground vegetation. Treatments include three target levels of plant canopy and soil warming (ambient, +1.7°C, +3.4°C). Warming was achieved by independent feedback control of voltage input to aboveground infrared heaters and belowground buried resistance heating cables in each of 72-7.0 m(2) plots. The treatments emulated patterns of observed diurnal, seasonal, and annual temperatures but with superimposed warming. For the 2009 to 2011 field seasons, we achieved temperature elevations near our targets with growing season overall mean differences (∆Tbelow ) of +1.84°C and +3.66°C at 10 cm soil depth and (∆T(above) ) of +1.82°C and +3.45°C for the plant canopies. We also achieved measured soil warming to at least 1 m depth. Aboveground treatment stability and control were better during nighttime than daytime and in closed vs. open canopy sites in part due to calmer conditions. Heating efficacy in open canopy areas was reduced with increasing canopy complexity and size. Results of this study suggest the warming approach is scalable: it should work well in small-statured vegetation such as grasslands, desert, agricultural crops, and tree saplings (<5 m tall). © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How Do Sleep-Related Health Problems Affect Functional Status According to Sex?

PubMed Central

Boccabella, Allegra; Malouf, John

2017-01-01

Study Objectives: To measure differences in functional status between men and women presenting with sleep-related health problems. Methods: A retrospective clinical audit of 744 Australian patients across 7 private general practices between April 2013 and January 2015 was conducted. Patients completed an electronic survey as part of their routine consultation, which included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire 10 (FOSQ-10), and other questions relating to the effect of their sleep problem. The proportion of males and females with ESS and FOSQ-10 scores associated with disorders of daytime sleepiness and burden of symptoms due to sleepiness, respectively, were compared, as well as reported differences between the sexes in memory, concentration, issues with relationships, feeling depressed, and trouble sleeping. Results: On presentation, females were more likely to have sleeping disorders associated with daytime sleepiness (median ESS score of 9 for females versus 8 for males, P = .038; proportion ESS > 9 was 49.0% for females versus 36.9% for males, P = .003). Women were also more likely to report an increased burden of symptoms due to sleepiness compared to men, as shown by lower FOSQ-10 scores (P < .001). Secondary outcome measures showed that females were more likely to feel excessively tired and depressed, have difficulties with memory and concentration, and have trouble sleeping at night. Snoring kept partners awake in roughly the same proportion of males and females, and a larger proportion of the partners of males were forced out of the room. Conclusions: Sleep-related health issues both manifest in and affect the lives of males and females differently. Sleep health professionals should recognize these differences on all levels of disease prevention and health promotion from patient education, to diagnosis and management to improve quality of life for those with sleep-related health problems. Citation: Boccabella

Impact of warm winters on microbial growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birgander, Johanna; Rousk, Johannes; Axel Olsson, Pål

2014-05-01

Growth of soil bacteria has an asymmetrical response to higher temperature with a gradual increase with increasing temperatures until an optimum after which a steep decline occurs. In laboratory studies it has been shown that by exposing a soil bacterial community to a temperature above the community's optimum temperature for two months, the bacterial community grows warm-adapted, and the optimum temperature of bacterial growth shifts towards higher temperatures. This result suggests a change in the intrinsic temperature dependence of bacterial growth, as temperature influenced the bacterial growth even though all other factors were kept constant. An intrinsic temperature dependence could be explained by either a change in the bacterial community composition, exchanging less tolerant bacteria towards more tolerant ones, or it could be due to adaptation within the bacteria present. No matter what the shift in temperature tolerance is due to, the shift could have ecosystem scale implications, as winters in northern Europe are getting warmer. To address the question of how microbes and plants are affected by warmer winters, a winter-warming experiment was established in a South Swedish grassland. Results suggest a positive response in microbial growth rate in plots where winter soil temperatures were around 6 °C above ambient. Both bacterial and fungal growth (leucine incorporation, and acetate into ergosterol incorporation, respectively) appeared stimulated, and there are two candidate explanations for these results. Either (i) warming directly influence microbial communities by modulating their temperature adaptation, or (ii) warming indirectly affected the microbial communities via temperature induced changes in bacterial growth conditions. The first explanation is in accordance with what has been shown in laboratory conditions (explained above), where the differences in the intrinsic temperature relationships were examined. To test this explanation the

[Effects of warming and precipitation exclusion on soil N2O fluxes in subtropical forests.

PubMed

Tang, Cai di; Zhang, Zheng; Cai, Xiao Zhen; Guo, Jian Fen; Yang, Yu Sheng

2017-10-01

In order to explore how soil warming and precipitation exclusion influence soil N2O fluxes, we used related functional genes as markers, and four treatments were set up, i.e. , control (CT), soil warming (W, 5 ℃ above the ambient temperature of the control), 50% precipitation reduction (P), soil warming plus 50% precipitation reduction (WP). The results showed that precipitation exclusion reduced soil ammonium nitrogen concentration significantly. Soil warming decreased soil N2O flux and soil denitrification potential significantly. Soil microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) in warming treatment (W) and precipitation exclusion treatment (P) was significantly lower than that in the control. The amoA gene abundance of AOA was negatively correlated with MBN and ammonium nitrogen contents, but neither soil nitrification potential nor soil N2O flux was correlated with the amoA gene abundance of AOA. Path analysis showed that the denitrification potential affected soil N2O flux directly, while microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP) and warming affected soil N2O flux indirectly through their direct effects on denitrification potential. Temperature might be the main driver of N2O flux in subtropical forest soils. Global warming would reduce N2O emissions from subtropical forest soils.

Sex hormones affect language lateralisation but not cognitive control in normally cycling women.

PubMed

Hodgetts, Sophie; Weis, Susanne; Hausmann, Markus

2015-08-01

This article is part of a Special Issue "Estradiol and Cognition". Natural fluctuations of sex hormones during the menstrual cycle have been shown to modulate language lateralisation. Using the dichotic listening (DL) paradigm, a well-established measurement of language lateralisation, several studies revealed that the left hemispheric language dominance was stronger when levels of estradiol were high. A recent study (Hjelmervik et al., 2012) showed, however, that high levels of follicular estradiol increased lateralisation only in a condition that required participants to cognitively control (top-down) the stimulus-driven (bottom-up) response. This finding suggested that sex hormones modulate lateralisation only if cognitive control demands are high. The present study investigated language lateralisation in 73 normally cycling women under three attention conditions that differed in cognitive control demands. Saliva estradiol and progesterone levels were determined by luminescence immunoassays. Women were allocated to a high or low estradiol group. The results showed a reduced language lateralisation when estradiol and progesterone levels were high. The effect was independent of the attention condition indicating that estradiol marginally affected cognitive control. The findings might suggest that high levels of estradiol especially reduce the stimulus-driven (bottom-up) aspect of lateralisation rather than top-down cognitive control. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vibration exercise as a warm-up modality for deadlift power output.

PubMed

Cochrane, Darryl J; Coley, Karl W; Pritchard, Hayden J; Barnes, Matthew J

2015-04-01

Vibration exercise (VbX) has gained popularity as a warm-up modality to enhance performance in golf, baseball, and sprint cycling, but little is known about the efficacy of using VbX as a warm-up before resistance exercise, such as deadlifting. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a deadlift (DL)-specific warm-up, VbX warm-up, and Control on DL power output (PO). The DL warm-up (DL-WU) included 10, 8, and 5 repetitions performed at 30, 40, and 50% 1-repetition maximum (1RM), respectively, where the number of repetitions was matched by body-weight squats performed with vibration and without vibration (Control). The warm-up conditions were randomized and performed at least 2 days apart. Peak power (PP), mean power, rate of force development (RFD), and electromyography (EMG) were measured during the concentric phase of 2 consecutive DLs (75% 1RM) at 30 seconds and 2:30 minutes after the warm-up conditions. There was no significant (p > 0.05) main effect or interaction effect between the DL-WU, VbX warm-up, and Control for PP, mean power, RFD, and EMG. Vibration exercise warm-up did not exhibit an ergogenic effect to potentiate muscle activity more than the specific DL-WU and Control. Therefore, DL PO is affected to a similar extent, irrespective of the type of stimuli, when the warm-up is not focused on raising muscle temperature.

Acute Effect of Whole-Body Vibration Warm-up on Footspeed Quickness.

PubMed

Donahue, Ryan B; Vingren, Jakob L; Duplanty, Anthony A; Levitt, Danielle E; Luk, Hui-Ying; Kraemer, William J

2016-08-01

Donahue, RB, Vingren, JL, Duplanty, AA, Levitt, DE, Luk, H-Y, and Kraemer, WJ. Acute effect of whole-body vibration warm-up on footspeed quickness. J Strength Cond Res 30(8): 2286-2291, 2016-The warm-up routine preceding a training or athletic event can affect the performance during that event. Whole-body vibration (WBV) can increase muscle performance, and thus the inclusion of WBV to the warm-up routine might provide additional performance improvements. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the acute effect of a WBV warm-up, using a vertical oscillating platform and a more traditional warm-up protocol on feet quickness in physically active men. Twenty healthy and physically active men (18-25 years, 22 ± 3 years, 176.8 ± 6.4 cm, 84.4 ± 11.5 kg, 10.8 ± 1.4% body fat) volunteered for this study. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used to examine the effect of 4 warm-up scenarios (no warm-up, traditional warm-up only, WBV warm-up only, and combined traditional and WBV warm-up) on subsequent 3-second Quick feet count test (QFT) performance. The traditional warm-up consisted of static and dynamic exercises and stretches. The WBV warm-up consisted of 60 seconds of vertical sinusoidal vibration at a frequency of 35 Hz and amplitude of 4 mm on a vibration platform. The WBV protocol significantly (p ≤ 0.0005, η = 0.581) augmented QFT performance (WBV: 37.1 ± 3.4 touches; no-WBV: 35.7 ± 3.4 touches). The results demonstrate that WBV can enhance the performance score on the QFT. The findings of this study suggest that WBV warm-up should be included in warm-up routines preceding training and athletic events which include very fast foot movements.

Human Milk Warming Temperatures Using a Simulation of Currently Available Storage and Warming Methods

PubMed Central

Bransburg-Zabary, Sharron; Virozub, Alexander; Mimouni, Francis B.

2015-01-01

Human milk handling guidelines are very demanding, based upon solid scientific evidence that handling methods can make a real difference in infant health and nutrition. Indeed, properly stored milk maintains many of its unique qualities and continues to be the second and third best infant feeding alternatives, much superior to artificial feeding. Container type and shape, mode of steering, amount of air exposure and storage temperature may adversely affect milk stability and composition. Heating above physiological temperatures significantly impacts nutritional and immunological properties of milk. In spite of this knowledge, there are no strict guidelines regarding milk warming. Human milk is often heated in electrical-based bottle warmers that can exceed 80°C, a temperature at which many beneficial human milk properties disappear. High temperatures can also induce fat profile variations as compared with fresh human milk. In this manuscript we estimate the amount of damage due to overheating during warming using a heat flow simulation of a regular water based bottle warmer. To do so, we carried out a series of warming simulations which provided us with dynamic temperature fields within bottled milk. We simulated the use of a hot water-bath at 80°C to heat bottled refrigerated milk (60ml and 178 ml) to demonstrate that large milk portions are overheated (above 40°C). It seems that the contemporary storage method (upright feeding tool, i.e. bottle) and bottle warming device, are not optimize to preserve the unique properties of human milk. Health workers and parents should be aware of this problem especially when it relates to sick neonates and preemies that cannot be directly fed at the breast. PMID:26061694

Humid Heat Waves at different warming levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, S.; Sillmann, J.; Sterl, A.

2017-12-01

The co-occurrence of consecutive hot and humid days during a heat wave can strongly affect human health. Here, we quantify humid heat wave hazard in the recent past and at different levels of global warming.We find that the magnitude and apparent temperature peak of heat waves, such as the ones observed in Chicago in 1995 and China in 2003, have been strongly amplified by humidity. Climate model projections suggest that the percentage of area where heat wave magnitude and peak are amplified by humidity increases with increasing warming levels. Considering the effect of humidity at 1.5o and 2o global warming, highly populated regions, such as the Eastern US and China, could experience heat waves with magnitude greater than the one in Russia in 2010 (the most severe of the present era).The apparent temperature peak during such humid-heat waves can be greater than 55o. According to the US Weather Service, at this temperature humans are very likely to suffer from heat strokes. Humid-heat waves with these conditions were never exceeded in the present climate, but are expected to occur every other year at 4o global warming. This calls for respective adaptation measures in some key regions of the world along with international climate change mitigation efforts.

Early life stress in rats sex-dependently affects remote endocrine rather than behavioral consequences of adult exposure to contextual fear conditioning.

PubMed

Fuentes, Sílvia; Daviu, Núria; Gagliano, Humberto; Belda, Xavier; Armario, Antonio; Nadal, Roser

2018-05-30

Exposure to electric foot-shocks can induce in rodents contextual fear conditioning, generalization of fear to other contexts and sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to further stressors. All these aspects are relevant for the study of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the present work we evaluated in rats the sex differences and the role of early life stress (ELS) in fear memories, generalization and sensitization. During the first postnatal days subjects were exposed to restriction of nesting material along with exposure to a "substitute" mother. In the adulthood they were exposed to (i) a contextual fear conditioning to evaluate long-term memory and extinction and (ii) to a novel environment to study cognitive fear generalization and HPA axis heterotypic sensitization. ELS did not alter acquisition, expression or extinction of context fear conditioned behavior (freezing) in either sex, but reduced activity in novel environments only in males. Fear conditioning associated hypoactivity in novel environments (cognitive generalization) was greater in males than females but was not specifically affected by ELS. Although overall females showed greater basal and stress-induced levels of ACTH and corticosterone, an interaction between ELS, shock exposure and sex was found regarding HPA hormones. In males, ELS did not affect ACTH response in any situation, whereas in females, ELS reduced both shock-induced sensitization of ACTH and its conditioned response to the shock context. Also, shock-induced sensitization of corticosterone was only observed in males and ELS specifically reduced corticosterone response to stressors in males but not females. In conclusion, ELS seems to have only a minor impact on shock-induced behavioral conditioning, while affecting the unconditioned and conditioned responses of HPA hormones in a sex-dependent manner. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sex allocation and secondary sex ratio in Cuban boa ( Chilabothrus angulifer): mother's body size affects the ratio between sons and daughters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frynta, Daniel; Vejvodová, Tereza; Šimková, Olga

2016-06-01

Secondary sex ratios of animals with genetically determined sex may considerably deviate from equality. These deviations may be attributed to several proximate and ultimate factors. Sex ratio theory explains some of them as strategic decisions of mothers improving their fitness by selective investment in sons or daughters, e.g. local resource competition hypothesis (LRC) suggests that philopatric females tend to produce litters with male-biased sex ratios to avoid future competition with their daughters. Until now, only little attention has been paid to examine predictions of sex ratio theory in snakes possessing genetic sex determination and exhibiting large variance in allocation of maternal investment. Cuban boa is an endemic viviparous snake producing large-bodied newborns (˜200 g). Extremely high maternal investment in each offspring increases importance of sex allocation. In a captive colony, we collected breeding records of 42 mothers, 62 litters and 306 newborns and examined secondary sex ratios (SR) and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) of newborns. None of the examined morphometric traits of neonates appeared sexually dimorphic. The sex ratio was slightly male biased (174 males versus 132 females) and litter sex ratio significantly decreased with female snout-vent length. We interpret this relationship as an additional support for LRC as competition between mothers and daughters increases with similarity of body sizes between competing snakes.

Sex allocation and secondary sex ratio in Cuban boa (Chilabothrus angulifer): mother's body size affects the ratio between sons and daughters.

PubMed

Frynta, Daniel; Vejvodová, Tereza; Šimková, Olga

2016-06-01

Secondary sex ratios of animals with genetically determined sex may considerably deviate from equality. These deviations may be attributed to several proximate and ultimate factors. Sex ratio theory explains some of them as strategic decisions of mothers improving their fitness by selective investment in sons or daughters, e.g. local resource competition hypothesis (LRC) suggests that philopatric females tend to produce litters with male-biased sex ratios to avoid future competition with their daughters. Until now, only little attention has been paid to examine predictions of sex ratio theory in snakes possessing genetic sex determination and exhibiting large variance in allocation of maternal investment. Cuban boa is an endemic viviparous snake producing large-bodied newborns (∼200 g). Extremely high maternal investment in each offspring increases importance of sex allocation. In a captive colony, we collected breeding records of 42 mothers, 62 litters and 306 newborns and examined secondary sex ratios (SR) and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) of newborns. None of the examined morphometric traits of neonates appeared sexually dimorphic. The sex ratio was slightly male biased (174 males versus 132 females) and litter sex ratio significantly decreased with female snout-vent length. We interpret this relationship as an additional support for LRC as competition between mothers and daughters increases with similarity of body sizes between competing snakes.

Global Warming And Meltwater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bratu, S.

2012-04-01

glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects of the warming include more frequent occurrences of extreme weather events including heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall events, species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes, and changes in agricultural yields. Meltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelves in the oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reduced. In a report published in June 2007, the United Nations Environment Program estimated that global warming could lead to 40% of the world's population being affected by the loss of glaciers, snow and the associated meltwater in Asia. This is one of many activities of the physics laboratory that the students of our high school are involved in.

Plants regulate the effects of experimental warming on the soil microbial community in an alpine scrub ecosystem.

PubMed

Ma, Zhiliang; Zhao, Wenqiang; Zhao, Chunzhang; Wang, Dong; Liu, Mei; Li, Dandan; Liu, Qing

2018-01-01

Information on how soil microbial communities respond to warming is still scarce for alpine scrub ecosystems. We conducted a field experiment with two plant treatments (plant removal or undisturbed) subjected to warmed or unwarmed conditions to examine the effects of warming and plant removal on soil microbial community structures during the growing season in a Sibiraea angustata scrubland of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that experimental warming significantly influenced soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), but the warming effects were dependent on the plant treatments and sampling seasons. In the plant-removal plots, warming did not affect most of the microbial variables, while in the undisturbed plots, warming significantly increased the abundances of actinomycete and Gram-positive bacterial groups during the mid-growing season (July), but it did not affect the fungi groups. Plant removal significantly reduced fungal abundance throughout the growing season and significantly altered the soil microbial community structure in July. The interaction between warming and plant removal significantly influenced the soil MBC and MBN and the abundances of total microbes, bacteria and actinomycete throughout the growing season. Experimental warming significantly reduced the abundance of rare taxa, while the interaction between warming and plant removal tended to have strong effects on the abundant taxa. These findings suggest that the responses of soil microbial communities to warming are regulated by plant communities. These results provide new insights into how soil microbial community structure responds to climatic warming in alpine scrub ecosystems.

Plants regulate the effects of experimental warming on the soil microbial community in an alpine scrub ecosystem

PubMed Central

Ma, Zhiliang; Zhao, Wenqiang; Zhao, Chunzhang; Wang, Dong; Liu, Mei; Li, Dandan

2018-01-01

Information on how soil microbial communities respond to warming is still scarce for alpine scrub ecosystems. We conducted a field experiment with two plant treatments (plant removal or undisturbed) subjected to warmed or unwarmed conditions to examine the effects of warming and plant removal on soil microbial community structures during the growing season in a Sibiraea angustata scrubland of the eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that experimental warming significantly influenced soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), but the warming effects were dependent on the plant treatments and sampling seasons. In the plant-removal plots, warming did not affect most of the microbial variables, while in the undisturbed plots, warming significantly increased the abundances of actinomycete and Gram-positive bacterial groups during the mid-growing season (July), but it did not affect the fungi groups. Plant removal significantly reduced fungal abundance throughout the growing season and significantly altered the soil microbial community structure in July. The interaction between warming and plant removal significantly influenced the soil MBC and MBN and the abundances of total microbes, bacteria and actinomycete throughout the growing season. Experimental warming significantly reduced the abundance of rare taxa, while the interaction between warming and plant removal tended to have strong effects on the abundant taxa. These findings suggest that the responses of soil microbial communities to warming are regulated by plant communities. These results provide new insights into how soil microbial community structure responds to climatic warming in alpine scrub ecosystems. PMID:29668711

Methane Cycling in a Warming Wetland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noyce, G. L.; Megonigal, P.; Rich, R.; Kirwan, M. L.; Herbert, E. R.

2017-12-01

Coastal wetlands are global hotspots of carbon (C) storage, but the future of these systems is uncertain. In June 2016, we initiated an in-situ, active, whole-ecosystem warming experiment in the Smithsonian's Global Change Research Wetland to quantify how warming and elevated CO2 affect the stability of coastal wetland soil C pools and contemporary rates of C sequestration. Transects are located in two plant communities, dominated by C3 sedges or C4 grasses. The experiment has a gradient design with air and soil warming treatments ranging from ambient to +5.1 °C and heated plots consistently maintain their target temperature year-round. In April 2017, an elevated CO2 treatment was crossed with temperature in the C3community. Ongoing measurements include soil elevation, C fluxes, porewater chemistry and redox potential, and above- and below-ground growth and biomass. In both years, warming increased methane (CH4) emissions (measured at 3-4 week intervals) from spring through fall at the C3 site, but had little effect on emissions from the C4 site. Winter (Dec-Mar) emissions showed no treatment effect. Stable isotope analysis of dissolved CH4 and DIC also indicated that warming had differing effects on CH4 pathways in the two vegetation communities. To better understand temperature effects on rates of CH4 production and oxidation, 1 m soil cores were collected from control areas of the marsh in summer 2017 and incubated at temperatures ranging from 4 °C to 35 °C. Warming increased CH4 production and oxidation rates in surface samples and oxidation rates in the rooting zone samples from both sites, but temperature responses in deep (1 m) soil samples were minimal. In the surface and rooting zone samples, production rates were also consistently higher in C3 soils compared to C4 soils, but, contrary to our expectations, the temperature response was stronger in the C4 soils. However, oxidation in C3 rooting zone samples did have a strong temperature response. The

Offsetting global warming-induced elevated greenhouse gas emissions from an arable soil by biochar application.

PubMed

Bamminger, Chris; Poll, Christian; Marhan, Sven

2018-01-01

Global warming will likely enhance greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils. Due to its slow decomposability, biochar is widely recognized as effective in long-term soil carbon (C) sequestration and in mitigation of soil GHG emissions. In a long-term soil warming experiment (+2.5 °C, since July 2008) we studied the effect of applying high-temperature Miscanthus biochar (0, 30 t/ha, since August 2013) on GHG emissions and their global warming potential (GWP) during 2 years in a temperate agroecosystem. Crop growth, physical and chemical soil properties, temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (R s ), and metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ) were investigated to yield further information about single effects of soil warming and biochar as well as on their interactions. Soil warming increased total CO 2 emissions by 28% over 2 years. The effect of warming on soil respiration did not level off as has often been observed in less intensively managed ecosystems. However, the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration was not affected by warming. Overall, biochar had no effect on most of the measured parameters, suggesting its high degradation stability and its low influence on microbial C cycling even under elevated soil temperatures. In contrast, biochar × warming interactions led to higher total N 2 O emissions, possibly due to accelerated N-cycling at elevated soil temperature and to biochar-induced changes in soil properties and environmental conditions. Methane uptake was not affected by soil warming or biochar. The incorporation of biochar-C into soil was estimated to offset warming-induced elevated GHG emissions for 25 years. Our results highlight the suitability of biochar for C sequestration in cultivated temperate agricultural soil under a future elevated temperature. However, the increased N 2 O emissions under warming limit the GHG mitigation potential of biochar. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Congeneric Comparison Shows That Experimental Warming Enhances the Growth of Invasive Eupatorium adenophorum

PubMed Central

He, Wei-Ming; Li, Jing-Ji; Peng, Pei-Hao

2012-01-01

Rising air temperatures may change the risks of invasive plants; however, little is known about how different warming timings affect the growth and stress-tolerance of invasive plants. We conducted an experiment with an invasive plant Eupatorium adenophorum and a native congener Eupatorium chinense, and contrasted their mortality, plant height, total biomass, and biomass allocation in ambient, day-, night-, and daily-warming treatments. The mortality of plants was significantly higher in E. chinense than E. adenophorum in four temperature regimes. Eupatorium adenophorum grew larger than E. chinense in the ambient climate, and this difference was amplified with warming. On the basis of the net effects of warming, daily-warming exhibited the strongest influence on E. adenophorum, followed by day-warming and night-warming. There was a positive correlation between total biomass and root weight ratio in E. adenophorum, but not in E. chinense. These findings suggest that climate warming may enhance E. adenophorum invasions through increasing its growth and stress-tolerance, and that day-, night- and daily-warming may play different roles in this facilitation. PMID:22536425

Warming-Induced Decline of Picea crassifolia Growth in the Qilian Mountains in Recent Decades.

PubMed

Yu, Li; Huang, Lei; Shao, Xuemei; Xiao, Fengjing; Wilmking, Martin; Zhang, Yongxiang

2015-01-01

Warming-induced drought has widely affected forest dynamics in most places of the northern hemisphere. In this study, we assessed how climate warming has affected Picea crassifolia (Qinghai spruce) forests using tree growth-climate relationships and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) along the Qilian Mountains, northeastern Tibet Plateau (the main range of Picea crassifolia). Based on the analysis on trees radial growth data from the upper tree line and the regional NDVI data, we identified a pervasive growth decline in recent decades, most likely caused by warming-induced droughts. The drought stress on Picea crassifolia radial growth were expanding from northeast to southwest and the favorable moisture conditions for tree growth were retreating along the identical direction in the study area over the last half century. Compared to the historical drought stress on tree radial growth in the 1920s, recent warming-induced droughts display a longer-lasting stress with a broader spatial distribution on regional forest growth. If the recent warming continues without the effective moisture increasing, then a notable challenge is developed for Picea crassifolia in the Qilian Mountains. Elaborate forest management is necessary to counteract the future risk of climate change effects in this region.

Warming effects on permafrost ecosystem carbon fluxes associated with plant nutrients.

PubMed

Li, Fei; Peng, Yunfeng; Natali, Susan M; Chen, Kelong; Han, Tianfeng; Yang, Guibiao; Ding, Jinzhi; Zhang, Dianye; Wang, Guanqin; Wang, Jun; Yu, Jianchun; Liu, Futing; Yang, Yuanhe

2017-11-01

Large uncertainties exist in carbon (C)-climate feedback in permafrost regions, partly due to an insufficient understanding of warming effects on nutrient availabilities and their subsequent impacts on vegetation C sequestration. Although a warming climate may promote a substantial release of soil C to the atmosphere, a warming-induced increase in soil nutrient availability may enhance plant productivity, thus offsetting C loss from microbial respiration. Here, we present evidence that the positive temperature effect on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes may be weakened by reduced plant nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) concentrations in a Tibetan permafrost ecosystem. Although experimental warming initially enhanced ecosystem CO 2 uptake, the increased rate disappeared after the period of peak plant growth during the early growing season, even though soil moisture was not a limiting factor in this swamp meadow ecosystem. We observed that warming did not significantly affect soil extractable N or P during the period of peak growth, but decreased both N and P concentrations in the leaves of dominant plant species, likely caused by accelerated plant senescence in the warmed plots. The attenuated warming effect on CO 2 assimilation during the late growing season was associated with lowered leaf N and P concentrations. These findings suggest that warming-mediated nutrient changes may not always benefit ecosystem C uptake in permafrost regions, making our ability to predict the C balance in these warming-sensitive ecosystems more challenging than previously thought. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Sex hormones adjust "sex-specific" reactive and diurnal cortisol profiles.

PubMed

Juster, Robert-Paul; Raymond, Catherine; Desrochers, Alexandra Bisson; Bourdon, Olivier; Durand, Nadia; Wan, Nathalie; Pruessner, Jens C; Lupien, Sonia J

2016-01-01

Sex differences in stress hormone functions are presumed to depend on sex hormones. And yet, surprisingly few psychoneuroendocrine studies actually assess within-sex variations of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone when investigating sex-specific activities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In this methodological study of 204 healthy adults (60 men), we assessed whether cortisol profiles would differ between the sexes when unadjusted or adjusted for basal sex hormones among both sexes. Reactive cortisol was sampled using 6 saliva samples measured every 10-min as part of the Trier Social Stress Test that generally activates cortisol among men more than women. Diurnal cortisol was sampled over two days at (1) awakening, (2) 30-min thereafter, (3) 1400 h, (4) 1600 h, and (5) bedtime. Sex hormones were collected at baseline before the psychosocial stressor and on two occasions during diurnal cortisol assessment. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance controlled for key covariates in analyses unadjusted or adjusted for sex hormones. Results revealed that men had higher reactive cortisol than women in unadjusted analysis, but this sex difference was attenuated when adjusting for sex hormones. While diurnal cortisol showed no sex differences in unadjusted models, adjusting for sex hormones revealed that women have higher morning cortisol. Correlations using area under the curve formulae revealed intriguing sex-specific associations with progesterone in men and testosterone in women that we propose have implications for social and affective neuroscience. In summary, our results reveal that adjusting for sex hormones alters "sex-specific" reactive and diurnal cortisol profiles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Status Affects the Degree of Sex Difference in the Songbird Brain

PubMed Central

Voigt, Cornelia; Gahr, Manfred

2011-01-01

It is thought that neural sex differences are functionally related to sex differences in the behaviour of vertebrates. A prominent example is the song control system of songbirds. Inter-specific comparisons have led to the hypothesis that sex differences in song nuclei size correlate with sex differences in song behaviour. However, only few species with similar song behaviour in both sexes have been investigated and not all data fit the hypothesis. We investigated the proposed structure – function relationship in a cooperatively breeding and duetting songbird, the white-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali). This species lives in groups of 2–10 individuals, with a dominant breeding pair and male and female subordinates. While all male and female group members sing duet and chorus song, a male, once it has reached the dominant position in the group, sings an additional type of song that comprises a distinct and large syllable repertoire. Here we show for both types of male – female comparisons a male-biased sex difference in neuroanatomy of areas of the song production pathway (HVC and RA) that does not correlate with the observed polymorphism in song behaviour. In contrast, in situ hybridisation of mRNA of selected genes expressed in the song nucleus HVC reveals a gene expression pattern that is either similar between sexes in female – subordinate male comparisons or female-biased in female – dominant male comparisons. Thus, the polymorphic gene expression pattern would fit the sex- and status-related song behaviour. However, this implies that once a male has become dominant it produces the duetting song with a different neural phenotype than subordinate males. PMID:21687671

Earlier flowering did not alter pollen limitation in an early flowering shrub under short-term experimental warming.

PubMed

Pan, Cheng-Chen; Feng, Qi; Zhao, Ha-Lin; Liu, Lin-De; Li, Yu-Lin; Li, Yu-Qiang; Zhang, Tong-Hui; Yu, Xiao-Ya

2017-06-05

In animal pollinated plants, phenological shifts caused by climate change may have important ecological consequences. However, no empirical evidence exists at present on the consequences that flowering phenology shifts have on the strength of pollen limitation under experimental warming. Here, we investigated the effects of experimental warming on flowering phenology, flower density, reproductive success, and pollen limitation intensity in Caragana microphylla and evaluated whether earlier flowering phenology affected plant reproduction and the level of pollen limitation using warmed and unwarmed open top chambers in the Horqin Sandy Land of Inner Mongolia, northern China. The results of this study indicated that artificial warming markedly advanced flower phenology rather than extending the duration of the flowering. Additionally, warming was found to significantly reduce flower density which led to seed production reduction, since there were insignificant effects observed on fruit set and seed number per fruit. Experimental floral manipulations showed that warming did not affect pollen limitation. These results revealed the negative effects of advanced phenology induced by warming on flower density and reproductive output, as well as the neutral effects on reproductive success and pollen limitation intensity of long surviving plants.

[Treatment of patients with neuromuscular disease in a warm climate].

PubMed

Dahl, Arve; Skjeldal, Ola H; Simensen, Andreas; Dalen, Håkon E; Bråthen, Tone; Ahlvin, Petra; Svendsby, Ellen Kathrine; Sveinall, Anne; Fredriksen, Per Morten

2004-07-01

Several patient groups request treatment in a warm climate, in spite of the fact that the effects of such treatment are undocumented. 47 children and 40 adults with neuromuscular diseases were recruited, stratified according to sex, use or non-use of electric wheelchair, primary myopathy or hereditary neuropathy, and randomised into two adult and two children groups. The patients were treated in a rehabilitation centre, either on Lanzarote or in Norway. All patients were monitored with physical tests and questionnaires at the start of the study, at the end of the treatment period, after three months (all groups) and after six months (adults only). No significant differences in effect between the groups were found. In the warm climate, the adult patient group showed a statistically significant improvement regarding pain, quality of life, depression, and results of physical tests at the end of treatment. After three months, the improvement in physical tests was still present. Among adult patients treated in Norway, improvement in physical tests was statistically significant after three months, but not at the end of the treatment period. This study did not show a statistically significant difference between patients with various neuromuscular diseases treated in a warm climate compared to similar patients treated in Norway.

Ecosystem responses to warming and watering in typical and desert steppes.

PubMed

Xu, Zhenzhu; Hou, Yanhui; Zhang, Lihua; Liu, Tao; Zhou, Guangsheng

2016-10-10

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a typical steppe during a drier year and in a desert steppe over two years, whereas warming manipulation had no significant effect. The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and the soil respiration (SR) were increased by watering in both steppes, but the SR was significantly decreased by warming in the desert steppe only. The inorganic nitrogen components varied irregularly, with generally lower levels in the desert steppe. The belowground traits of soil total organic carbon (TOC) and the MBC were more closely associated with the ANPP in the desert than in the typical steppes. The results showed that the desert steppe with lower productivity may respond strongly to precipitation changes, particularly with warming, highlighting the positive effect of adding water with warming. Our study implies that the habitat- and year-specific responses to warming and watering should be considered when predicting an ecosystem's functional responses under climate change scenarios.

Ecosystem responses to warming and watering in typical and desert steppes

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhenzhu; Hou, Yanhui; Zhang, Lihua; Liu, Tao; Zhou, Guangsheng

2016-01-01

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a typical steppe during a drier year and in a desert steppe over two years, whereas warming manipulation had no significant effect. The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and the soil respiration (SR) were increased by watering in both steppes, but the SR was significantly decreased by warming in the desert steppe only. The inorganic nitrogen components varied irregularly, with generally lower levels in the desert steppe. The belowground traits of soil total organic carbon (TOC) and the MBC were more closely associated with the ANPP in the desert than in the typical steppes. The results showed that the desert steppe with lower productivity may respond strongly to precipitation changes, particularly with warming, highlighting the positive effect of adding water with warming. Our study implies that the habitat- and year-specific responses to warming and watering should be considered when predicting an ecosystem’s functional responses under climate change scenarios. PMID:27721480

Ecosystem responses to warming and watering in typical and desert steppes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhenzhu; Hou, Yanhui; Zhang, Lihua; Liu, Tao; Zhou, Guangsheng

2016-10-01

Global warming is projected to continue, leading to intense fluctuations in precipitation and heat waves and thereby affecting the productivity and the relevant biological processes of grassland ecosystems. Here, we determined the functional responses to warming and altered precipitation in both typical and desert steppes. The results showed that watering markedly increased the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a typical steppe during a drier year and in a desert steppe over two years, whereas warming manipulation had no significant effect. The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and the soil respiration (SR) were increased by watering in both steppes, but the SR was significantly decreased by warming in the desert steppe only. The inorganic nitrogen components varied irregularly, with generally lower levels in the desert steppe. The belowground traits of soil total organic carbon (TOC) and the MBC were more closely associated with the ANPP in the desert than in the typical steppes. The results showed that the desert steppe with lower productivity may respond strongly to precipitation changes, particularly with warming, highlighting the positive effect of adding water with warming. Our study implies that the habitat- and year-specific responses to warming and watering should be considered when predicting an ecosystem’s functional responses under climate change scenarios.

A comprehensive review of HIV/STI prevention and sexual and reproductive health services among sex Workers in Conflict-Affected Settings: call for an evidence- and rights-based approach in the humanitarian response.

PubMed

Ferguson, Alyssa; Shannon, Kate; Butler, Jennifer; Goldenberg, Shira M

2017-01-01

While the conditions in emergency humanitarian and conflict-affected settings often result in significant sex work economies, there is limited information on the social and structural conditions of sex work in these settings, and the impacts on HIV/STI prevention and access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for sex workers. Our objective was to comprehensively review existing evidence on HIV/STI prevention and access to SRH services for sex workers in conflict-affected settings globally. We conducted a comprehensive review of all peer review (both epidemiological and qualitative) and grey literature published in the last 15 years (2000-2015), focusing on 1) HIV/STI vulnerability or prevention, and/or 2) access to SRH services for sex workers in conflict-affected settings. Five databases were searched, using combinations of sex work, conflict/mobility, HIV/STI, and SRH service terms. Relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature were also hand-searched, and key papers were cross-referenced for additional material. Five hundred fifty one records were screened and 416 records reviewed. Of 33 records describing HIV/STI prevention and/or access to SRH services among sex workers in conflict-affected settings, 24 were from sub-Saharan Africa; 18 studies described the results of primary research (13 quantitative, 3 qualitative, 2 mixed-methods) and 15 were non-primary research (e.g., commentaries, policy reports, programmatic manuals). Available evidence indicated that within conflict-affected settings, SWs' capacity to engage in HIV/STI prevention and access SRH services is severely undermined by social and structural determinants including widespread violence and human rights violations, the collapse of livelihoods and traditional social structures, high levels of displacement, and difficulties accessing already scant health services due to stigma, discrimination and criminalization. This review identified significant gaps in HIV/STI and SRH research, policy

Why sex hormones matter for neuroscience: A very short review on sex, sex hormones, and functional brain asymmetries.

PubMed

Hausmann, Markus

2017-01-02

Biological sex and sex hormones are known to affect functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs). Men are generally more lateralized than women. The effect size of this sex difference is small but robust. Some of the inconsistencies in the literature may be explained by sex-related hormonal differences. Most studies focusing on neuromodulatory properties of sex hormones on FCAs have investigated women during the menstrual cycle. Although contradictions exist, these studies have typically shown that levels of estradiol and/or progesterone correlate with the degree of FCAs, suggesting that sex differences in FCAs partially depend on hormonal state and day of testing. The results indicate that FCAs are not fixed but are hormone dependent, and as such they can dynamically change within relatively short periods throughout life. Many issues raised in this Mini-Review refer not only to FCAs but also to other aspects of functional brain organization, such as functional connectivity within and between the cerebral hemispheres. Our understanding of sex differences in brain and behavior as well as their clinical relevance will improve significantly if more studies routinely take sex and sex hormones into account. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Autonomic nervous system reactivity within the valence-arousal affective space: Modulation by sex and age.

PubMed

Gomez, Patrick; von Gunten, Armin; Danuser, Brigitta

2016-11-01

In the present study, we examined how sex and age shape cardiovascular, electrodermal, and pupillary reactivity to picture series within the valence-arousal affective space in a sample of 176 healthy younger, middle-aged, and older men and women. Across participants, heart rate (HR) decelerated with increasing self-reported unpleasantness, whereas skin conductance level (SCL) and pupil size (PS) increased with increasing self-rated arousal. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure increased with increasing self-rated arousal when valence was pleasant but much less when valence was unpleasant. Compared to women, men exhibited a stronger correlation between valence and HR and an SBP response characterized by larger increases for pleasant high-arousal states and lower change scores for unpleasant low- and high-arousal and pleasant low-arousal states. Men's largest SCL change scores were for pleasant high-arousal states, whereas women's largest SCL change scores were for unpleasant high-arousal states. The arousal-PS relationship was stronger among women, in particular for unpleasant series. From younger to older age, there were decreases in the strength of the valence-HR, arousal-SCL, and arousal-PS relationships. Older adults had larger overall increases in SBP and DBP than younger adults, but the relationships with self-reported valence and arousal were not age dependent. We discuss how the observed sex and age effects may reflect sex and age differences in emotional processing and in basic autonomic nervous system functioning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global warming and allergy in Asia Minor.

PubMed

Bajin, Munir Demir; Cingi, Cemal; Oghan, Fatih; Gurbuz, Melek Kezban

2013-01-01

The earth is warming, and it is warming quickly. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that global warming is correlated with the frequency of pollen-induced respiratory allergy and allergic diseases. There is a body of evidence suggesting that the prevalence of allergic diseases induced by pollens is increasing in developed countries, a trend that is also evident in the Mediterranean area. Because of its mild winters and sunny days with dry summers, the Mediterranean area is different from the areas of central and northern Europe. Classical examples of allergenic pollen-producing plants of the Mediterranean climate include Parietaria, Olea and Cupressaceae. Asia Minor is a Mediterranean region that connects Asia and Europe, and it includes considerable coastal areas. Gramineae pollens are the major cause of seasonal allergic rhinitis in Asia Minor, affecting 1.3-6.4 % of the population, in accordance with other European regions. This article emphasizes the importance of global climate change and anticipated increases in the prevalence and severity of allergic disease in Asia Minor, mediated through worsening air pollution and altered local and regional pollen production, from an otolaryngologic perspective.

Factors Affecting Career Decision-Making: Further Validation of the O'Neil Career-Sex Role Model and the Career Factor Checklist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meinecke, Christine; O'Neil, James M.

Many correlates of vocational choice have been suggested by career development theorists. A career decision-making model developed by O'Neil, Meeker, and Borgers suggests six factors (individual, societal, familial, socioeconomic, situational, psychosocial-emotional) that affect both sex role socialization and career decision-making. The validity…

Trends in global warming and evolution of nucleoproteins from influenza A viruses since 1918.

PubMed

Yan, S; Wu, G

2010-12-01

Global warming affects not only the environment where we live, but also all living species to different degree, including influenza A virus. We recently conducted several studies on the possible impact of global warming on the protein families of influenza A virus. More studies are needed in order to have a full picture of the impact of global warming on living organisms, especially its effect on viruses. In this study, we correlate trends in global warming with evolution of the nucleoprotein from influenza A virus and then analyse the trends with respect to northern/southern hemispheres, virus subtypes and sampling species. The results suggest that global warming may have an impact on the evolution of the nucleoprotein from influenza A virus. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Sex Roles and Yielded/Expressed Self-Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganong, Lawrence H.; Coleman, Marilyn

1987-01-01

Results of a study of the impact of sex and sex role orientation on reported self-control behaviors showed that sex did not affect self-control or satisfaction with self-control, but sex role orientation did. Androgynous persons reported using more expressed self-control than others. (PS)

Contact networks structured by sex underpin sex-specific epidemiology of infection.

PubMed

Silk, Matthew J; Weber, Nicola L; Steward, Lucy C; Hodgson, David J; Boots, Mike; Croft, Darren P; Delahay, Richard J; McDonald, Robbie A

2018-02-01

Contact networks are fundamental to the transmission of infection and host sex often affects the acquisition and progression of infection. However, the epidemiological impacts of sex-related variation in animal contact networks have rarely been investigated. We test the hypothesis that sex-biases in infection are related to variation in multilayer contact networks structured by sex in a population of European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis. Our key results are that male-male and between-sex networks are structured at broader spatial scales than female-female networks and that in male-male and between-sex contact networks, but not female-female networks, there is a significant relationship between infection and contacts with individuals in other groups. These sex differences in social behaviour may underpin male-biased acquisition of infection and may result in males being responsible for more between-group transmission. This highlights the importance of sex-related variation in host behaviour when managing animal diseases. © 2017 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

New climatic targets against global warming: will the maximum 2 °C temperature rise affect estuarine benthic communities?

PubMed

Crespo, Daniel; Grilo, Tiago Fernandes; Baptista, Joana; Coelho, João Pedro; Lillebø, Ana Isabel; Cássio, Fernanda; Fernandes, Isabel; Pascoal, Cláudia; Pardal, Miguel Ângelo; Dolbeth, Marina

2017-06-20

The Paris Agreement signed by 195 countries in 2015 sets out a global action plan to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to remain below 2 °C. Under that premise, in situ experiments were run to test the effects of 2 °C temperature increase on the benthic communities in a seagrass bed and adjacent bare sediment, from a temperate European estuary. Temperature was artificially increased in situ and diversity and ecosystem functioning components measured after 10 and 30 days. Despite some warmness effects on the analysed components, significant impacts were not verified on macro and microfauna structure, bioturbation or in the fluxes of nutrients. The effect of site/habitat seemed more important than the effects of the warmness, with the seagrass habitat providing more homogenous results and being less impacted by warmness than the adjacent bare sediment. The results reinforce that most ecological responses to global changes are context dependent and that ecosystem stability depends not only on biological diversity but also on the availability of different habitats and niches, highlighting the role of coastal wetlands. In the context of the Paris Agreement it seems that estuarine benthic ecosystems will be able to cope if global warming remains below 2 °C.

Local warming: daily temperature change influences belief in global warming.

PubMed

Li, Ye; Johnson, Eric J; Zaval, Lisa

2011-04-01

Although people are quite aware of global warming, their beliefs about it may be malleable; specifically, their beliefs may be constructed in response to questions about global warming. Beliefs may reflect irrelevant but salient information, such as the current day's temperature. This replacement of a more complex, less easily accessed judgment with a simple, more accessible one is known as attribute substitution. In three studies, we asked residents of the United States and Australia to report their opinions about global warming and whether the temperature on the day of the study was warmer or cooler than usual. Respondents who thought that day was warmer than usual believed more in and had greater concern about global warming than did respondents who thought that day was colder than usual. They also donated more money to a global-warming charity if they thought that day seemed warmer than usual. We used instrumental variable regression to rule out some alternative explanations.

The effects of the Indo-Pacific warm pool on the stratosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xin; Li, Jianping; Xie, Fei; Ding, Ruiqiang; Li, Yanjie; Zhao, Sen; Zhang, Jiankai; Li, Yang

2017-03-01

Sea surface temperature (SST) in the Indo-Pacific warm pool (IPWP) plays a key role in influencing East Asian climate, and even affects global-scale climate change. This study defines IPWP Niño and IPWP Niña events to represent the warm and cold phases of IPWP SST anomalies, respectively, and investigates the effects of these events on stratospheric circulation and temperature. Results from simulations forced by observed SST anomalies during IPWP Niño and Niña events show that the tropical lower stratosphere tends to cool during IPWP Niño events and warm during IPWP Niña events. The responses of the northern and southern polar vortices to IPWP Niño events are fairly symmetric, as both vortices are significantly warmed and weakened. However, the responses of the two polar vortices to IPWP Niña events are of opposite sign: the northern polar vortex is warmed and weakened, but the southern polar vortex is cooled and strengthened. These features are further confirmed by composite analysis using reanalysis data. A possible dynamical mechanism connecting IPWP SST to the stratosphere is suggested, in which IPWP Niño and Niña events excite teleconnections, one similar to the Pacific-North America pattern in the Northern Hemisphere and a Rossby wave train in the Southern Hemisphere, which project onto the climatological wave in the mid-high latitudes, intensifying the upward propagation of planetary waves into the stratosphere and, in turn, affecting the polar vortex.

A Pilot Project to Identify Sex Role Factors Affecting the Employment of Vocational Students in Selected Occupational Areas. Final Report, February 1, 1980-June 30, 1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wichowski, Chester P.; DuMond, Doreen C.

A pilot study was conducted to identify sex role factors which could affect the search for employment and the adjustment to employment for vocational graduates in selected occupational areas. Target employment areas were identified through a review of occupations with a disproportionate composition by one sex or the other. These included…

Litters of photosynthetically divergent grasses exhibit differential metabolic responses to warming and elevated CO2

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Climatic stress induced by warming can alter plant metabolism, leading to changes in litter chemistry that can affect soil carbon cycling. Elevated CO2 could partly mitigate warming induced moisture stress, and the degree of this mitigation may vary with plant functional types. We hypothesized that,...

The effects of warmed intravenous fluids, combined warming (warmed intravenous fluids with humid-warm oxygen), and pethidine on the severity of shivering in general anesthesia patients in the recovery room

PubMed Central

Nasiri, Ahmad; Akbari, Ayob; Sharifzade, GholamReza; Derakhshan, Pooya

2015-01-01

Background: Shivering is a common complication of general and epidural anesthesia. Warming methods and many drugs are used for control of shivering in the recovery room. The present study is a randomized clinical trial aimed to investigate the effects of two interventions in comparison with pethidine which is the routine treatment on shivering in patients undergoing abdominal surgery with general anesthesia. Materials and Methods: Eighty-seven patients undergoing abdominal surgery by general anesthesia were randomly assigned to three groups (two intervention groups in comparison with pethidine as routine). Patients in warmed intravenous fluids group received pre-warmed Ringer serum (38°C), patients in combined warming group received pre-warmed Ringer serum (38°C) accompanied by humid-warm oxygen, and patients in pethidine group received intravenous pethidine routinely. The elapsed time of shivering and some hemodynamic parameters of the participants were assessed for 20 min postoperatively in the recovery room. Then the collected data were analyzed by software SPSS (v. 16) with the significance level being P < 0.05. Results: The mean of elapsed time in the warmed intravenous serum group, the combined warming group, and the pethidine group were 7 (1.5) min, 6 (1.5) min, and 2.8 (0.7) min, respectively, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The body temperatures in both combined warming and pethidine groups were increased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Combined warming can be effective in controlling postoperative shivering and body temperature increase. PMID:26793258

Mad men, women and steroid cocktails: A review of the impact of sex and other factors on anabolic androgenic steroids effects on affective behaviors

PubMed Central

Henderson, Leslie P.

2016-01-01

Rationale For several decades, elite athletes and a growing number of recreational consumers have used anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) as performance enhancing drugs. Despite mounting evidence that illicit use of these synthetic steroids has detrimental effects on affective states, information available on sex-specific actions of these drugs is lacking. Objectives The focus of this review is to assess information to date on the importance of sex and its interaction with other environmental factors on affective behaviors, with an emphasis on data derived from non-human studies. Methods The PubMed database was searched for relevant studies in both sexes. Results Studies examining AAS use in females are limited, reflecting the lower prevalence of use in this sex. Data, however, indicate significant sex-specific differences in AAS effects on anxiety-like and aggressive behaviors, interactions with other drugs of abuse, and the interplay of AAS with other environmental factors such as diet and exercise. Conclusions Current methods for assessing AAS use have limitations that suggest biases of both under- and over-reporting, which may be amplified for females who are poorly represented in self-report studies of human subjects and are rarely used in animal studies. Data from animal literature suggest that there are significant sex-specific differences in the impact of AAS on aggression, anxiety, and concomitant use of other abused substances. These results have relevance for human females who take these drugs as performance enhancing substances and for transgender XX individuals who may illicitly self-administer AAS as they transition to a male gender identity. PMID:26758282

Mad men, women and steroid cocktails: a review of the impact of sex and other factors on anabolic androgenic steroids effects on affective behaviors.

PubMed

Onakomaiya, Marie M; Henderson, Leslie P

2016-02-01

For several decades, elite athletes and a growing number of recreational consumers have used anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) as performance enhancing drugs. Despite mounting evidence that illicit use of these synthetic steroids has detrimental effects on affective states, information available on sex-specific actions of these drugs is lacking. The focus of this review is to assess information to date on the importance of sex and its interaction with other environmental factors on affective behaviors, with an emphasis on data derived from non-human studies. The PubMed database was searched for relevant studies in both sexes. Studies examining AAS use in females are limited, reflecting the lower prevalence of use in this sex. Data, however, indicate significant sex-specific differences in AAS effects on anxiety-like and aggressive behaviors, interactions with other drugs of abuse, and the interplay of AAS with other environmental factors such as diet and exercise. Current methods for assessing AAS use have limitations that suggest biases of both under- and over-reporting, which may be amplified for females who are poorly represented in self-report studies of human subjects and are rarely used in animal studies. Data from animal literature suggest that there are significant sex-specific differences in the impact of AAS on aggression, anxiety, and concomitant use of other abused substances. These results have relevance for human females who take these drugs as performance-enhancing substances and for transgender XX individuals who may illicitly self-administer AAS as they transition to a male gender identity.

Same sex marriage and the perceived assault on opposite sex marriage.

PubMed

Dinno, Alexis; Whitney, Chelsea

2013-01-01

Marriage benefits both individuals and societies, and is a fundamental determinant of health. Until recently same sex couples have been excluded from legally recognized marriage in the United States. Recent debate around legalization of same sex marriage has highlighted for anti-same sex marriage advocates and policy makers a concern that allowing same sex couples to marry will lead to a decrease in opposite sex marriages. Our objective is to model state trends in opposite sex marriage rates by implementation of same sex marriages and other same sex unions. Marriage data were obtained for all fifty states plus the District of Columbia from 1989 through 2009. As these marriage rates are non-stationary, a generalized error correction model was used to estimate long run and short run effects of same sex marriages and strong and weak same sex unions on rates of opposite sex marriage. We found that there were no significant long-run or short run effects of same sex marriages or of strong or weak same sex unions on rates of opposite sex marriage. A deleterious effect on rates of opposite sex marriage has been argued to be a motivating factor for both the withholding and the elimination of existing rights of same sex couples to marry by policy makers-including presiding justices of current litigation over the rights of same sex couples to legally marry. Such claims do not appear credible in the face of the existing evidence, and we conclude that rates of opposite sex marriages are not affected by legalization of same sex civil unions or same sex marriages.

Same Sex Marriage and the Perceived Assault on Opposite Sex Marriage

PubMed Central

Dinno, Alexis; Whitney, Chelsea

2013-01-01

Background Marriage benefits both individuals and societies, and is a fundamental determinant of health. Until recently same sex couples have been excluded from legally recognized marriage in the United States. Recent debate around legalization of same sex marriage has highlighted for anti-same sex marriage advocates and policy makers a concern that allowing same sex couples to marry will lead to a decrease in opposite sex marriages. Our objective is to model state trends in opposite sex marriage rates by implementation of same sex marriages and other same sex unions. Methods and Findings Marriage data were obtained for all fifty states plus the District of Columbia from 1989 through 2009. As these marriage rates are non-stationary, a generalized error correction model was used to estimate long run and short run effects of same sex marriages and strong and weak same sex unions on rates of opposite sex marriage. We found that there were no significant long-run or short run effects of same sex marriages or of strong or weak same sex unions on rates of opposite sex marriage. Conclusion A deleterious effect on rates of opposite sex marriage has been argued to be a motivating factor for both the withholding and the elimination of existing rights of same sex couples to marry by policy makers–including presiding justices of current litigation over the rights of same sex couples to legally marry. Such claims do not appear credible in the face of the existing evidence, and we conclude that rates of opposite sex marriages are not affected by legalization of same sex civil unions or same sex marriages. PMID:23776536

Range-expanding pests and pathogens in a warming world.

PubMed

Bebber, Daniel Patrick

2015-01-01

Crop pests and pathogens (CPPs) present a growing threat to food security and ecosystem management. The interactions between plants and their natural enemies are influenced by environmental conditions and thus global warming and climate change could affect CPP ranges and impact. Observations of changing CPP distributions over the twentieth century suggest that growing agricultural production and trade have been most important in disseminating CPPs, but there is some evidence for a latitudinal bias in range shifts that indicates a global warming signal. Species distribution models using climatic variables as drivers suggest that ranges will shift latitudinally in the future. The rapid spread of the Colorado potato beetle across Eurasia illustrates the importance of evolutionary adaptation, host distribution, and migration patterns in affecting the predictions of climate-based species distribution models. Understanding species range shifts in the framework of ecological niche theory may help to direct future research needs.

Big wigs and small wigs: Time, sex, size and shelter affect cohabitation in the maritime earwig (Anisolabis maritima).

PubMed

Hack, Nicole L; Iyengar, Vikram K

2017-01-01

Animal aggregations can occur for a variety of abiotic factors, such as resource limitation, or biotic factors, including group foraging and protection from predators. In our study, we examined whether time, sex, body size or shelter availability affected aggregation behavior of the maritime earwig, Anisolabis maritima (Order Dermaptera), an insect found globally at high densities under driftwood. Specifically, we monitored the distribution of two individuals in arenas with either two shelters (no habitat limitation) or one shelter (habitat limitation) to determine their propensity for cohabitation at times of peak activity and times of quiescence. Females, whose high levels of aggression are often associated with maternal care, were particularly averse to cohabitation, whereas males were generally more tolerant of other earwigs. Females initially preferred not to cohabitate when placed with a male, but were more tolerant of cohabitation later, regardless of the number of shelters. Same-sex pairs, on the other hand, were less likely to cohabitate with only one shelter present, but males were again more tolerant of conspecifics than females regardless of habitat limitation. When competition for one shelter did not lead to cohabitation, the lone occupant was more likely to be the larger individual in same-sex trials and females in mixed-sex trials. Understanding the tolerance for close proximity under these varying conditions may provide insight into aggregative behavior and spatial distribution patterns in the maritime earwig.

The seasonal timing of warming that controls onset of the growing season.

PubMed

Clark, James S; Melillo, Jerry; Mohan, Jacqueline; Salk, Carl

2014-04-01

Forecasting how global warming will affect onset of the growing season is essential for predicting terrestrial productivity, but suffers from conflicting evidence. We show that accurate estimates require ways to connect discrete observations of changing tree status (e.g., pre- vs. post budbreak) with continuous responses to fluctuating temperatures. By coherently synthesizing discrete observations with continuous responses to temperature variation, we accurately quantify how increasing temperature variation accelerates onset of growth. Application to warming experiments at two latitudes demonstrates that maximum responses to warming are concentrated in late winter, weeks ahead of the main budbreak period. Given that warming will not occur uniformly over the year, knowledge of when temperature variation has the most impact can guide prediction. Responses are large and heterogeneous, yet predictable. The approach has immediate application to forecasting effects of warming on growing season length, requiring only information that is readily available from weather stations and generated in climate models. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Female-Bias in a Long-Term Study of a Species with Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination: Monitoring Sex Ratios for Climate Change Research

PubMed Central

Braun McNeill, Joanne; Avens, Larisa; Goodman Hall, April; Goshe, Lisa R.; Harms, Craig A.; Owens, David W.

2016-01-01

Alterations have occurred and continue to manifest in the Earth’s biota as a result of climate change. Animals exhibiting temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), including sea turtles, are perhaps most vulnerable to a warming of the Earth as highly skewed sex ratios can result, potentially leading to population extinction resulting from decreased male recruitment. Recent studies have begun to quantify climate change impacts to sea turtle populations, especially in terms of predicting effects on hatchling sex ratios. However, given the inherent difficulty in studying sex ratios at this life stage, a more accurate assessment of changes in population sex ratios might be derived by evaluating the juvenile portion of foraging aggregations. We investigated the long-term trend in sex ratio of a juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle population inhabiting Pamlico and Core Sounds, North Carolina, USA. We used plasma testosterone reference ranges measured using radioimmunoassay (RIA) to assign sex for 959 turtles and confirmed sex assignment of a subset (N = 58) of the sampled turtles through laparoscopic examination of their gonads. Our results demonstrate that for this particular population of loggerheads, sex ratios (3Females:1Male) had not significantly changed over a 10 year period (1998–2007), nor showed any significant difference among 5-cm straight carapace length (SCL) size classes. Ultimately, these findings provide a basis for comparison with future sex ratios, and highlight the importance of establishing similar long-term studies monitoring secondary, rather than primary, sex ratios, so that needed mitigation measures to climate change impacts can be implemented. PMID:27579608

Female-Bias in a Long-Term Study of a Species with Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination: Monitoring Sex Ratios for Climate Change Research.

PubMed

Braun McNeill, Joanne; Avens, Larisa; Goodman Hall, April; Goshe, Lisa R; Harms, Craig A; Owens, David W

2016-01-01

Alterations have occurred and continue to manifest in the Earth's biota as a result of climate change. Animals exhibiting temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), including sea turtles, are perhaps most vulnerable to a warming of the Earth as highly skewed sex ratios can result, potentially leading to population extinction resulting from decreased male recruitment. Recent studies have begun to quantify climate change impacts to sea turtle populations, especially in terms of predicting effects on hatchling sex ratios. However, given the inherent difficulty in studying sex ratios at this life stage, a more accurate assessment of changes in population sex ratios might be derived by evaluating the juvenile portion of foraging aggregations. We investigated the long-term trend in sex ratio of a juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle population inhabiting Pamlico and Core Sounds, North Carolina, USA. We used plasma testosterone reference ranges measured using radioimmunoassay (RIA) to assign sex for 959 turtles and confirmed sex assignment of a subset (N = 58) of the sampled turtles through laparoscopic examination of their gonads. Our results demonstrate that for this particular population of loggerheads, sex ratios (3Females:1Male) had not significantly changed over a 10 year period (1998-2007), nor showed any significant difference among 5-cm straight carapace length (SCL) size classes. Ultimately, these findings provide a basis for comparison with future sex ratios, and highlight the importance of establishing similar long-term studies monitoring secondary, rather than primary, sex ratios, so that needed mitigation measures to climate change impacts can be implemented.

Simulated climate warming alters phenological synchrony between an outbreak insect herbivore and host trees.

PubMed

Schwartzberg, Ezra G; Jamieson, Mary A; Raffa, Kenneth F; Reich, Peter B; Montgomery, Rebecca A; Lindroth, Richard L

2014-07-01

As the world's climate warms, the phenologies of interacting organisms in seasonally cold environments may advance at differing rates, leading to alterations in phenological synchrony that can have important ecological consequences. For temperate and boreal species, the timing of early spring development plays a key role in plant-herbivore interactions and can influence insect performance, outbreak dynamics, and plant damage. We used a field-based, meso-scale free-air forest warming experiment (B4WarmED) to examine the effects of elevated temperature on the phenology and performance of forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) in relation to the phenology of two host trees, aspen (Populus tremuloides) and birch (Betula papyrifera). Results of our 2-year study demonstrated that spring phenology advanced for both insects and trees, with experimentally manipulated increases in temperature of 1.7 and 3.4 °C. However, tree phenology advanced more than insect phenology, resulting in altered phenological synchrony. Specifically, we observed a decrease in the time interval between herbivore egg hatch and budbreak of aspen in both years and birch in one year. Moreover, warming decreased larval development time from egg hatch to pupation, but did not affect pupal mass. Larvae developed more quickly on aspen than birch, but pupal mass was not affected by host species. Our study reveals that warming-induced phenological shifts can alter the timing of ecological interactions across trophic levels. These findings illustrate one mechanism by which climate warming could mediate insect herbivore outbreaks, and also highlights the importance of climate change effects on trophic interactions.

Effects of different re-warm up activities in football players' performance.

PubMed

Abade, Eduardo; Sampaio, Jaime; Gonçalves, Bruno; Baptista, Jorge; Alves, Alberto; Viana, João

2017-01-01

Warm up routines are commonly used to optimize football performance and prevent injuries. Yet, official pre-match protocols may require players to passively rest for approximately 10 to 15 minutes between the warm up and the beginning of the match. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of different re-warm up activities on the physical performance of football players. Twenty-Two Portuguese elite under-19 football players participated in the study conducted during the competitive season. Different re-warm up protocols were performed 6 minutes after the same standardized warm up in 4 consecutive days in a crossover controlled approach: without, eccentric, plyometric and repeated changes of direction. Vertical jump and Sprint performances were tested immediately after warm up and 12 minutes after warm up. Results showed that repeated changes of direction and plyometrics presented beneficial effects to jump and sprint. Different practical implications may be taken from the eccentric protocol since a vertical jump impairment was observed, suggesting a possibly harmful effect. The absence of re-warm up activities may be detrimental to players' physical performance. However, the inclusion of re-warm up prior to match is a complex issue, since the manipulation of volume, intensity and recovery may positively or negatively affect the subsequent performance. In fact, this exploratory study shows that eccentric exercise may be harmful for physical performance when performed prior a football match. However, plyometric and repeated changes of direction exercises seem to be simple, quick and efficient activities to attenuate losses in vertical jump and sprint capacity after warm up. Coaches should aim to develop individual optimal exercise modes in order to optimize physical performance after re warm activities.

Effects of Soil Warming and Nitrogen Addition on Soil Respiration in a New Zealand Tussock Grassland

PubMed Central

Graham, Scott L.; Hunt, John E.; Millard, Peter; McSeveny, Tony; Tylianakis, Jason M.; Whitehead, David

2014-01-01

Soil respiration (R S) represents a large terrestrial source of CO2 to the atmosphere. Global change drivers such as climate warming and nitrogen deposition are expected to alter the terrestrial carbon cycle with likely consequences for R S and its components, autotrophic (R A) and heterotrophic respiration (R H). Here we investigate the impacts of a 3°C soil warming treatment and a 50 kg ha−1 y−1 nitrogen addition treatment on R S, R H and their respective seasonal temperature responses in an experimental tussock grassland. Average respiration in untreated soils was 0.96±0.09 μmol m−2 s−1 over the course of the experiment. Soil warming and nitrogen addition increased R S by 41% and 12% respectively. These treatment effects were additive under combined warming and nitrogen addition. Warming increased R H by 37% while nitrogen addition had no effect. Warming and nitrogen addition affected the seasonal temperature response of R S by increasing the basal rate of respiration (R 10) by 14% and 20% respectively. There was no significant interaction between treatments for R 10. The treatments had no impact on activation energy (E 0). The seasonal temperature response of R H was not affected by either warming or nitrogen addition. These results suggest that the additional CO2 emissions from New Zealand tussock grassland soils as a result of warming-enhanced R S constitute a potential positive feedback to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. PMID:24621790

Who decides who has won the bet? Total and Anthropogenic Warming Indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haustein, K.; Allen, M. R.; Otto, F. E. L.; Schmidt, A.; Frame, D. J.; Forster, P.; Matthews, D.

2016-12-01

An extension of the idea of betting markets as a means of revealing opinions about future climate are climate policies indexed to geophysical indicators: for example, to ensure net zero global carbon dioxide emissions by the time anthropogenic warming reaches 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial, given about 1 degree of warming already, emissions must fall, on average, by 20% of their current value for every tenth of a degree of anthropogenic warming from now on. In principle, policies conditioned on some measure of attributable warming are robust to uncertainty in the global climate response: the risk of a higher or lower response than expected is borne by those affected by climate change mitigation policy rather than those affected by climate change impacts, as is the case with emission targets for specific years based on "current understanding" of the response. To implement any indexed policy, or to agree payout terms for any bet on future climate, requires consensus on the definition of the index: how is it calculated, and who is responsible for releasing it? The global mean surface temperature of the current decade relative to pre-industrial may vary by 0.1 degree or more depending on precisely what is measured, what is defined as pre-industrial, and the treatment of regions with sparse data coverage in earlier years. Indices defined using different conventions, however, are all expected to evolve very similarly over the coming decades, so agreeing on a conservative, traceable index such as HadCRUT is more important than debating the "true" global temperature. A more important question is whether indexed policies and betting markets should focus on total warming, including natural and anthropogenic drivers and internal variability, or an Anthropogenic Warming Index (AWI) representing an unbiased estimate of warming attributable to human influence to date. We propose a simple AWI based solely on observed temperatures and global natural and anthropogenic forcing

Endurance of larch forest ecosystems in eastern Siberia under warming trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, H.; Iwahana, G.; Ohta, T.

2015-12-01

The larch (Larix spp.) forest in eastern Siberia is the world's largest coniferous forest. However, its existence depends on near-surface permafrost, which increases water availability for trees, and the boundary of the forest closely follows the permafrost zone. Therefore, the degradation of near-surface permafrost due to forecasted warming trends during the 21st century is expected to affect the larch forest in Siberia. However, predictions of how warming trends will affect this forest vary greatly, and many uncertainties remain about land-atmospheric interactions within the ecosystem. We developed an integrated land surface model to analyze how the Siberian larch forest will react to current warming trends. This model analyzed interactions between vegetation dynamics and thermo-hydrology and showed that, under climatic conditions predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 2.6 and 8.5, annual larch net primary production (NPP) increased about 2 and 3 times, respectively, by the end of 21st century compared with that in the 20th century. Soil water content during larch growing season showed no obvious trend, even after decay of surface permafrost and accompanying sub-surface runoff. A sensitivity test showed that the forecasted warming and pluvial trends extended leafing days of larches and reduced water shortages during the growing season, thereby increasing productivity.

Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harvell, C.D.; Mitchell, C.E.; Ward, J.R.; Altizer, S.; Dobson, A.P.; Ostfeld, R.S.; Samuel, M.D.

2002-01-01

Infectious diseases can cause rapid population declines or species extinctions. Many pathogens of terrestrial and marine taxa are sensitive to temperature, rainfall, and humidity, creating synergisms that could affect biodiversity. Climate warming can increase pathogen development and survival rates, disease transmission, and host susceptibility. Although most host-parasite systems are predicted to experience more frequent or severe disease impacts with warming, a subset of pathogens might decline with warming, releasing hosts from disease. Recently, changes in El Niño–Southern Oscillation events have had a detectable influence on marine and terrestrial pathogens, including coral diseases, oyster pathogens, crop pathogens, Rift Valley fever, and human cholera. To improve our ability to predict epidemics in wild populations, it will be necessary to separate the independent and interactive effects of multiple climate drivers on disease impact.

Climate Warming and Disease Risks for Terrestrial and Marine Biota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvell, C. Drew; Mitchell, Charles E.; Ward, Jessica R.; Altizer, Sonia; Dobson, Andrew P.; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Samuel, Michael D.

2002-06-01

Infectious diseases can cause rapid population declines or species extinctions. Many pathogens of terrestrial and marine taxa are sensitive to temperature, rainfall, and humidity, creating synergisms that could affect biodiversity. Climate warming can increase pathogen development and survival rates, disease transmission, and host susceptibility. Although most host-parasite systems are predicted to experience more frequent or severe disease impacts with warming, a subset of pathogens might decline with warming, releasing hosts from disease. Recently, changes in El Niño-Southern Oscillation events have had a detectable influence on marine and terrestrial pathogens, including coral diseases, oyster pathogens, crop pathogens, Rift Valley fever, and human cholera. To improve our ability to predict epidemics in wild populations, it will be necessary to separate the independent and interactive effects of multiple climate drivers on disease impact.

Changes in substrate availability drive carbon cycle response to chronic warming

DOE PAGES

Pold, Grace; Grandy, A. Stuart; Melillo, Jerry M.; ...

2017-03-22

As earth's climate continues to warm, it is important to understand how the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to retain carbon (C) will be affected. We combined measurements of microbial activity with the concentration, quality, and physical accessibility of soil carbon to microorganisms to evaluate the mechanisms by which more than two decades of experimental warming has altered the carbon cycle in a Northeast US temperate deciduous forest. We have found that concentrations of soil organic matter were reduced in both the organic and mineral soil horizons. The molecular composition of the carbon was altered in the mineral soil with significantmore » reductions in the relative abundance of polysaccharides and lignin, and an increase in lipids. Mineral-associated organic matter was preferentially depleted by warming in the top 3 cm of mineral soil. We found that potential extracellular enzyme activity per gram of soil at a common temperature was generally unaffected by warming treatment. However, by measuring potential extracellular enzyme activities between 4 and 30 °C, we found that activity per unit microbial biomass at in-situ temperatures was increased by warming. This was associated with a tendency for microbial biomass to decrease with warming. These results indicate that chronic warming has reduced soil organic matter concentrations, selecting for a smaller but more active microbial community increasingly dependent on mineral-associated organic matter.« less

Changes in substrate availability drive carbon cycle response to chronic warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pold, Grace; Grandy, A. Stuart; Melillo, Jerry M.

As earth's climate continues to warm, it is important to understand how the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to retain carbon (C) will be affected. We combined measurements of microbial activity with the concentration, quality, and physical accessibility of soil carbon to microorganisms to evaluate the mechanisms by which more than two decades of experimental warming has altered the carbon cycle in a Northeast US temperate deciduous forest. We have found that concentrations of soil organic matter were reduced in both the organic and mineral soil horizons. The molecular composition of the carbon was altered in the mineral soil with significantmore » reductions in the relative abundance of polysaccharides and lignin, and an increase in lipids. Mineral-associated organic matter was preferentially depleted by warming in the top 3 cm of mineral soil. We found that potential extracellular enzyme activity per gram of soil at a common temperature was generally unaffected by warming treatment. However, by measuring potential extracellular enzyme activities between 4 and 30 °C, we found that activity per unit microbial biomass at in-situ temperatures was increased by warming. This was associated with a tendency for microbial biomass to decrease with warming. These results indicate that chronic warming has reduced soil organic matter concentrations, selecting for a smaller but more active microbial community increasingly dependent on mineral-associated organic matter.« less

Sex and Gender: How Being Male or Female Can Affect Your Health

MedlinePlus

... Special Issues Subscribe May 2016 Print this issue Sex and Gender How Being Male or Female Can ... a major impact on your health. While both sexes are similar in many ways, researchers have found ...

Herbivores rescue diversity in warming tundra by modulating trait-dependent species losses and gains.

PubMed

Kaarlejärvi, Elina; Eskelinen, Anu; Olofsson, Johan

2017-09-04

Climate warming is altering the diversity of plant communities but it remains unknown which species will be lost or gained under warming, especially considering interactions with other factors such as herbivory and nutrient availability. Here, we experimentally test effects of warming, mammalian herbivory and fertilization on tundra species richness and investigate how plant functional traits affect losses and gains. We show that herbivory reverses the impact of warming on diversity: in the presence of herbivores warming increases species richness through higher species gains and lower losses, while in the absence of herbivores warming causes higher species losses and thus decreases species richness. Herbivores promote gains of short-statured species under warming, while herbivore removal and fertilization increase losses of short-statured and resource-conservative species through light limitation. Our results demonstrate that both rarity and traits forecast species losses and gains, and mammalian herbivores are essential for preventing trait-dependent extinctions and mitigate diversity loss under warming and eutrophication.Warming can reduce plant diversity but it is unclear which species will be lost or gained under interacting global changes. Kaarlejärvi et al. manipulate temperature, herbivory and nutrients in a tundra system and find that herbivory maintains diversity under warming by reducing species losses and promoting gains.

Accelerated increase in the Arctic tropospheric warming events surpassing stratospheric warming events during winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.-Y. Simon; Lin, Yen-Heng; Lee, Ming-Ying; Yoon, Jin-Ho; Meyer, Jonathan D. D.; Rasch, Philip J.

2017-04-01

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as documented in previous studies. The analysis indicates a recent and seemingly accelerated increase in the tropospheric warming type versus a flat trend in stratospheric warming type. The shorter duration and more rapid transition of tropospheric warming events may connect to the documented increase in midlatitude weather extremes, more so than the route of stratospheric warming type. Forced simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model suggest that the reduced Arctic sea ice contributes to the observed increase in the tropospheric warming events and associated remarkable strengthening of the cold Siberian high manifest in 2016.

Projected changes in diverse ecosystems from climate warming and biophysical drivers in northwest Alaska

Treesearch

Mark Torre Jorgenson; Bruce G. Marcot; David K. Swanson; Janet C. Jorgenson; Anthony R. DeGange

2015-01-01

Climate warming affects arctic and boreal ecosystems by interacting with numerous biophysical factors across heterogeneous landscapes. To assess potential effects of warming on diverse local-scale ecosystems (ecotypes) across northwest Alaska, we compiled data on historical areal changes over the last 25–50 years. Based on historical rates of change relative to time...

More losers than winners in a century of future Southern Ocean seafloor warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, Huw J.; Meijers, Andrew J. S.; Bracegirdle, Thomas J.

2017-10-01

The waters of the Southern Ocean are projected to warm over the coming century, with potential adverse consequences for native cold-adapted organisms. Warming waters have caused temperate marine species to shift their ranges poleward. The seafloor animals of the Southern Ocean shelf have long been isolated by the deep ocean surrounding Antarctica and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with little scope for southward migration. How these largely endemic species will react to future projected warming is unknown. By considering 963 invertebrate species, we show that within the current century, warming temperatures alone are unlikely to result in wholesale extinction or invasion affecting Antarctic seafloor life. However, 79% of Antarctica's endemic species do face a significant reduction in suitable temperature habitat (an average 12% reduction). Our findings highlight the species and regions most likely to respond significantly (negatively and positively) to warming and have important implications for future management of the region.

Liquid Film Migration in Warm Formed Aluminum Brazing Sheet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benoit, M. J.; Whitney, M. A.; Wells, M. A.; Jin, H.; Winkler, S.

2017-10-01

Warm forming has previously proven to be a promising manufacturing route to improve formability of Al brazing sheets used in automotive heat exchanger production; however, the impact of warm forming on subsequent brazing has not previously been studied. In particular, the interaction between liquid clad and solid core alloys during brazing through the process of liquid film migration (LFM) requires further understanding. Al brazing sheet comprised of an AA3003 core and AA4045 clad alloy, supplied in O and H24 tempers, was stretched between 0 and 12 pct strain, at room temperature and 523K (250 °C), to simulate warm forming. Brazeability was predicted through thermal and microstructure analysis. The rate of solid-liquid interactions was quantified using thermal analysis, while microstructure analysis was used to investigate the opposing processes of LFM and core alloy recrystallization during brazing. In general, liquid clad was consumed relatively rapidly and LFM occurred in forming conditions where the core alloy did not recrystallize during brazing. The results showed that warm forming could potentially impair brazeability of O temper sheet by extending the regime over which LFM occurs during brazing. No change in microstructure or thermal data was found for H24 sheet when the forming temperature was increased, and thus warm forming was not predicted to adversely affect the brazing performance of H24 sheet.

Functioning of a Shallow-Water Sediment System during Experimental Warming and Nutrient Enrichment

PubMed Central

Alsterberg, Christian; Sundbäck, Kristina; Hulth, Stefan

2012-01-01

Effects of warming and nutrient enrichment on intact unvegetated shallow-water sediment were investigated for 5 weeks in the autumn under simulated natural field conditions, with a main focus on trophic state and benthic nitrogen cycling. In a flow-through system, sediment was exposed to either seawater at ambient temperature or seawater heated 4°C above ambient, with either natural or nutrient enriched water. Sediment–water fluxes of oxygen and inorganic nutrients, nitrogen mineralization, and denitrification were measured. Warming resulted in an earlier shift to net heterotrophy due to increased community respiration; primary production was not affected by temperature but (slightly) by nutrient enrichment. The heterotrophic state was, however, not further strengthened by warming, but was rather weakened, probably because increased mineralization induced a shortage of labile organic matter. Climate-related warming of seawater during autumn could therefore, in contrast to previous predictions, induce shorter but more intensive heterotrophic periods in shallow-water sediments, followed by longer autotrophic periods. Increased nitrogen mineralization and subsequent effluxes of ammonium during warming suggested a preferential response of organisms driving nitrogen mineralization when compared to sinks of ammonium such as nitrification and algal assimilation. Warming and nutrient enrichment resulted in non-additive effects on nitrogen mineralization and denitrification (synergism), as well as on benthic fluxes of phosphate (antagonism). The mode of interaction appears to be related to the trophic level of the organisms that are the main drivers of the affected processes. Despite the weak response of benthic microalgae to both warming and nutrient enrichment, the assimilation of nitrogen by microalgae was similar in magnitude to rates of nitrogen mineralization. This implies a sustained filter function and retention capacity of nutrients by the sediment. PMID

Warm up I: potential mechanisms and the effects of passive warm up on exercise performance.

PubMed

Bishop, David

2003-01-01

Despite limited scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness, warm-up routines prior to exercise are a well-accepted practice. The majority of the effects of warm up have been attributed to temperature-related mechanisms (e.g. decreased stiffness, increased nerve-conduction rate, altered force-velocity relationship, increased anaerobic energy provision and increased thermoregulatory strain), although non-temperature-related mechanisms have also been proposed (e.g. effects of acidaemia, elevation of baseline oxygen consumption (.VO(2)) and increased postactivation potentiation). It has also been hypothesised that warm up may have a number of psychological effects (e.g. increased preparedness). Warm-up techniques can be broadly classified into two major categories: passive warm up or active warm up. Passive warm up involves raising muscle or core temperature by some external means, while active warm up utilises exercise. Passive heating allows one to obtain the increase in muscle or core temperature achieved by active warm up without depleting energy substrates. Passive warm up, although not practical for most athletes, also allows one to test the hypothesis that many of the performance changes associated with active warm up can be largely attributed to temperature-related mechanisms.

How does the dengue vector mosquito Aedes albopictus respond to global warming?

PubMed

Jia, Pengfei; Chen, Xiang; Chen, Jin; Lu, Liang; Liu, Qiyong; Tan, Xiaoyue

2017-03-11

Global warming has a marked influence on the life cycle of epidemic vectors as well as their interactions with human beings. The Aedes albopictus mosquito as the vector of dengue fever surged exponentially in the last decade, raising ecological and epistemological concerns of how climate change altered its growth rate and population dynamics. As the global warming pattern is considerably uneven across four seasons, with a confirmed stronger effect in winter, an emerging need arises as to exploring how the seasonal warming effects influence the annual development of Ae. albopictus. The model consolidates a 35-year climate dataset and designs fifteen warming patterns that increase the temperature of selected seasons. Based on a recently developed mechanistic population model of Ae. albopictus, the model simulates the thermal reaction of blood-fed adults by systematically increasing the temperature from 0.5 to 5 °C at an interval of 0.5 °C in each warming pattern. The results show the warming effects are different across seasons. The warming effects in spring and winter facilitate the development of the species by shortening the diapause period. The warming effect in summer is primarily negative by inhibiting mosquito development. The warming effect in autumn is considerably mixed. However, these warming effects cannot carry over to the following year, possibly due to the fact that under the extreme weather in winter the mosquito fully ceases from development and survives in terms of diapause eggs. As the historical pattern of global warming manifests seasonal fluctuations, this study provides corroborating and previously ignored evidence of how such seasonality affects the mosquito development. Understanding this short-term temperature-driven mechanism as one chain of the transmission events is critical to refining the thermal reaction norms of the epidemic vector under global warming as well as developing effective mosquito prevention and control strategies.

Temperature adaptation of bacterial communities in experimentally warmed forest soils.

PubMed

Rousk, Johannes; Frey, Serita D; Bååth, Erland

2012-10-01

A detailed understanding of the influence of temperature on soil microbial activity is critical to predict future atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and feedbacks to anthropogenic warming. We investigated soils exposed to 3-4 years of continuous 5 °C-warming in a field experiment in a temperate forest. We found that an index for the temperature adaptation of the microbial community, T min for bacterial growth, increased by 0.19 °C per 1 °C rise in temperature, showing a community shift towards one adapted to higher temperature with a higher temperature sensitivity (Q 10(5-15 °C) increased by 0.08 units per 1 °C). Using continuously measured temperature data from the field experiment we modelled in situ bacterial growth. Assuming that warming did not affect resource availability, bacterial growth was modelled to become 60% higher in warmed compared to the control plots, with the effect of temperature adaptation of the community only having a small effect on overall bacterial growth (<5%). However, 3 years of warming decreased bacterial growth, most likely due to substrate depletion because of the initially higher growth in warmed plots. When this was factored in, the result was similar rates of modelled in situ bacterial growth in warmed and control plots after 3 years, despite the temperature difference. We conclude that although temperature adaptation for bacterial growth to higher temperatures was detectable, its influence on annual bacterial growth was minor, and overshadowed by the direct temperature effect on growth rates. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Central and rear-edge populations can be equally vulnerable to warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Scott; Wernberg, Thomas; Arackal Joy, Bijo; de Bettignies, Thibaut; Campbell, Alexandra H.

2015-12-01

Rear (warm) edge populations are often considered more susceptible to warming than central (cool) populations because of the warmer ambient temperatures they experience, but this overlooks the potential for local variation in thermal tolerances. Here we provide conceptual models illustrating how sensitivity to warming is affected throughout a species' geographical range for locally adapted and non-adapted populations. We test these models for a range-contracting seaweed using observations from a marine heatwave and a 12-month experiment, translocating seaweeds among central, present and historic range edge locations. Growth, reproductive development and survivorship display different temperature thresholds among central and rear-edge populations, but share a 2.5 °C anomaly threshold. Range contraction, therefore, reflects variation in local anomalies rather than differences in absolute temperatures. This demonstrates that warming sensitivity can be similar throughout a species geographical range and highlights the importance of incorporating local adaptation and acclimatization into climate change vulnerability assessments.

Warming shifts 'worming': effects of experimental warming on invasive earthworms in northern North America.

PubMed

Eisenhauer, Nico; Stefanski, Artur; Fisichelli, Nicholas A; Rice, Karen; Rich, Roy; Reich, Peter B

2014-11-03

Climate change causes species range shifts and potentially alters biological invasions. The invasion of European earthworm species across northern North America has severe impacts on native ecosystems. Given the long and cold winters in that region that to date supposedly have slowed earthworm invasion, future warming is hypothesized to accelerate earthworm invasions into yet non-invaded regions. Alternatively, warming-induced reductions in soil water content (SWC) can also decrease earthworm performance. We tested these hypotheses in a field warming experiment at two sites in Minnesota, USA by sampling earthworms in closed and open canopy in three temperature treatments in 2010 and 2012. Structural equation modeling revealed that detrimental warming effects on earthworm densities and biomass could indeed be partly explained by warming-induced reductions in SWC. The direction of warming effects depended on the current average SWC: warming had neutral to positive effects at high SWC, whereas the opposite was true at low SWC. Our results suggest that warming limits the invasion of earthworms in northern North America by causing less favorable soil abiotic conditions, unless warming is accompanied by increased and temporally even distributions of rainfall sufficient to offset greater water losses from higher evapotranspiration.

Accelerated Increase in the Arctic Tropospheric Warming Events Surpassing StratosphericWarming Events During Winter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Simon; Lin, Yen-Heng; Lee, Ming-Ying

2017-04-22

In January 2016, a robust reversal of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) took place associated with a rapid tropospheric warming in the Arctic region; this was followed by the occurrence of a classic sudden stratospheric warming in March-April. The succession of these two distinct Arctic warming events provides a stimulating opportunity to examine their characteristics in terms of similarities and differences. Historical cases of these two types of Arctic warming were identified and validated based upon tropical linkages with the Madden-Julian Oscillation and El Niño as well as those documented in previous studies. Our results indicate a recent and accelerated increasemore » in the tropospheric warming type versus a flat trend in stratospheric warming type. Given that tropospheric warming events occur twice as fast than the stratospheric warming type, the noted increase in the former implies further intensification in midlatitude winter weather extremes similar to those experienced in early 2016. Forced simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model suggest that the reduced Arctic sea ice contributes to the observed increase in the tropospheric warming events and associated impact on the anomalously cold Siberia.« less

Lessons: Science: "Sinkholes." Students Observe What Happens When Ice-Cold Water Mingles with Warm Water.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanCleave, Janice

2000-01-01

This intermediate-level science activity has students observe the effect of ice-cold water mingling with warm water. Water's behavior and movement alters with shifts in temperature. Students must try to determine how temperature affects the movement of water. Necessary materials include a pencil, cup, glass jar, masking tape, warm water, ice…

[The innovation of warm disease theory in the Ming Dynasty before Wen yi lun On Pestilence].

PubMed

Zhang, Zhi-bin

2008-10-01

Some doctors of the Ming dynasty raised subversive doubts against the traditional viewpoints of "exogenous cold disease is warm-heat" before the emergence of Wen yi lun (On Pestilence), holding that warm-heat disease "is contracted in different seasons instead of being transformed from cold to warm and/or heat". The conception of the separation of warm-heat disease and exogenous cold disease had changed from obscure to clear. As the idea became clear, the recognition on the new affection of warm, heat, summer-heat, pestilent pathogen was formed, and the idea that the pathogens of summer-heat and warm entered the human body through the mouth and nostrils was put forward. The six-channel syndrome differentiation of warm disease and the five sweat-resolving methods in pestilence raised by the doctors of this period are the aspects of the differential diagnosis of syndrome and treatment in warm diseases, and deserve to be paid attention to.

Livers from fasted rats acquire resistance to warm and cold ischemia injury.

PubMed

Sumimoto, R; Southard, J H; Belzer, F O

1993-04-01

Successful liver transplantation is dependent upon many factors, one of which is the quality of the donor organ. Previous studies have suggested that the donor nutritional status may affect the outcome of liver transplantation and starvation, due to prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, may adversely affect the liver. In this study we have used the orthotopic rat liver transplant model to measure how fasting the donor affects the outcome of liver transplantation. Rat livers were preserved with UW solution either at 37 degrees C (warm ischemia for 45-60 min) or at 4 degrees C (cold ischemia for 30 or 44 hr). After preservation the livers were orthotopically transplanted and survival (for 7 days) was measured, as well as liver functions 6 hr after transplantation. After 45 min of warm ischemia 50% (3 of 6) animals survived when the liver was obtained from a fed donor about 80% (4 of 5) survived when the liver was obtained from a three-day-fasted donor. After 60 min warm ischemia no animal survived (0 of 8, fed group). However, if the donor was fasted for 3 days 89% (8 of 9) of the animals survived for 7 days. Livers cold-stored for 30 hr were 50% viable (3 of 6) and fasting for 1-3 days did not affect this outcome. However, if the donor was fasted for 4 days 100% (9 of 9) survival was obtained. After 44-hr preservation only 29% (2/7) of the recipients survived for 7 days. If the donor was fasted for 4 days, survival increased to 83% (5/6). Liver functions, bile production, and serum enzymes were better in livers from the fasted rats than from the fed rats. Fasting caused a 95% decrease in liver glycogen content. Even with this low concentration of glycogen, liver viability (animal survival) after warm or cold ischemia was not affected, and livers with a low glycogen content were fully viable. Thus liver glycogen does not appear to be important in liver preservation. This study shows that fasting the donor does not cause injury to the liver after warm or cold

Affective differences in Iowa Gambling Task performance associated with sexual risk taking and substance use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Golub, Sarit A; Thompson, Louisa I; Kowalczyk, William J

2016-01-01

We investigated the relationship between emotional distress and decision making in sexual risk and substance use behavior among 174 (ages 25 to 50 years, 53% black) men who have sex with men (MSM), a population at increased risk for HIV. The sample was stratified by HIV status. Measures of affective decision making, depression, anxiety, sex acts, and substance use during the past 60 days were collected at our research center. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the relationship between age, HIV status, anxiety, depression, and IGT performance in the prediction of number of risky sex acts and substance use days. Among those without anxiety or depression, both number of risky sex acts and drug use days decreased with better performance during risky trials (i.e., last two blocks) of the IGT. For those with higher rates of anxiety, but not depression, IGT risk trial performance and risky sex acts increased concomitantly. Anxiety also interacted with IGT performance across all trials to predict substance use, such that anxiety was associated with greater substance use among those with better IGT performance. The opposite was true for those with depression, but only during risk trials. HIV-positive participants reported fewer substance use days than HIV-negative participants, but there was no difference in association between behavior and IGT performance by HIV status. Our findings suggest that anxiety may exacerbate risk-taking behavior when affective decision-making ability is intact. The relationship between affective decision making and risk taking may be sensitive to different profiles of emotional distress, as well as behavioral context. Investigations of affective decision making in sexual risk taking and substance use should examine different distress profiles separately, with implications for HIV prevention efforts.

Affective differences in Iowa Gambling Task performance associated with sexual risk taking and substance use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative men who have sex with men

PubMed Central

Golub, Sarit A.; Thompson, Louisa I.; Kowalczyk, William J.

2016-01-01

We investigated the relationship between emotional distress and decision-making in sexual risk and substance use behavior among 174 (ages 25 to 50, 53% black) men who have sex with men (MSM), a population at increased risk for HIV. The sample was stratified by HIV status. Measures of affective decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task, IGT, Bechara et al., 1994), depression, anxiety, sex acts, and substance use during the past 60 days were collected at our research center. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the relationship between age, HIV status, anxiety, depression, and IGT performance in the prediction of number of risky sex acts and substance use days. Among those without anxiety or depression, both number of risky sex acts and drug use days decreased with better performance during risky trials (i.e., last two blocks) of the IGT. For those with higher rates of anxiety, but not depression, IGT risk trial performance and risky sex acts increased concomitantly. Anxiety also interacted with IGT performance across all trials to predict substance use, such that anxiety was associated with greater substance use among those with better IGT performance. The opposite was true for those with depression, but only during risk trials. HIV-positive participants reported fewer substance use days than HIV-negative participants, but there was no difference in association between behavior and IGT performance by HIV status. Our findings suggest that anxiety may exacerbate risk-taking behavior when affective decision-making ability is intact. The relationship between affective decision-making and risk taking may be sensitive to different profiles of emotional distress, as well as behavioral context. Investigations of affective decision-making in sexual risk taking and substance use should examine different distress profiles separately, with implications for HIV prevention efforts. PMID:26745769

Are Sierran Lakes Warming as a Result of Climate Change? The Effects of Climate Warming and Variation in Precipitation on Water Temperature in a Snowmelt-Dominated Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadro, S.; Melack, J. M.; Sickman, J. O.; Skeen, K.

2016-12-01

Water temperature regulates a broad range of fundamental ecosystem processes in lakes. While climate can be an important factor regulating lake temperatures, heterogeneity in the warming response of lakes is large, and variation in precipitation is rarely considered. We analyzed three decades of climate and water temperature data from a high-elevation catchment in the southern Sierra Nevada of California to illustrate the magnitude of warming taking place during different seasons and the role of precipitation in regulating lake temperatures. Significant climate warming trends were evident during all seasons except spring. Nighttime rates of climate warming were approximately 25% higher than daytime rates. Spatial patterns in warming were elevation dependent, with rates of temperature increase higher at sites above 2800 m.a.s.l. than below. Although interannual variation in snow deposition was high, the frequency and severity of recent droughts has contributed to a significant 3.4 mm year -1 decline in snow water equivalent over the last century. Snow accumulation, more than any other climate factor, regulated lake temperature; 94% of variation in summer lake temperature was regulated by precipitation as snow. For every 100 mm decrease in snow water equivalent there was a 0.62 ° increase in lake temperature. Drought years amplify warming in lakes by reducing the role of cold spring meltwaters in lake energy budgets and prolonging the ice-free period during which lakes warm. The combination of declining winter snowpack and warming air temperatures has the capacity to amplify the effect of climate warming on lake temperatures during drought years. Interactions among climatic factors need to be considered when evaluating ecosystem level effects, especially in mountain regions. For mountain lakes already affected by drought, continued climate warming during spring and autumn has the greatest potential to impact mean lake temperatures.

Warming up, turning sour, losing breath: ocean biogeochemistry under global change.

PubMed

Gruber, Nicolas

2011-05-28

In the coming decades and centuries, the ocean's biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems will become increasingly stressed by at least three independent factors. Rising temperatures, ocean acidification and ocean deoxygenation will cause substantial changes in the physical, chemical and biological environment, which will then affect the ocean's biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems in ways that we are only beginning to fathom. Ocean warming will not only affect organisms and biogeochemical cycles directly, but will also increase upper ocean stratification. The changes in the ocean's carbonate chemistry induced by the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (i.e. ocean acidification) will probably affect many organisms and processes, although in ways that are currently not well understood. Ocean deoxygenation, i.e. the loss of dissolved oxygen (O(2)) from the ocean, is bound to occur in a warming and more stratified ocean, causing stress to macro-organisms that critically depend on sufficient levels of oxygen. These three stressors-warming, acidification and deoxygenation-will tend to operate globally, although with distinct regional differences. The impacts of ocean acidification tend to be strongest in the high latitudes, whereas the low-oxygen regions of the low latitudes are most vulnerable to ocean deoxygenation. Specific regions, such as the eastern boundary upwelling systems, will be strongly affected by all three stressors, making them potential hotspots for change. Of additional concern are synergistic effects, such as ocean acidification-induced changes in the type and magnitude of the organic matter exported to the ocean's interior, which then might cause substantial changes in the oxygen concentration there. Ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation are essentially irreversible on centennial time scales, i.e. once these changes have occurred, it will take centuries for the ocean to recover. With the emission of CO(2) being the primary driver

How much might additional half a degree from a global warming of 1.5°C affects the extreme precipitation change in China?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, W.; Jiang, Z.

2017-12-01

In order to strengthen the global respond to the dangerous of global warming, Paris Agreement sets out two long-term warming goals: limiting global warming to well below 2˚C and purse effort to below 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels. However, future climate change risks in those two warming targets show significant regional differences. This article aims to study the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation change over China under those two global warming targets by using CMIP5 models under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenario. Focus is put on the effects of the additional half degree in changing the extreme precipitation. Results show that the changes of extreme precipitation are independent of the RCP scenarios when global warming reaches the same threshold. Intensity of extreme precipitation averaged over China increase by around 6% and 11% when global warming reaches 1.5˚C and 2˚C, respectively. The additional half a degree increase makes the intensity of extreme precipitation averaged over China to increase by 4.5%, which translates to an increase close to the Clausius-Clapeyron scaling. Return period decreases by 5 years for the extra half degree warming when the 20-year return values are considered at the reference level.

The influence of same-sex marriage on the understanding of same-sex relationships.

PubMed

Lannutti, Pamela J

2007-01-01

This study examines the ways in which legally recognized same-sex marriage affects the understanding of same-sex romantic relationships for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) individuals. Participants (N = 288) responded to an open-ended Web-based survey asking them to describe how legally recognized same-sex marriage influenced their view of their own romantic relationship or romantic relationships in general. Results indicate that legally recognized same-sex marriage impacted participants' understanding of romantic relationships by making existing relationships seem more real and by serving as a tool through which participants realized their desires for ideal potential partner and relationship characteristics. The results suggest that legally recognized same-sex marriage is seen as both beneficial and challenging for samesex couples.

Sex differences in cough reflex.

PubMed

Plevkova, J; Buday, T; Kavalcikova-Bogdanova, N; Ioan, I; Demoulin-Alexikova, S

2017-11-01

Majority of patients visiting cough clinics are postmenopausal women, who are affected by intractable cough for years. Why the cough reflex becomes exaggerated in women is not known. Basic research excludes females from the studies contributing to the sex bias which may be responsible for lack of understanding of "hypersensitive" cough in women. Biological and behavioural differences between women and men are the factors affecting cough physiology. Gender also shapes the patterns of behaviour and determines the character of environmental exposures which differs between sexes. The article offers an insight into the physiology of the cough, differences in the maturation of it and biological, social and behavioural factors contributing to the sex differences in cough. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex with sex workers among latino day laborers in Suburban Maryland.

PubMed

Bianchi, Fernanda T; Reisen, Carol A; Gonzales, Felisa A; Arroyo, Juan C; Zea, Maria Cecilia; Poppen, Paul J

2013-07-01

Using the structural-environmental conceptual framework, this study employed mixed methods to address the question of whether sex with female sex workers contributes to HIV risk among male immigrant Latino day laborers in suburban Maryland. Because contextual factors can greatly affect HIV risk for both sex workers and their clients, this study investigated the organizational structure of sex work, factors that predicted men's hiring of sex workers, sexual behaviors performed with sex workers, and the use of condoms. Qualitative research was conducted to inform the development of a quantitative survey, but also provided crucial descriptions about the motivations, locations, arrangements, and sexual activities related to sex work. Key informant interviews (N = 10), in-depth interviews with day laborers (N = 10) and Latina female sex workers (N = 4), and two focus groups with day laborers (N = 11) were conducted, and a quantitative survey administered via Audio-enhanced Computer-assisted Self-interviewing (N = 174). Condom use was nearly universal in encounters with female sex workers, thus indicating that the sex workers were not an important source of HIV transmission in this context. Logistic regression was performed to test a model predicting sex with sex workers. Latino day laborers who reported more immigrant stress and who did not have a partner in the U.S. were more likely to have had sex with a sex worker, as were men who reported binge drinking. Structural and social conditions influenced the hiring of sex workers. Further research is warranted to better understand the interrelationships among these circumstances and to inform the development of programs to address them.

Sex with Sex Workers among Latino Day Laborers in Suburban Maryland

PubMed Central

Reisen, Carol A.; Gonzales, Felisa A.; Arroyo, Juan C.; Zea, Maria Cecilia; Poppen, Paul J.

2016-01-01

Using the structural-environmental conceptual framework, this study employed mixed methods to address the question of whether sex with female sex workers contributes to HIV risk among male immigrant Latino day laborers in suburban Maryland. Because contextual factors can greatly affect HIV risk for both sex workers and their clients, this study investigated the organizational structure of sex work, factors that predicted men’s hiring of sex workers, sexual behaviors performed with sex workers, and the use of condoms. Qualitative research was conducted to inform the development of a quantitative survey, but also provided crucial descriptions about the motivations, locations, arrangements, and sexual activities related to sex work. Key informant interviews (N= 10), in-depth interviews with day laborers (N= 10) and Latina female sex workers (N = 4), and two focus groups with day laborers (N= 11) were conducted, and a quantitative survey administered via Audio-enhanced Computer-assisted Self-interviewing (N = 174). Condom use was nearly universal in encounters with female sex workers, thus indicating that the sex workers were not an important source of HIV transmission in this context. Logistic regression was performed to test a model predicting sex with sex workers. Latino day laborers who reported more immigrant stress and who did not have a partner in the U.S. were more likely to have had sex with a sex worker, as were men who reported binge drinking. Structural and social conditions influenced the hiring of sex workers. Further research is warranted to better understand the interrelationships among these circumstances and to inform the development of programs to address them. PMID:23070528

Affective prosody: what do comprehension errors tell us about hemispheric lateralization of emotions, sex and aging effects, and the role of cognitive appraisal.

PubMed

Ross, Elliott D; Monnot, Marilee

2011-04-01

The Aprosodia Battery was developed to distinguish different patterns of affective-prosodic deficits in patients with left versus right brain damage by using affective utterances with incrementally reduced verbal-articulatory demands. It has also been used to assess affective-prosodic performance in various clinical groups, including patients with schizophrenia, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, alcohol abuse and Alzheimer disease and in healthy adults, as means to explore maturational-aging effects. To date, all studies using the Aprosodia Battery have yielded statistically robust results. This paper describes an extensive, quantitative error analysis using previous results from the Aprosodia Battery in patients with left and right brain damage, age-equivalent controls (old adults), and a group of young adults. This inductive analysis was performed to address three major issues in the literature: (1) sex and (2) maturational-aging effects in comprehending affective prosody and (3) differential hemispheric lateralization of emotions. We found no overall sex effects for comprehension of affective prosody. There were, however, scattered sex effects related to a particular affect, suggesting that these differences were related to cognitive appraisal rather than primary perception. Results in the brain damaged groups did not support the Valence Hypothesis of emotional lateralization but did support the Right Hemisphere Hypothesis of emotional lateralization. When comparing young versus old adults, a robust maturational-aging effect was observed in overall error rates and in the distribution of errors across affects. This effect appears to be mediated, in part, by cognitive appraisal, causing an alteration in the salience of different affective-prosodic stimuli with increasing age. In addition, the maturational-aging effects lend support for the Emotion-Type hypothesis of emotional lateralization and the "classic aging effect" that is due primarily to decline of right

Reduced North American terrestrial primary productivity linked to anomalous Arctic warming

DOE PAGES

Kim, Jin-Soo; Kug, Jong-Seong; Jeong, Su-Jong; ...

2017-07-10

Warming temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere have enhanced terrestrial productivity. Despite the warming trend, North America has experienced more frequent and more intense cold weather events during winters and springs. These events have been linked to anomalous Arctic warming since 1990, and may affect terrestrial processes. Here we analyse many observation data sets and numerical model simulations to evaluate links between Arctic temperatures and primary productivity in North America. We find that positive springtime temperature anomalies in the Arctic have led to negative anomalies in gross primary productivity over most of North America during the last three decades, which amountmore » to a net productivity decline of 0.31 PgC yr -1 across the continent. This decline is mainly explained by two factors: severe cold conditions in northern North America and lower precipitation in the South Central United States. In addition, United States crop-yield data reveal that during years experiencing anomalous warming in the Arctic, yields declined by approximately 1 to 4% on average, with individual states experiencing declines of up to 20%. We conclude that the strengthening of Arctic warming anomalies in the past decades has remotely reduced productivity over North America.« less

Reduced North American terrestrial primary productivity linked to anomalous Arctic warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jin-Soo; Kug, Jong-Seong; Jeong, Su-Jong

Warming temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere have enhanced terrestrial productivity. Despite the warming trend, North America has experienced more frequent and more intense cold weather events during winters and springs. These events have been linked to anomalous Arctic warming since 1990, and may affect terrestrial processes. Here we analyse many observation data sets and numerical model simulations to evaluate links between Arctic temperatures and primary productivity in North America. We find that positive springtime temperature anomalies in the Arctic have led to negative anomalies in gross primary productivity over most of North America during the last three decades, which amountmore » to a net productivity decline of 0.31 PgC yr -1 across the continent. This decline is mainly explained by two factors: severe cold conditions in northern North America and lower precipitation in the South Central United States. In addition, United States crop-yield data reveal that during years experiencing anomalous warming in the Arctic, yields declined by approximately 1 to 4% on average, with individual states experiencing declines of up to 20%. We conclude that the strengthening of Arctic warming anomalies in the past decades has remotely reduced productivity over North America.« less

Ecophysiological responses of three Mediterranean invasive seaweeds (Acrothamnion preissii, Lophocladia lallemandii and Caulerpa cylindracea) to experimental warming.

PubMed

Samperio-Ramos, Guillermo; Olsen, Ylva S; Tomas, Fiona; Marbà, Núria

2015-07-15

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot for invasive species and projected Mediterranean warming might affect their future spreading. We experimentally examined ecophysiological responses to the temperature range 23-31 °C in three invasive seaweeds commonly found in the Mediterranean: Acrothamnion preissii, Caulerpa cylindracea and Lophocladia lallemandii. The warming range tested encompassed current and projected (for the end of 21st Century) maximum temperatures for the Mediterranean Sea. Optimal ecophysiological temperatures for A. preissii, C. cylindracea and L. lallemandii were 25 °C, 27 °C and 29 °C, respectively. Warming below the optimal temperatures enhanced RGR of all studied invasive seaweeds. Although sensitive, seaweed photosynthetic yield was less temperature-dependent than growth. Our results demonstrate that temperature is a key environmental parameter in regulating the ecophysiological performance of these invasive seaweeds and that Mediterranean warming conditions may affect their invasion trajectory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Americans Understand That Global Warming Is Harmful to Human Health? Evidence From a National Survey.

PubMed

Maibach, Edward W; Kreslake, Jennifer M; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Rosenthal, Seth; Feinberg, Geoff; Leiserowitz, Anthony A

2015-01-01

Global warming has significant negative consequences for human health, with some groups at greater risk than others. The extent to which the public is aware of these risks is unclear; the limited extant research has yielded discrepant findings. This paper describes Americans' awareness of the health effects of global warming, levels of support for government funding and action on the issue, and trust in information sources. We also investigate the discrepancy in previous research findings between assessments based on open- versus closed-ended questions. A nationally representative survey of US adults (N = 1275) was conducted online in October 2014. Measures included general attitudes and beliefs about global warming, affective assessment of health effects, vulnerable populations and specific health conditions (open- and closed-ended), perceived risk, trust in sources, and support for government response. Most respondents (61%) reported that, before taking the survey, they had given little or no thought to how global warming might affect people's health. In response to a closed-ended question, many respondents (64%) indicated global warming is harmful to health, yet in response to an open-ended question, few (27%) accurately named one or more specific type of harm. In response to a closed-ended question, 33% indicated some groups are more affected than others, yet on an open-ended question only 25% were able to identify any disproportionately affected populations. Perhaps not surprising given these findings, respondents demonstrated only limited support for a government response: less than 50% of respondents said government should be doing more to protect against health harms from global warming, and about 33% supported increased funding to public health agencies for this purpose. Respondents said their primary care physician is their most trusted source of information on this topic, followed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health

Warming and drought reduce temperature sensitivity of nitrogen transformations.

PubMed

Novem Auyeung, Dolaporn S; Suseela, Vidya; Dukes, Jeffrey S

2013-02-01

Shifts in nitrogen (N) mineralization and nitrification rates due to global changes can influence nutrient availability, which can affect terrestrial productivity and climate change feedbacks. While many single-factor studies have examined the effects of environmental changes on N mineralization and nitrification, few have examined these effects in a multifactor context or recorded how these effects vary seasonally. In an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA, we investigated the combined effects of four levels of warming (up to 4 °C) and three levels of precipitation (drought, ambient, and wet) on net N mineralization, net nitrification, and potential nitrification. We also examined the treatment effects on the temperature sensitivity of net N mineralization and net nitrification and on the ratio of C mineralization to net N mineralization. During winter, freeze-thaw events, snow depth, and soil freezing depth explained little of the variation in net nitrification and N mineralization rates among treatments. During two years of treatments, warming and altered precipitation rarely influenced the rates of N cycling, and there was no evidence of a seasonal pattern in the responses. In contrast, warming and drought dramatically decreased the apparent Q10 of net N mineralization and net nitrification, and the warming-induced decrease in apparent Q10 was more pronounced in ambient and wet treatments than the drought treatment. The ratio of C mineralization to net N mineralization varied over time and was sensitive to the interactive effects of warming and altered precipitation. Although many studies have found that warming tends to accelerate N cycling, our results suggest that warming can have little to no effect on N cycling in some ecosystems. Thus, ecosystem models that assume that warming will consistently increase N mineralization rates and inputs of plant-available N may overestimate the increase in terrestrial productivity and the magnitude of an important

Global Warming: A Reduced Threat?.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michaels, Patrick J.; Stooksbury, David E.

1992-10-01

One popular and apocalyptic vision of the world influenced by increasing concentrations of infrared-absorbing trace gases is that of ecological disaster brought about by rapidly rising temperatures, sea level, and evaporation rates. This vision developed from a suite of climate models that have since considerably changed in both their dynamics and their estimates of prospective warming. Observed temperatures indicate that much more warming should already have taken place than predicted by earlier models in the Northern Hemisphere, and that night, rather than day, readings in that hemisphere show a relative warming. A high-latitude polar-night warming or a general night warming could be either benign or beneficial. A large number of plant species show both increased growth and greater water-use efficiency under enhanced carbon dioxide.An extensive body of evidence now indicates that anthropo-generated sulfate emissions are mitigating some of the warming, and that increased cloudiness as a result of these emissions will further enhance night, rather than day, warming. The sulfate emissions, though, are not sufficient to explain all of the night warming. However, the sensitivity of climate to anthropogenerated aerosols, and the general lack of previously predicted warming, could drastically alter the debate on global warming in favor of less expensive policies.

10 CFR 431.72 - Definitions concerning commercial warm air furnaces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... electrical, physical, and functional (or hydraulic) characteristics that affect energy consumption, energy... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Definitions concerning commercial warm air furnaces. 431.72 Section 431.72 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR...

Warm-Up Exercises May Not Be So Important for Enhancing Submaximal Running Performance.

PubMed

Takizawa, Kazuki; Yamaguchi, Taichi; Shibata, Keisuke

2018-05-01

Takizawa, K, Yamaguchi, T, and Shibata, K. Warm-up exercises may not be so important for enhancing submaximal running performance. J Strength Cond Res 32(5): 1383-1390, 2018-The purpose of this study was to determine an appropriate warm-up intensity for enhancing performance in submaximal running at 90% vV[Combining Dot Above]O2max (it assumes 3,000-5,000 m in track events). Seven trained male university athletes took part in this study (age: 21.3 ± 2.1 years, height: 169.3 ± 4.7 cm, body mass: 58.4 ± 5.6 kg, V[Combining Dot Above]O2max: 73.33 ± 5.46 ml·kg·min). Each subject ran on a treadmill at 90% vV[Combining Dot Above]O2max until exhaustion after 1 of 4 warm-up treatments. The 4 warm-up treatments were no warm-up, 15 minutes running at 60% vV[Combining Dot Above]O2max, at 70% vV[Combining Dot Above]O2max, and at 80% vV[Combining Dot Above]O2max. The running performance was evaluated by time to exhaustion (TTE). V[Combining Dot Above]O2, and vastus lateralis muscle temperature were also measured. There were no significant differences in TTE among the warm-up exercises (p > 0.05). V[Combining Dot Above]O2 in no warm-up showed slower reaction than the other warm-up exercises. Regarding, the vastus lateralis muscle temperature immediately after warm-up, no warm-up was significantly (p < 0.01) lower compared with the other warm-up exercises. Our results suggested that submaximal running performance was not affected by the presence or absence of a warm-up or by warm-up intensity, although physiological changes occurred.

Targeted metabolomic profiling in rat tissues reveals sex differences.

PubMed

Ruoppolo, Margherita; Caterino, Marianna; Albano, Lucia; Pecce, Rita; Di Girolamo, Maria Grazia; Crisci, Daniela; Costanzo, Michele; Milella, Luigi; Franconi, Flavia; Campesi, Ilaria

2018-03-16

Sex differences affect several diseases and are organ-and parameter-specific. In humans and animals, sex differences also influence the metabolism and homeostasis of amino acids and fatty acids, which are linked to the onset of diseases. Thus, the use of targeted metabolite profiles in tissues represents a powerful approach to examine the intermediary metabolism and evidence for any sex differences. To clarify the sex-specific activities of liver, heart and kidney tissues, we used targeted metabolomics, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis and linear correlation models to evaluate sex and organ-specific differences in amino acids, free carnitine and acylcarnitine levels in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Several intra-sex differences affect tissues, indicating that metabolite profiles in rat hearts, livers and kidneys are organ-dependent. Amino acids and carnitine levels in rat hearts, livers and kidneys are affected by sex: male and female hearts show the greatest sexual dimorphism, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Finally, multivariate analysis confirmed the influence of sex on the metabolomics profiling. Our data demonstrate that the metabolomics approach together with a multivariate approach can capture the dynamics of physiological and pathological states, which are essential for explaining the basis of the sex differences observed in physiological and pathological conditions.

Thyroid hormone modulates offspring sex ratio in a turtle with temperature-dependent sex determination

PubMed Central

Li, Teng; Mu, Yi; McGlashan, Jessica K.; Georges, Arthur

2016-01-01

The adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) has attracted a great deal of research, but the underlying mechanisms by which temperature determines the sex of a developing embryo remain poorly understood. Here, we manipulated the level of a thyroid hormone (TH), triiodothyronine (T3), during embryonic development (by adding excess T3 to the eggs of the red-eared slider turtle Trachemys scripta, a reptile with TSD), to test two competing hypotheses on the proximate basis for TSD: the developmental rate hypothesis versus the hormone hypothesis. Exogenous TH accelerated embryonic heart rate (and hence metabolic rate), developmental rate, and rates of early post-hatching growth. More importantly, hyperthyroid conditions depressed expression of Cyp19a1 (the gene encoding for aromatase) and levels of oestradiol, and induced more male offspring. This result is contrary to the direction of sex-ratio shift predicted by the developmental rate hypothesis, but consistent with that predicted by the hormone hypothesis. Our results suggest an important role for THs in regulating sex steroid hormones, and therefore, in affecting gonadal sex differentiation in TSD reptiles. Our study has implications for the conservation of TSD reptiles in the context of global change because environmental contaminants may disrupt the activity of THs, and thereby affect offspring sex in TSD reptiles. PMID:27798296

Two decades of warming increases diversity of a potentially lignolytic bacterial community

PubMed Central

Pold, Grace; Melillo, Jerry M.; DeAngelis, Kristen M.

2015-01-01

As Earth's climate warms, the massive stores of carbon found in soil are predicted to become depleted, and leave behind a smaller carbon pool that is less accessible to microbes. At a long-term forest soil-warming experiment in central Massachusetts, soil respiration and bacterial diversity have increased, while fungal biomass and microbially-accessible soil carbon have decreased. Here, we evaluate how warming has affected the microbial community's capability to degrade chemically-complex soil carbon using lignin-amended BioSep beads. We profiled the bacterial and fungal communities using PCR-based methods and completed extracellular enzyme assays as a proxy for potential community function. We found that lignin-amended beads selected for a distinct community containing bacterial taxa closely related to known lignin degraders, as well as members of many genera not previously noted as capable of degrading lignin. Warming tended to drive bacterial community structure more strongly in the lignin beads, while the effect on the fungal community was limited to unamended beads. Of those bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) enriched by the warming treatment, many were enriched uniquely on lignin-amended beads. These taxa may be contributing to enhanced soil respiration under warming despite reduced readily available C availability. In aggregate, these results suggest that there is genetic potential for chemically complex soil carbon degradation that may lead to extended elevated soil respiration with long-term warming. PMID:26042112

Climate change and temperature-dependent sex determination: can individual plasticity in nesting phenology prevent extreme sex ratios?

PubMed

Schwanz, Lisa E; Janzen, Fredric J

2008-01-01

Under temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), temperatures experienced by embryos during development determine the sex of the offspring. Consequently, populations of organisms with TSD have the potential to be strongly impacted by climatic warming that could bias offspring sex ratio, a fundamental demographic parameter involved in population dynamics. Moreover, many taxa with TSD are imperiled, so research on this phenomenon, particularly long-term field study, has assumed great urgency. Recently, turtles with TSD have joined the diverse list of taxa that have demonstrated population-level changes in breeding phenology in response to recent climate change. This raises the possibility that any adverse impacts of climate change on populations may be alleviated by individual plasticity in nesting phenology. Here, we examine data from a long-term study on a population of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) to determine whether changes in phenology are due to individual plasticity and whether individual plasticity in the timing of nesting has the capacity to offset the sex ratio effects of a rise in climatic temperature. We find that individual females show plasticity in the date of first nesting each year, and that this plasticity depends on the climate from the previous winter. First nesting date is not repeatable within individuals, suggesting that it would not respond to selection. Sex ratios of hatchlings within a nest declined nonsignificantly over the nesting season. However, small increases in summer temperature had a much stronger effect on nest sex ratios than did laying nests earlier in the season. For this and other reasons, it seems unlikely that individual plasticity in the timing of nesting will offset the effects of climate change on sex ratios in this population, and we hypothesize that this conclusion applies to other populations with TSD.

Obesity during pregnancy affects sex steroid concentrations depending on fetal gender.

PubMed

Maliqueo, M; Cruz, G; Espina, C; Contreras, I; García, M; Echiburú, B; Crisosto, N

2017-11-01

It is not clear whether maternal obesity along with fetal gender affect sex steroid metabolism during pregnancy. Therefore, we compared sex steroid concentrations and placental expression of steroidogenic enzymes between non-obese and obese pregnant women with non-pathological pregnancies, and investigated the influence of fetal gender on these parameters. In 35 normal weight (body mass index (BMI) 20-24.9 kg m - 2 ) (controls) and 36 obese women (BMI 30-36 kg m - 2 ) (obese), a fasting blood sample was obtained at first and at third trimester of gestation to measure progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, androstenedione, testosterone and estradiol by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and estrone by radioimmunoassay. In a subset of women, placental mRNA and protein expression of steroidogenic enzymes was measured by quantitative PCR and western blot, respectively. The comparisons were primarily made between controls and obese, and then separately according to fetal gender. At first and third trimesters of gestation serum progesterone was lower whereas testosterone was higher in obese women (P<0.05, respectively). Upon analyzing according to fetal gender, lower progesterone levels were present in obese pregnant women with male fetuses at first trimester and with female fetuses at third trimester (P<0.05, respectively). Testosterone was higher in obese women with male fetuses compared to control women with male fetuses (P<0.05). The placental protein expression of P450scc was higher in obese women compared to controls (P<0.05). P450 aromatase was higher in obese women with female fetuses (P=0.009), whereas in obese women with male fetuses P450 aromatase was lower compared to control women (P=0.026). Obesity in non-pathological pregnancies alters the maternal serum progesterone and testosterone concentrations depending on fetal gender. These changes can be attributed to gender-related placental adaptations, as the expression of

Gender Differences in Empathic Sadness towards Persons of the Same- versus Other-sex during Adolescence.

PubMed

Stuijfzand, Suzannah; De Wied, Minet; Kempes, Maaike; Van de Graaff, Jolien; Branje, Susan; Meeus, Wim

Although gender differences in affective empathy are well established, evidence of gender differences in the development of affective empathy is inconsistent. Consideration of same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy may assist in elucidating these inconsistencies. Gender differences were investigated in the experience of empathic sadness towards same- versus other-sex targets. The relationships were studied cross-sectionally ( N  = 730) and longitudinally ( N  = 318) with Dutch adolescents using the empathic sadness scale of the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA; Bryant 1982). In both studies, female adolescents reported more empathic sadness than did male adolescents. Female targets also received more affective empathy than did male targets, and, more importantly, gender differences were observed in same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy. Specifically, in both studies male adolescents reported less empathic sadness towards same-sex than towards other-sex targets. In contrast, female adolescents reported more empathic sadness towards same-sex than towards other-sex targets in the cross-sectional study, and equal levels of empathic sadness towards both types of targets in the longitudinal study. Findings highlight the importance of considering same-sex versus other-sex affective empathy. Gender differences in same-sex and other-sex affective empathy have implications for assisting adolescents in social conflict resolution and interventions for bullying and aggressive behaviour in adolescence using empathy training.

Lip colour affects perceived sex typicality and attractiveness of human faces.

PubMed

Stephen, Ian D; McKeegan, Angela M

2010-01-01

The luminance contrast between facial features and facial skin is greater in women than in men, and women's use of make-up enhances this contrast. In black-and-white photographs, increased luminance contrast enhances femininity and attractiveness in women's faces, but reduces masculinity and attractiveness in men's faces. In Caucasians, much of the contrast between the lips and facial skin is in redness. Red lips have been considered attractive in women in geographically and temporally diverse cultures, possibly because they mimic vasodilation associated with sexual arousal. Here, we investigate the effects of lip luminance and colour contrast on the attractiveness and sex typicality (masculinity/femininity) of human faces. In a Caucasian sample, we allowed participants to manipulate the colour of the lips in colour-calibrated face photographs along CIELab L* (light--dark), a* (red--green), and b* (yellow--blue) axes to enhance apparent attractiveness and sex typicality. Participants increased redness contrast to enhance femininity and attractiveness of female faces, but reduced redness contrast to enhance masculinity of men's faces. Lip blueness was reduced more in female than male faces. Increased lightness contrast enhanced the attractiveness of both sexes, and had little effect on perceptions of sex typicality. The association between lip colour contrast and attractiveness in women's faces may be attributable to its association with oxygenated blood perfusion indicating oestrogen levels, sexual arousal, and cardiac and respiratory health.

Fish energy budget under ocean warming and flame retardant exposure.

PubMed

Anacleto, Patrícia; Figueiredo, Cátia; Baptista, Miguel; Maulvault, Ana Luísa; Camacho, Carolina; Pousão-Ferreira, Pedro; Valente, Luísa M P; Marques, António; Rosa, Rui

2018-07-01

Climate change and chemical contamination are global environmental threats of growing concern for the scientific community and regulatory authorities. Yet, the impacts and interactions of both stressors (particularly ocean warming and emerging chemical contaminants) on physiological responses of marine organisms remain unclear and still require further understanding. Within this context, the main goal of this study was to assess, for the first time, the effects of warming (+ 5 °C) and accumulation of a polybrominated diphenyl ether congener (BDE-209, brominated flame retardant) through dietary exposure on energy budget of the juvenile white seabream (Diplodus sargus). Specifically, growth (G), routine metabolism (R), excretion (faecal, F and nitrogenous losses, U) and food consumption (C) were calculated to obtain the energy budget. The results demonstrated that the energy proportion spent for G dominated the mode of the energy allocation of juvenile white seabream (56.0-67.8%), especially under the combined effect of warming plus BDE-209 exposure. Under all treatments, the energy channelled for R varied around 26% and a much smaller percentage was channelled for excretion (F: 4.3-16.0% and U: 2.3-3.3%). An opposite trend to G was observed to F, where the highest percentage (16.0 ± 0.9%) was found under control temperature and BDE-209 exposure via diet. In general, the parameters were significantly affected by increased temperature and flame retardant exposure, where higher levels occurred for: i) wet weight, relative growth rate, protein and ash contents under warming conditions, ii) only for O:N ratio under BDE-209 exposure via diet, and iii) for feed efficiency, ammonia excretion rate, routine metabolic rate and assimilation efficiency under the combination of both stressors. On the other hand, decreased viscerosomatic index was observed under warming and lower fat content was observed under the combined effect of both stressors. Overall, under future

Effects of climate warming and prolonged snow cover on phenology of the early life history stages of four alpine herbs on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

PubMed

Wang, Guoyan; Baskin, Carol C; Baskin, Jerry M; Yang, Xuejun; Liu, Guofang; Ye, Xuehua; Zhang, Xinshi; Huang, Zhenying

2018-06-21

Much research has focused on plant responses to ongoing climate change, but there is relatively little information about how climate change will affect the early plant life history stages. Understanding how global warming and changes in winter snow pattern will affect seed germination and seedling establishment is crucial for predicting future alpine population and vegetation dynamics. In a 2-year study, we tested how warming and alteration in the snowmelt regime, both in isolation and combination, influence seedling emergence phenology, first-year growth, biomass allocation, and survival of four native alpine perennial herbs on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Warming promoted seedling emergence phenology of all four species and biomass per plant of two species but reduced seedling survival of three species. Prolonged snow cover partly mediated the affects of warming on Primula alpicola (survival and biomass), Pedicularis fletcheri (phenology, biomass, and root:shoot ratio) and Meconopsis integrifolia (survival). For the narrowly distributed species M. racemosa, seedling growth was additively decreased by warming and prolonged snow cover. Both warming and alteration of the snow cover regime can influence plant recruitment by affecting seedling phenology, growth, and survival, and the effects are largely species-specific. Thus, climate change is likely to affect population dynamics and community structure of the alpine ecosystem. This is the first experimental demonstration of the phenological advancement of seedling emergence in the field by simulated climate warming. © 2018 Botanical Society of America.

Sex Differences in Social Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Therese

Examining theories from a wide spectrum of disciplines, this paper categorizes research on sex differences in social behavior into four groups and examines the implications of each. The first category of research interprets sex differences as the result of anatomical differences which later affect psychological roles. The implication of this…

Warming shifts ‘worming': effects of experimental warming on invasive earthworms in northern North America

PubMed Central

Eisenhauer, Nico; Stefanski, Artur; Fisichelli, Nicholas A.; Rice, Karen; Rich, Roy; Reich, Peter B.

2014-01-01

Climate change causes species range shifts and potentially alters biological invasions. The invasion of European earthworm species across northern North America has severe impacts on native ecosystems. Given the long and cold winters in that region that to date supposedly have slowed earthworm invasion, future warming is hypothesized to accelerate earthworm invasions into yet non-invaded regions. Alternatively, warming-induced reductions in soil water content (SWC) can also decrease earthworm performance. We tested these hypotheses in a field warming experiment at two sites in Minnesota, USA by sampling earthworms in closed and open canopy in three temperature treatments in 2010 and 2012. Structural equation modeling revealed that detrimental warming effects on earthworm densities and biomass could indeed be partly explained by warming-induced reductions in SWC. The direction of warming effects depended on the current average SWC: warming had neutral to positive effects at high SWC, whereas the opposite was true at low SWC. Our results suggest that warming limits the invasion of earthworms in northern North America by causing less favorable soil abiotic conditions, unless warming is accompanied by increased and temporally even distributions of rainfall sufficient to offset greater water losses from higher evapotranspiration. PMID:25363633

Body Mass Index and Sex Affect Diverse Microbial Niches within the Gut

PubMed Central

Borgo, Francesca; Garbossa, Stefania; Riva, Alessandra; Severgnini, Marco; Luigiano, Carmelo; Benetti, Albero; Pontiroli, Antonio E.; Morace, Giulia; Borghi, Elisa

2018-01-01

Gut microbiota is considered a separate organ with endocrine capabilities, actively contributing to tissue homeostasis. It consists of at least two separate microbial populations, the lumen-associated (LAM) and the mucosa-associated microbiota (MAM). In the present study, we compared LAM and MAM, by collecting stools and sigmoid brush samples of forty adults without large-bowel symptoms, and through a 16S rRNA gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach. MAM sample analysis revealed enrichment in aerotolerant Proteobacteria, probably selected by a gradient of oxygen that decreases from tissue to lumen, and in Streptococcus and Clostridium spp., highly fermenting bacteria. On the other hand, LAM microbiota showed an increased abundance in Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Oscillospira, genera able to digest and to degrade biopolymers in the large intestine. Predicted metagenomic analysis showed LAM to be enriched in genes encoding enzymes mostly involved in energy extraction from carbohydrates and lipids, whereas MAM in amino acid and vitamin metabolism. Moreover, LAM and MAM communities seemed to be influenced by different host factors, such as diet and sex. LAM is affected by body mass index (BMI) status. Indeed, BMI negatively correlates with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Flavonifractor plautii abundance, putative biomarkers of healthy status. In contrast, MAM microbial population showed a significant grouping according to sex. Female MAM was enriched in Actinobacteria (with an increased trend of the genus Bifidobacterium), and a significant depletion in Veillonellaceae. Interestingly, we found the species Gemmiger formicilis to be associated with male and Bifidobacterium adolescentis, with female MAM samples. In conclusion, our results suggest that gut harbors microbial niches that differ in both composition and host factor susceptibility, and their richness and diversity may be overlooked evaluating only fecal samples. PMID:29491857

Active Movement Warm-Up Routines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Teri; Quint, Ashleigh; Fischer, Kim; Kiger, Joy

2011-01-01

This article presents warm-ups that are designed to physiologically and psychologically prepare students for vigorous physical activity. An active movement warm-up routine is made up of three parts: (1) active warm-up movement exercises, (2) general preparation, and (3) the energy system. These warm-up routines can be used with all grade levels…

Latitudinal variation in carbon storage can help predict changes in swamps affected by global warming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Middleton, Beth A.; McKee, Karen

2004-01-01

Plants may offer our best hope of removing greenhouse gases (gases that contribute to global warming) emitted to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. At the same time, global warming could change environments so that natural plant communities will either need to shift into cooler climate zones, or become extirpated (Prasad and Iverson, 1999; Crumpacker and others, 2001; Davis and Shaw, 2001). It is impossible to know the future, but studies combining field observation of production and modeling can help us make predictions about what may happen to these wetland communities in the future. Widespread wetland types such as baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps in the southeastern portion of the United States could be especially good at carbon sequestration (amount of CO2 stored by forests) from the atmosphere. They have high levels of production and sometimes store undecomposed dead plant material in wet conditions with low oxygen, thus keeping gases stored that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere (fig. 1). To study the ability of baldcypress swamps to store carbon, our project has taken two approaches. The first analysis looked at published data to develop an idea (hypothesis) of how production levels change across a temperature gradient in the baldcypress region (published data study). The second study tested this idea by comparing production levels across a latitudinal range by using swamps in similar field conditions (ongoing carbon storage study). These studies will help us make predictions about the future ability of baldcypress swamps to store carbon in soil and plant biomass, as well as the ability of these forests to shift northward with global warming.

Mother's prior intrauterine position affects the sex ratio of her offspring in house mice.

PubMed

Vandenbergh, J G; Huggett, C L

1994-11-08

Sex ratio alterations related to environmental factors occur in several mammals, but no mechanism has been identified to explain the adjustment. Intrauterine position (IUP) may provide the context in which such alterations occur. Previous studies on house mice and gerbils reveal that the position of a fetus in the uterus in relation to the sex of its neighbors influences its later anatomy, physiology, and behavior. The anogenital distance (AGD) of females located between two males (2M) is longer than that of females not between two males (OM). We have found that the IUP, as determined by cesarean section and by an index of the AGD, correlates with the sex ratio of the litters produced by female mice. The sex ratio of the first litter born to 2M females was 58% males, for 1M females was 51% males and for OM females was 42% males. The effect on sex ratio continues into the second litter. The number of pups produced by mothers of different IUPs in her first two litters did not differ, suggesting that the sex ratio adjustment occurs prior to parturition. These results provide a basis for the natural variability observed in sex ratios of litter-bearing mammals and suggest that one or more intrauterine mechanisms may be responsible for environmentally related sex ratio alterations.

Environment-related and host-related factors affecting the occurrence of lice on rodents in Central Europe.

PubMed

Stanko, Michal; Fričová, Jana; Miklisová, Dana; Khokhlova, Irina S; Krasnov, Boris R

2015-06-01

We studied the effects of environment- (habitat, season) and host-related (sex, body mass) factors on the occurrence of four species of lice (Insecta:Phthiraptera:Anoplura) on six rodent species (Rodentia:Muridae). We asked how these factors influence the occurrence of lice on an individual host and whether different rodent-louse associations demonstrate consistent trends in these effects. We found significant effects of at least one environment-related and at least one host-related factor on the louse occurrence in five of six host-louse associations. The effect of habitat was significant in two associations with the occurrence of lice being more frequent in lowland than in mountain habitats. The effect of season was significant in five associations with a higher occurrence of infestation during the warm season in four associations and the cold season in one association. Host sex affected significantly the infestation by lice in three associations with a higher frequency of infestation in males. Host body mass affected the occurrence of lice in all five associations, being negative in wood mice and positive in voles. In conclusion, lice were influenced not only by the host- but also by environment-related factors. The effects of the latter could be mediated via life history parameters of a host.

Logging affects fledgling sex ratios and baseline corticosterone in a forest songbird.

PubMed

Leshyk, Rhiannon; Nol, Erica; Burke, Dawn M; Burness, Gary

2012-01-01

Silviculture (logging) creates a disturbance to forested environments. The degree to which forests are modified depends on the logging prescription and forest stand characteristics. In this study we compared the effects of two methods of group-selection ("moderate" and "heavy") silviculture (GSS) and undisturbed reference stands on stress and offspring sex ratios of a forest interior species, the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. Blood samples were taken from nestlings for corticosterone and molecular sexing. We found that logging creates a disturbance that is stressful for nestling Ovenbirds, as illustrated by elevated baseline corticosterone in cut sites. Ovenbirds nesting in undisturbed reference forest produce fewer male offspring per brood (proportion male = 30%) while logging with progressively greater forest disturbance, shifted the offspring sex ratio towards males (proportion male: moderate = 50%, heavy = 70%). If Ovenbirds in undisturbed forests usually produce female-biased broods, then the production of males as a result of logging may disrupt population viability. We recommend a broad examination of nestling sex ratios in response to anthropogenic disturbance to determine the generality of our findings.

Exploring the pattern of blood donor beliefs in first-time, novice, and experienced donors: differentiating reluctant altruism, pure altruism, impure altruism, and warm glow.

PubMed

Ferguson, Eamonn; Atsma, Femke; de Kort, Wim; Veldhuizen, Ingrid

2012-02-01

Using constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior and theories of altruism, this article explores how multiple motivations and beliefs for blood donation are clustered and change across the donor career. In so doing important distinctions, for blood donation, between impure altruism, pure altruism, and warm glow are explored. Measures of intentions, cognitive and affective attitudes, role merger, pure altruism, trust, self-efficacy, subjective and moral norms, and habit formation were assessed in a sample of 12,580 whole blood donors. Analyses showed that a distinction between first-time, novice (one to four donations), and experienced donors (five or more donations) is justified. Principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analytic Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Causal models were used to compare models across these groups. A cognition-behavior (CB) factor, including intentions, was common to all groups. First-time and novice donors were marked by a newly identified motivational factor: "reluctant altruism" (i.e., the motivation to donate because of a lack of trust in others). First-time donors exhibited an impure altruism factor whereas for experienced donors warm glow and pure altruism factors were observed. For first-time donors impure altruism and reluctant altruism were both associated with the CB factor in females and impure altruism only in males. For both sexes reluctant altruism was associated of the CB factor in novice donors and warm glow and pure altruism for experienced donors. New avenues for intervention are suggested by the emergence of reluctant altruism for novice donors and warm glow for experienced donors. The importance of distinguishing aspects of altruism is highlighted. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

Climate warming increases biological control agent impact on a non-target species

PubMed Central

Lu, Xinmin; Siemann, Evan; He, Minyan; Wei, Hui; Shao, Xu; Ding, Jianqing

2015-01-01

Climate change may shift interactions of invasive plants, herbivorous insects and native plants, potentially affecting biological control efficacy and non-target effects on native species. Here, we show how climate warming affects impacts of a multivoltine introduced biocontrol beetle on the non-target native plant Alternanthera sessilis in China. In field surveys across a latitudinal gradient covering their full distributions, we found beetle damage on A. sessilis increased with rising temperature and plant life history changed from perennial to annual. Experiments showed that elevated temperature changed plant life history and increased insect overwintering, damage and impacts on seedling recruitment. These results suggest that warming can shift phenologies, increase non-target effect magnitude and increase non-target effect occurrence by beetle range expansion to additional areas where A. sessilis occurs. This study highlights the importance of understanding how climate change affects species interactions for future biological control of invasive species and conservation of native species. PMID:25376303

Amplified summer warming in Europe-West Asia and Northeast Asia after the mid-1990s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Xiaowei; Lu, Riyu; Li, Shuanglin

2017-09-01

Regional temperature changes are a crucial factor in affecting agriculture, ecosystems and societies, which depend greatly on local temperatures. We identify a nonuniform warming pattern in summer around the mid-1990s over the Eurasian continent, with a predominant amplified warming over Europe-West Asia and Northeast Asia but much weaker warming over Central Asia. It is found that the nonuniform warming concurs with both the phase shift of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and the decadal change in the Silk Road Pattern (SRP), which is an upper-tropospheric teleconnection pattern over the Eurasian continent during summer. We suggest that the AMO may modulate the decadal change in SRP and then induce the zonal asymmetry in temperature changes. Our results have important implications for decadal prediction of regional warming pattern in Eurasia based on the predictable AMO.

Can climate-effective land management reduce regional warming?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirsch, A. L.; Wilhelm, M.; Davin, E. L.; Thiery, W.; Seneviratne, S. I.

2017-02-01

Limiting global warming to well below 2°C is an imminent challenge for humanity. However, even if this global target can be met, some regions are still likely to experience substantial warming relative to others. Using idealized global climate simulations, we examine the potential of land management options in affecting regional climate, with a focus on crop albedo enhancement and irrigation (climate-effective land management). The implementation is performed over all crop regions globally to provide an upper bound. We find that the implementation of both crop albedo enhancement and irrigation can reduce hot temperature extremes by more than 2°C in North America, Eurasia, and India over the 21st century relative to a scenario without management application. The efficacy of crop albedo enhancement scales with the magnitude, where a cooling response exceeding 0.5°C for hot temperature extremes was achieved with a large (i.e., ≥0.08) change in crop albedo. Regional differences were attributed to the surface energy balance response with temperature changes mostly explained by latent heat flux changes for irrigation and net shortwave radiation changes for crop albedo enhancement. However, limitations do exist, where we identify warming over the winter months when climate-effective land management is temporarily suspended. This was associated with persistent cloud cover that enhances longwave warming. It cannot be confirmed if the magnitude of this feedback is reproducible in other climate models. Our results overall demonstrate that regional warming of hot extremes in our climate model can be partially mitigated when using an idealized treatment of climate-effective land management.

Sex chromosome aneuploidies.

PubMed

Skuse, David; Printzlau, Frida; Wolstencroft, Jeanne

2018-01-01

Sex chromosome aneuploidies comprise a relatively common group of chromosome disorders characterized by the loss or gain of one or more sex chromosomes. We discuss five of the better-known sex aneuploidies: Turner syndrome (XO), Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), trisomy X (XXX), XYY, and XXYY. Despite their prevalence in the general population, these disorders are underdiagnosed and the specific genetic mechanisms underlying their phenotypes are poorly understood. Although there is considerable variation between them in terms of associated functional impairment, each disorder has a characteristic physical, cognitive, and neurologic profile. The most common cause of sex chromosome aneuploidies is nondisjunction, which can occur during meiosis or during the early stages of postzygotic development. The loss or gain of genetic material can affect all daughter cells or it may be partial, leading to tissue mosaicism. In both typical and atypical sex chromosome karyotypes, there is random inactivation of all but one X chromosome. The mechanisms by which a phenotype results from sex chromosome aneuploidies are twofold: dosage imbalance arising from a small number of genes that escape inactivation, and their endocrinologic consequences. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Litter sex composition affects life-history traits in yellow-bellied marmots.

PubMed

Monclús, Raquel; Blumstein, Daniel T

2012-01-01

1. The presence of siblings might have long-lasting fitness consequences because they influence the early environment in which an animal develops. Several studies under laboratory conditions have shown long-lasting consequences from the presence of male siblings in utero on morphology and life-history traits. However, in wild animals, such effects of litter sex composition are unexplored. 2. We capitalized on a long-term study of individually marked yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and documented the effects of weaned litter sex composition and anogenital distance on several life-history and fitness traits. 3. First, we demonstrated that the number of males in a litter influenced anogenital distance. Then, we found that masculinized females, those with larger anogenital distances, were less likely to survive their first hibernation, were more likely to disperse and were less likely to become pregnant and wean young. Males from male-biased litters had lower growth rates, but we failed to detect longer-term consequences. 4. Taken together, our results show profound sex-dependent effects of litter sex composition, probably due to differential prenatal exposure to androgens, in free-living animals. We conclude that masculinization might constitute an alternative mechanism explaining variation in different demographic traits. This finding highlights the importance of studying these maternal effects, and they enhance our concern over the widespread use of endocrine disrupting compounds. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2011 British Ecological Society.

Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meezan, William; Rauch, Jonathan

2005-01-01

Same-sex marriage, barely on the political radar a decade ago, is a reality in America. How will it affect the well-being of children? Some observers worry that legalizing same-sex marriage would send the message that same-sex parenting and opposite-sex parenting are interchangeable, when in fact they may lead to different outcomes for children.…

The Summertime Warming Trends in Surface Water Temperature of the Great Lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiyama, N.; Kravtsov, S.; Roebber, P.

2014-12-01

Over the past 30 years, the Laurentian Great Lakes have exhibited summertime warming trends in surface water temperature which were greater than those in surface air temperature of the surrounding land, by as much as an order of magnitude over some of the regions. For the years 1995-2012, Lake Superior exhibited the most dramatic warming trend in July-mean temperature, of 0.27±0.15 deg. C yr-1, based on the NOAA's GLSEA satellite observations. Shallower lakes, such as Lake Erie, exhibited smaller warming trends. In addition, within each lake, the warming was also the greatest in the regions of larger water depth; for example, some regions of Lake Superior deeper than 200m exhibited surface-water July-mean warming trends which exceeded 0.3 deg. C yr-1. We used a three-column lake model based on the one developed by Hostetler and Barnstein (1990) coupled with a two-layer atmospheric energy balance model to explore the physics behind these warming trends. We found that, as suggested by Austin and Colman (2007), the ice-albedo feedback plays an important role in amplifying the overlake warming trends. Our particular emphasis was on the question of whether the ice-albedo feedback alone is enough to account for lacustrine amplification of surface warming observed over the Great Lakes region. We found that the answer to this question depends on a number of model parameters, including the diffusion and light attenuation coefficients, which greatly affect the model's skill in reproducing the observed ice coverage of the deep lakes.

Consumers mediate the effects of experimental ocean acidification and warming on primary producers.

PubMed

Alsterberg, Christian; Eklöf, Johan S; Gamfeldt, Lars; Havenhand, Jonathan N; Sundbäck, Kristina

2013-05-21

It is well known that ocean acidification can have profound impacts on marine organisms. However, we know little about the direct and indirect effects of ocean acidification and also how these effects interact with other features of environmental change such as warming and declining consumer pressure. In this study, we tested whether the presence of consumers (invertebrate mesograzers) influenced the interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming on benthic microalgae in a seagrass community mesocosm experiment. Net effects of acidification and warming on benthic microalgal biomass and production, as assessed by analysis of variance, were relatively weak regardless of grazer presence. However, partitioning these net effects into direct and indirect effects using structural equation modeling revealed several strong relationships. In the absence of grazers, benthic microalgae were negatively and indirectly affected by sediment-associated microalgal grazers and macroalgal shading, but directly and positively affected by acidification and warming. Combining indirect and direct effects yielded no or weak net effects. In the presence of grazers, almost all direct and indirect climate effects were nonsignificant. Our analyses highlight that (i) indirect effects of climate change may be at least as strong as direct effects, (ii) grazers are crucial in mediating these effects, and (iii) effects of ocean acidification may be apparent only through indirect effects and in combination with other variables (e.g., warming). These findings highlight the importance of experimental designs and statistical analyses that allow us to separate and quantify the direct and indirect effects of multiple climate variables on natural communities.

Warm Mix Asphalt

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-17

State of Alaska State of Alaska - Warm Mix Project Warm Mix Project: Location - Petersburg, Alaska which is Petersburg, Alaska which is located in the heart of Southeast Alaska located in the heart of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage at the tip of M...

Effects of global warming on ancient mammalian communities and their environments.

PubMed

DeSantis, Larisa R G; Feranec, Robert S; MacFadden, Bruce J

2009-06-03

Current global warming affects the composition and dynamics of mammalian communities and can increase extinction risk; however, long-term effects of warming on mammals are less understood. Dietary reconstructions inferred from stable isotopes of fossil herbivorous mammalian tooth enamel document environmental and climatic changes in ancient ecosystems, including C(3)/C(4) transitions and relative seasonality. Here, we use stable carbon and oxygen isotopes preserved in fossil teeth to document the magnitude of mammalian dietary shifts and ancient floral change during geologically documented glacial and interglacial periods during the Pliocene (approximately 1.9 million years ago) and Pleistocene (approximately 1.3 million years ago) in Florida. Stable isotope data demonstrate increased aridity, increased C(4) grass consumption, inter-faunal dietary partitioning, increased isotopic niche breadth of mixed feeders, niche partitioning of phylogenetically similar taxa, and differences in relative seasonality with warming. Our data show that global warming resulted in dramatic vegetation and dietary changes even at lower latitudes (approximately 28 degrees N). Our results also question the use of models that predict the long term decline and extinction of species based on the assumption that niches are conserved over time. These findings have immediate relevance to clarifying possible biotic responses to current global warming in modern ecosystems.

Sex change in the subdioecious shrub Eurya japonica (Pentaphylacaceae).

PubMed

Wang, Hui; Matsushita, Michinari; Tomaru, Nobuhiro; Nakagawa, Michiko

2017-04-01

Sex change affects the sex ratios of plant populations and may play an essential role in the evolutionary shift of sexual systems. Sex change can be a strategy for increasing fitness over the lifetime of a plant, and plant size, environmental factors, and growth rate may affect sex change. We described frequent, repeated sex changes following various patterns in a subdioecious Eurya japonica population over five successive years. Of the individuals, 27.5% changed their sex at least once, and these changes were unidirectional or bidirectional. The sex ratio (females/males/all hermaphrodite types) did not fluctuate over the 5 years. In our study plots, although the current sex ratio among the sexes appears to be stable, the change in sex ratio may be slowly progressing toward increasing females and decreasing males. Sex was more likely to change with higher growth rates and more exposure to light throughout the year. Among individuals that changed sex, those that were less exposed to light in the leafy season and had less diameter growth tended to shift from hermaphrodite to a single sex. Therefore, sex change in E . japonica seemed to be explained by a response to the internal physiological condition of an individual mediated by intrinsic and abiotic environmental factors.

Modification of cirrus clouds to reduce global warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, D. L.

2009-12-01

Since both greenhouse gases and cirrus clouds strongly affect outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) with no affect or less affect on solar radiation, respectively, an attempt to delay global warming to buy time for emission reduction strategies to work might naturally target cirrus clouds. Cirrus having optical depths < 3.6 cover 13% of the globe and have a net warming effect on climate, with the coldest cirrus having the strongest warming effect. Roughly 2/3 of predicted global warming is due to the feedback effect of water vapor and clouds from an initial greenhouse gas forcing, and a recent study indicates water vapor and clouds in the upper troposphere (UT) have the greatest impact on climate sensitivity (the equilibrium response of global-mean surface temperature to a CO2 doubling). Thus altering UT water vapor and cirrus may be a good strategy for climate engineering. Cirrus cloud coverage is predicted to be sensitive to the ice fall speed which depends on ice crystal size. The higher the cirrus, the greater their impact is on OLR. Thus by changing ice crystal size in the coldest cirrus, OLR and climate might be modified. Fortunately the coldest cirrus have the highest ice supersaturation due to the dominance of homogeneous freezing nucleation. Seeding such cirrus with very efficient heterogeneous ice nuclei should produce larger ice crystals due to vapor competition effects, thus increasing OLR and surface cooling. Preliminary estimates of this global net cloud forcing via GCM simulations are more negative than -2.8 W m-2 and could neutralize the radiative forcing due to a CO2 doubling (3.7 W m-2). This cirrus engineered net forcing is due to (1) reduced cirrus coverage and (2) reduced upper tropospheric water vapor, due to enhanced ice sedimentation. The implementation of this climate engineering could use the airline industry to disperse the seeding material. Commercial airliners typically fly at temperatures between -40 and -60 deg. C (where homogeneous

Effects of warming and nitrogen fertilization on GHG flux in an alpine swamp meadow of a permafrost region.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaopeng; Wang, Genxu; Zhang, Tao; Mao, Tianxu; Wei, Da; Song, Chunlin; Hu, Zhaoyong; Huang, Kewei

2017-12-01

Uncertainties in the seasonal changes of greenhouse gases (GHG) fluxes in wetlands limit our accurate understanding of the responses of permafrost ecosystems to future warming and increased nitrogen (N) deposition. Therefore, in an alpine swamp meadow in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a simulated warming with N fertilization experiment was conducted to investigate the key GHG fluxes (ecosystem respiration [Re], CH 4 and N 2 O) in the early (EG), mid (MG) and late (LG) growing seasons. Results showed that warming (6.2 °C) increased the average seasonal Re by 30.9% and transformed the alpine swamp meadow from a N 2 O sink to a source, whereas CH 4 flux was not significantly affected. N fertilization (4 g N m -2 a -1 ) alone had no significant effect on the fluxes of GHGs. The interaction of warming and N fertilization increased CH 4 uptake by 69.6% and N 2 O emissions by 26.2% compared with warming, whereas the Re was not significantly affected. During the EG, although the soil temperature sensitivity of the Re was the highest, the effect of warming on the Re was the weakest. The primary driving factor for Re was soil surface temperature, whereas soil moisture controlled CH 4 flux, and the N 2 O flux was primarily affected by rain events. The results indicated: (i) increasing N deposition has both positive and negative feedbacks on GHG fluxes in response to climate warming; (ii) during soil thawing process at active layer, low temperature of deep frozen soils have a negative contribution to Re in alpine ecosystems; and (iii) although these alpine wetland ecosystems are buffers against increased temperature, their feedbacks on climate change cannot be ignored because of the large soil organic carbon pool and high temperature sensitivity of the Re. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How warm days increase belief in global warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaval, Lisa; Keenan, Elizabeth A.; Johnson, Eric J.; Weber, Elke U.

2014-02-01

Climate change judgements can depend on whether today seems warmer or colder than usual, termed the local warming effect. Although previous research has demonstrated that this effect occurs, studies have yet to explain why or how temperature abnormalities influence global warming attitudes. A better understanding of the underlying psychology of this effect can help explain the public's reaction to climate change and inform approaches used to communicate the phenomenon. Across five studies, we find evidence of attribute substitution, whereby individuals use less relevant but available information (for example, today's temperature) in place of more diagnostic but less accessible information (for example, global climate change patterns) when making judgements. Moreover, we rule out alternative hypotheses involving climate change labelling and lay mental models. Ultimately, we show that present temperature abnormalities are given undue weight and lead to an overestimation of the frequency of similar past events, thereby increasing belief in and concern for global warming.

Affective Domain Progression in Single-Sex and Coeducational Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhindsa, Harkirat S.; Salleh, Siti-Zahrani Binti Haji Md

2018-01-01

Students who study science in single-sex and coeducational schools have attracted lots of attention from the education community. However, changes to students' attitudes toward science as they progress to higher grades in these schools are not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the changes in attitudes toward science among…

Poverty as a contextual factor affecting sexual health behavior among female sex workers in India.

PubMed

Dasgupta, Satarupa

2013-06-01

A thorough understanding of the environmental and structural factors that precipitate unsafe sexual practices is necessary for HIV/AIDS-prevention research among high-risk population groups like commercial sex workers. I examined how poverty contextualizes sexual health behavior, including condom compliance among commercial female sex workers in a red light district in Calcutta, India. For my research I did an ethnographic study and conducted in-depth interviews of 37 commercial female sex workers. I found that poverty, instead of serving as a catalyst for poor health choices among sex workers, acted as an impetus for pursuing safe sex practices and remaining healthy. The results indicate that sex work, poverty, and health do not always have a paradoxical relationship.

How Were Southwest Pacific Pelagic Ecosystems Affected by Extreme Global Warming During the Initial Eocene Thermal Maximum?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollis, C. J.; Crouch, E. M.; Dickens, G. R.

2004-12-01

Four sections in eastern New Zealand provide the only South Pacific record of the initial Eocene thermal maximum (IETM): a siliciclastic outer shelf section (Tawanui, Hawkes Bay) and three pelagic-hemipelagic sections forming an outer shelf-upper slope transect across a carbonate ramp (Muzzle, Dee and Mead Streams, Clarence Valley). Although the rocks are too indurated to yield reliable oxygen isotope data, the IETM is identified by bulk carbonate carbon isotopes as a sharp negative excursion followed by gradual recovery over 0.6 to 4.0 m. In all sections, the excursion is mirrored by terrigenous sediment concentration, due to reduced biogenic (carbonate and silica) input and increased terrigenous input. Increased precipitation under warm humid conditions appears to have increased terrestrial discharge, recorded by deposition of smectitic marl in pelagic settings and illite/kaolinite-bearing smectitic mudstone in neritic settings. Eutrophic conditions are inferred for the IETM interval at Tawanui based on dysoxia, carbonate dissolution, an acme for the peridinioid dinocyst Apectodinium and abundant Toweius spp in nannofossil assemblages. Continued abundance of Toweius and replacement of Apectodinium by peridinioids of the Deflandrea complex suggests that eutrophic, albeit cooler, conditions persisted for at least 0.5 Ma after the IETM. In contrast, the IETM in Clarence Valley is marked by reduced biogenic silica content but little change in carbonate, and no evidence for carbonate dissolution. Sparse, poorly preserved palynomorphs assemblages suggest organic matter was oxidised under fully oxic conditions. Reduced numbers of upwelling indicators in the siliceous microfossil assemblage and common warm-water planktic foraminifera (Morozovella spp.), nannoplankton (Discoaster spp.) and radiolarians (e.g. Podocyrtis and Theocorys spp.) signal a switch from eutrophic to oligotrophic conditions and significant warming of near-surface waters. A progressive increase in

Root and Shoot Phenology May Respond Differently to Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radville, L.; Eissenstat, D. M.; Post, E.

2015-12-01

Climate change is increasing temperatures and extending the growing season for many organisms. Shifts in phenology have been widely reported in response to global warming and have strong effects on ecosystem processes and greenhouse gas emissions. It is well understood that warming generally advances aboveground plant phenology, but the influence of temperature on root phenology is unclear. Most terrestrial biosphere models assume that root and shoot growth occur at the same time and are influenced by warming in the same way, but recent studies suggest that this may not be the case. Testing this assumption is particularly important in the Arctic where over 70% of plant biomass can be belowground and warming is happening faster than in other ecosystems. In 2013 and 2014 we examined the timing of root growth in the Arctic in plots that had been warmed or unwarmed for 10 years. We found that peak root growth occurred about one month before leaf growth, suggesting that spring root phenology is not controlled by carbon produced during spring photosynthesis. If root phenology is not controlled by photosynthate early in the season, earlier spring leaf growth may not cause earlier spring root growth. In support of this, we found that warming advanced spring leaf cover but did not significantly affect root phenology. Root growth was not significantly correlated with soil temperature and did not appear to be limited by near-freezing temperatures above the permafrost. These results suggest that although shoots are influenced by temperature, roots in this system may be more influenced by photosynthesis and carbon storage. Aboveground phenology, one of the most widely measured aspects of climate change, may not represent whole-plant phenology and may be a poor indicator of the timing of whole-plant carbon fluxes. Additionally, climate model assumptions that roots and shoots grow at the same time may need to be revised.

Global warming potential of pavements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santero, Nicholas J.; Horvath, Arpad

2009-09-01

Pavements comprise an essential and vast infrastructure system supporting our transportation network, yet their impact on the environment is largely unquantified. Previous life-cycle assessments have only included a limited number of the applicable life-cycle components in their analysis. This research expands the current view to include eight different components: materials extraction and production, transportation, onsite equipment, traffic delay, carbonation, lighting, albedo, and rolling resistance. Using global warming potential as the environmental indicator, ranges of potential impact for each component are calculated and compared based on the information uncovered in the existing research. The relative impacts between components are found to be orders of magnitude different in some cases. Context-related factors, such as traffic level and location, are also important elements affecting the impacts of a given component. A strategic method for lowering the global warming potential of a pavement is developed based on the concept that environmental performance is improved most effectively by focusing on components with high impact potentials. This system takes advantage of the fact that small changes in high-impact components will have more effect than large changes in low-impact components.

No evidence of temperature-dependent sex determination or sex-biased embryo mortality in the chicken.

PubMed

Collins, K E; Jordan, B J; McLendon, B L; Navara, K J; Beckstead, R B; Wilson, J L

2013-12-01

Skewing the sex ratio at hatch in commercial poultry would be economically beneficial to the poultry industry. The existence of temperature-dependent sex determination is uncertain in birds. This experiment investigated if incubation temperatures skew sex ratios of commercial broilers. Three incubators were each set at a hot (38.3°C), standard (37.5°C), or cool (36.7°C) single-stage incubation temperature one time over 3 trials to eliminate incubator effect as a Latin square design. Sex ratios of hatched chicks and dead embryos were monitored. In one trial, embryo weights were evaluated. The percentages of male hatched chicks did not differ based on incubation temperature (P = 0.4486; 49.5% in the hot treatment, 51.4% at standard temperature, and 49.8% in the cool treatment). The percent hatch of eggs set was lower in the hot treatment (83.6%) than the standard (93.5%) and cool (91.6%) treatments (P < 0.0001) with greater late embryonic mortality in the hot treatment (P < 0.0001); however, the sex ratio of dead embryos did not differ among treatments (P = 0.9863). Pooled data of embryo mortality found no sex-biased embryo mortality with a female/male sex ratio of 1.22:1 (χ(2) = 1.27; P = 0.2596). Embryos from the hot treatment were heavier than those from the standard treatment by d 14 of incubation and were heavier than the embryos from the cool treatment by d 9 of incubation (P < 0.0001). These data indicate that incubation temperature affects embryonic mortality and embryonic growth rate, but it does not affect the sex ratio of broiler chickens. Additionally, no evidence was found for sex-biased embryo mortality in commercial broilers even at the incubation temperatures of this study.

Sex Differences in School Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shannon, Albert S., Ed.

1982-01-01

Sex differences in school learning are examined with a focus on how the variable of gender affects the teaching, learning, development, and behavior of children. The initial entries in this collection of articles focus on reading: the reading interests of girls and boys, sex bias and stereotyping in reading tests, and the influence of gender,…

Effect of Sex and Prior Exposure to a Cafeteria Diet on the Distribution of Sex Hormones between Plasma and Blood Cells

PubMed Central

Romero, María del Mar; Fernández-López, José Antonio; Remesar, Xavier; Alemany, Marià

2012-01-01

It is generally assumed that steroid hormones are carried in the blood free and/or bound to plasma proteins. We investigated whether blood cells were also able to bind/carry sex-related hormones: estrone, estradiol, DHEA and testosterone. Wistar male and female rats were fed a cafeteria diet for 30 days, which induced overweight. The rats were fed the standard rat diet for 15 additional days to minimize the immediate effects of excess ingested energy. Controls were always kept on standard diet. After the rats were killed, their blood was used for 1) measuring plasma hormone levels, 2) determining the binding of labeled hormones to washed red blood cells (RBC), 3) incubating whole blood with labeled hormones and determining the distribution of label between plasma and packed cells, discounting the trapped plasma volume, 4) determining free plasma hormone using labeled hormones, both through membrane ultrafiltration and dextran-charcoal removal. The results were computed individually for each rat. Cells retained up to 32% estrone, and down to 10% of testosterone, with marked differences due to sex and diet (the latter only for estrogens, not for DHEA and testosterone). Sex and diet also affected the concentrations of all hormones, with no significant diet effects for estradiol and DHEA, but with considerable interaction between both factors. Binding to RBC was non-specific for all hormones. Estrogen distribution in plasma compartments was affected by sex and diet. In conclusion: a) there is a large non-specific RBC-carried compartment for estrone, estradiol, DHEA and testosterone deeply affected by sex; b) Prior exposure to a cafeteria (hyperlipidic) diet induced hormone distribution changes, affected by sex, which hint at sex-related structural differences in RBC membranes; c) We postulate that the RBC compartment may contribute to maintain free (i.e., fully active) sex hormone levels in a way similar to plasma proteins non-specific binding. PMID:22479617

Sex selection: treating different cases differently.

PubMed

Dickens, B M; Serour, G I; Cook, R J; Qiu, R-Z

2005-08-01

This paper contrasts ethical approaches to sex selection in countries where discrimination against women is pervasive, resulting in selection against girl children, and in countries where there is less general discrimination and couples do not prefer children of either sex. National sex ratio imbalances where discrimination against women is common have resulted in laws and policies, such as in India and China, to deter and prevent sex selection. Birth ratios of children can be affected by techniques of prenatal sex determination and abortion, preconception sex selection and discarding disfavored embryos, and prefertilization sperm sorting, when disfavored sperm remain unused. Incentives for son preference are reviewed, and laws and policies to prevent sex selection are explained. The elimination of social, economic and other discrimination against women is urged to redress sex selection against girl children. Where there is no general selection against girl children, sex selection can be allowed to assist families that want children of both sexes.

Obesity in children with poorly controlled asthma: Sex differences.

PubMed

Lang, Jason E; Holbrook, Janet T; Wise, Robert A; Dixon, Anne E; Teague, W Gerald; Wei, Christine Y; Irvin, Charles G; Shade, David; Lima, John J

2013-09-01

Obesity increases asthma risk, and may alter asthma severity. In adults, sex appears to modify the effect of obesity on asthma. Among children, the effect of sex on the relationship between obesity and asthma severity remains less clear, particularly when considering race. To determine how obesity affects disease characteristics in a diverse cohort of children with poorly controlled asthma, and if obesity effects are altered by sex. We analyzed 306 children between 6 and 17 years of age with poorly controlled asthma enrolled in a 6-month trial assessing lansoprazole for asthma control. In this secondary analysis, we determined associations between obesity and symptom severity, spirometry, exacerbation risk, airway biomarkers, bronchial reactivity, and airflow perception. We used both a multivariate linear regression and longitudinal mixed-effect model to determine if obesity interacted with sex to affect asthma severity. Regardless of sex, BMI >95th percentile did not affect asthma control, exacerbation risk or airway biomarkers. Sex changed the effect of obesity on lung function (sex × obesity FEV1%, interaction P-value < 0.01, sex × obesity FEV1/FVC, interaction P-value = 0.03). Obese males had significantly worse airflow obstruction compared to non-obese males, while in females there was no obesity effect on airflow obstruction. In females, obesity was associated with significantly greater FEV1 and FVC, and a trend toward reduced airway reactivity. Obesity did not affect asthma control, airway markers or disease stability; however obesity did affect lung function in a sex-dependent manner. In males, obesity associated with reduced FEV1/FVC, and in females, obesity associated with substantially improved lung function. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Warming and Nitrogen Addition Increase Litter Decomposition in a Temperate Meadow Ecosystem

PubMed Central

Gong, Shiwei; Guo, Rui; Zhang, Tao; Guo, Jixun

2015-01-01

Background Litter decomposition greatly influences soil structure, nutrient content and carbon sequestration, but how litter decomposition is affected by climate change is still not well understood. Methodology/Principal Findings A field experiment with increased temperature and nitrogen (N) addition was established in April 2007 to examine the effects of experimental warming, N addition and their interaction on litter decomposition in a temperate meadow steppe in northeastern China. Warming, N addition and warming plus N addition reduced the residual mass of L. chinensis litter by 3.78%, 7.51% and 4.53%, respectively, in 2008 and 2009, and by 4.73%, 24.08% and 16.1%, respectively, in 2010. Warming, N addition and warming plus N addition had no effect on the decomposition of P. communis litter in 2008 or 2009, but reduced the residual litter mass by 5.58%, 15.53% and 5.17%, respectively, in 2010. Warming and N addition reduced the cellulose percentage of L. chinensis and P. communis, specifically in 2010. The lignin percentage of L. chinensis and P. communis was reduced by warming but increased by N addition. The C, N and P contents of L. chinensis and P. communis litter increased with time. Warming and N addition reduced the C content and C:N ratios of L. chinensisand P. communis litter, but increased the N and P contents. Significant interactive effects of warming and N addition on litter decomposition were observed (P<0.01). Conclusion/Significance The litter decomposition rate was highly correlated with soil temperature, soil water content and litter quality. Warming and N addition significantly impacted the litter decomposition rate in the Songnen meadow ecosystem, and the effects of warming and N addition on litter decomposition were also influenced by the quality of litter. These results highlight how climate change could alter grassland ecosystem carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents in soil by influencing litter decomposition. PMID:25774776

Comparison of Effects Produced by Physiological Versus Traditional Vocal Warm-up in Contemporary Commercial Music Singers.

PubMed

Portillo, María Priscilla; Rojas, Sandra; Guzman, Marco; Quezada, Camilo

2018-03-01

The present study aimed to observe whether physiological warm-up and traditional singing warm-up differently affect aerodynamic, electroglottographic, acoustic, and self-perceived parameters of voice in Contemporary Commercial Music singers. Thirty subjects were asked to perform a 15-minute session of vocal warm-up. They were randomly assigned to one of two types of vocal warm-up: physiological (based on semi-occluded exercises) or traditional (singing warm-up based on open vowel [a:]). Aerodynamic, electroglottographic, acoustic, and self-perceived voice quality assessments were carried out before (pre) and after (post) warm-up. No significant differences were found when comparing both types of vocal warm-up methods, either in subjective or in objective measures. Furthermore, the main positive effect observed in both groups when comparing pre and post conditions was a better self-reported quality of voice. Additionally, significant differences were observed for sound pressure level (decrease), glottal airflow (increase), and aerodynamic efficiency (decrease) in the traditional warm-up group. Both traditional and physiological warm-ups produce favorable voice sensations. Moreover, there are no evident differences in aerodynamic and electroglottographic variables when comparing both types of vocal warm-ups. Some changes after traditional warm-up (decreased intensity, increased airflow, and decreased aerodynamic efficiency) could imply an early stage of vocal fatigue. Copyright © 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Popularity among Same-Sex and Cross-Sex Peers: A Process-Oriented Examination of Links to Aggressive Behaviors and Depressive Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Troop-Gordon, Wendy; Ranney, John D.

2014-01-01

Popularity has been linked to heightened aggression and fewer depressive symptoms. The current study extends this literature by examining the unique contributions of same-sex and cross-sex popularity to children's development, as well as potential mediating processes. Third- and 4th-graders (212 boys, 250 girls) provided data at 3 time points over…

Designing connected marine reserves in the face of global warming.

PubMed

Álvarez-Romero, Jorge G; Munguía-Vega, Adrián; Beger, Maria; Del Mar Mancha-Cisneros, Maria; Suárez-Castillo, Alvin N; Gurney, Georgina G; Pressey, Robert L; Gerber, Leah R; Morzaria-Luna, Hem Nalini; Reyes-Bonilla, Héctor; Adams, Vanessa M; Kolb, Melanie; Graham, Erin M; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Castillo-López, Alejandro; Hinojosa-Arango, Gustavo; Petatán-Ramírez, David; Moreno-Baez, Marcia; Godínez-Reyes, Carlos R; Torre, Jorge

2018-02-01

Marine reserves are widely used to protect species important for conservation and fisheries and to help maintain ecological processes that sustain their populations, including recruitment and dispersal. Achieving these goals requires well-connected networks of marine reserves that maximize larval connectivity, thus allowing exchanges between populations and recolonization after local disturbances. However, global warming can disrupt connectivity by shortening potential dispersal pathways through changes in larval physiology. These changes can compromise the performance of marine reserve networks, thus requiring adjusting their design to account for ocean warming. To date, empirical approaches to marine prioritization have not considered larval connectivity as affected by global warming. Here, we develop a framework for designing marine reserve networks that integrates graph theory and changes in larval connectivity due to potential reductions in planktonic larval duration (PLD) associated with ocean warming, given current socioeconomic constraints. Using the Gulf of California as case study, we assess the benefits and costs of adjusting networks to account for connectivity, with and without ocean warming. We compare reserve networks designed to achieve representation of species and ecosystems with networks designed to also maximize connectivity under current and future ocean-warming scenarios. Our results indicate that current larval connectivity could be reduced significantly under ocean warming because of shortened PLDs. Given the potential changes in connectivity, we show that our graph-theoretical approach based on centrality (eigenvector and distance-weighted fragmentation) of habitat patches can help design better-connected marine reserve networks for the future with equivalent costs. We found that maintaining dispersal connectivity incidentally through representation-only reserve design is unlikely, particularly in regions with strong asymmetric patterns of

Water- and Plant-Mediated Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes to Warming and Nitrogen Addition on the Songnen Grassland in Northeast China

PubMed Central

Jiang, Li; Guo, Rui; Zhu, Tingcheng; Niu, Xuedun; Guo, Jixun; Sun, Wei

2012-01-01

Background Understanding how grasslands are affected by a long-term increase in temperature is crucial to predict the future impact of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Additionally, it is not clear how the effects of global warming on grassland productivity are going to be altered by increased N deposition and N addition. Methodology/Principal Findings In-situ canopy CO2 exchange rates were measured in a meadow steppe subjected to 4-year warming and nitrogen addition treatments. Warming treatment reduced net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and increased ecosystem respiration (ER); but had no significant impacts on gross ecosystem productivity (GEP). N addition increased NEE, ER and GEP. However, there were no significant interactions between N addition and warming. The variation of NEE during the four experimental years was correlated with soil water content, particularly during early spring, suggesting that water availability is a primary driver of carbon fluxes in the studied semi-arid grassland. Conclusion/Significance Ecosystem carbon fluxes in grassland ecosystems are sensitive to warming and N addition. In the studied water-limited grassland, both warming and N addition influence ecosystem carbon fluxes by affecting water availability, which is the primary driver in many arid and semiarid ecosystems. It remains unknown to what extent the long-term N addition would affect the turn-over of soil organic matter and the C sink size of this grassland. PMID:23028848

Effects of seasonal change and experimental warming on the temperature dependence of photosynthesis in the canopy leaves of Quercus serrata.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Daisuke P; Nakaji, Tatsuro; Hiura, Tsutom; Hikosaka, Kouki

2016-10-01

The effects of warming on the temperature response of leaf photosynthesis have become an area of major concern in recent decades. Although growth temperature (GT) and day length (DL) affect leaf gas exchange characteristics, the way in which these factors influence the temperature dependence of photosynthesis remains uncertain. We established open-top canopy chambers at the canopy top of a deciduous forest, in which average daytime leaf temperature was increased by 1.0 °C. We conducted gas exchange measurements for the canopy leaves of deciduous trees exposed to artificial warming during different seasons. The carbon dioxide assimilation rate at 20 °C (A 20 ) was not affected by warming, whereas that at 25 °C (A 25 ) tended to be higher in leaves exposed to warming. Warming increased the optimal temperature of photosynthesis by increasing the activation energy for the maximum rate of carboxylation. Regression analysis indicated that both GT and DL strongly influenced gas exchange characteristics. Sensitivity analysis revealed that DL affected A without obvious effects on the temperature dependence of A, whereas GT almost maintained constant A 20 and strongly influenced the temperature dependence. These results indicate that GT and DL have different influences on photosynthesis; GT and DL affect the 'slope' and intercept' of the temperature dependence of photosynthesis, respectively. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Simulated warming shifts the flowering phenology and sexual reproduction of Cardamine hirsuta under different Planting densities

PubMed Central

Cao, YuSong; Xiao, Yian; Huang, Haiqun; Xu, Jiancheng; Hu, Wenhai; Wang, Ning

2016-01-01

Climate warming can shift the reproductive phenology of plant, and hence dramatically reduced the reproductive capacity both of density-dependent and -independent plant species. But it is still unclear how climate warming affects flowering phenology and reproductive allocation of plant under different planting densities. Here, we assessed the impact of simulated warming on flowering phenology and sexual reproduction in the ephemeral herb Cardamine hirsuta under four densities. We found that simulated warming delayed the onset of flowering averagely for 3.6 days but preceded the end of flowering for about 1 day, which indicated climate warming shortened the duration of the flowering. And the flowering amplitude in the peak flowering day also dramatically increased in the simulated warming treatment, which caused a mass-flowering pattern. Climate warming significantly increased the weights of the fruits, seeds and seed, but reduced fruit length and sexual reproductive allocation under all the four densities. The duration of flowering was shortened and the weights of the fruits, seeds and seed, and sexual reproductive allocation were reduced under The highest density. PMID:27296893

Net primary productivity and rain-use efficiency as affected by warming, altered precipitation, and clipping in a mixed-grass prairie.

PubMed

Xu, Xia; Sherry, Rebecca A; Niu, Shuli; Li, Dejun; Luo, Yiqi

2013-09-01

Grassland productivity in response to climate change and land use is a global concern. In order to explore the effects of climate change and land use on net primary productivity (NPP), NPP partitioning [fBNPP , defined as the fraction of belowground NPP (BNPP) to NPP], and rain-use efficiency (RUE) of NPP, we conducted a field experiment with warming (+3 °C), altered precipitation (double and half), and annual clipping in a mixed-grass prairie in Oklahoma, USA since July, 2009. Across the years, warming significantly increased BNPP, fBNPP , and RUEBNPP by an average of 11.6%, 2.8%, and 6.6%, respectively. This indicates that BNPP was more sensitive to warming than aboveground NPP (ANPP) since warming did not change ANPP and RUEANPP much. Double precipitation stimulated ANPP, BNPP, and NPP but suppressed RUEANPP , RUEBNPP , and RUENPP while half precipitation decreased ANPP, BNPP, and NPP but increased RUEANPP , RUEBNPP , and RUENPP . Clipping interacted with altered precipitation in impacting RUEANPP , RUEBNPP , and RUENPP , suggesting land use could confound the effects of precipitation changes on ecosystem processes. Soil moisture was found to be a main factor in regulating variation in ANPP, BNPP, and NPP while soil temperature was the dominant factor influencing fBNPP . These findings suggest that BNPP is critical point to future research. Additionally, results from single-factor manipulative experiments should be treated with caution due to the non-additive interactive effects of warming with altered precipitation and land use (clipping). © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence Strategies in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Friendships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Margaret E.; And Others

Some writers have suggested that males and females differ not only in influencibility, but also in the strategies which they use to influence others. Although general sex differences in friendships may affect influence strategies, there is little research comparing males' and females' friendships. To explore differences between same- and…

Fungi regulate response of N2O production to warming and grazing in a Tibetan grassland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Lei; Wang, Shiping; Xu, Xingliang; Wang, Yanfen; Rui, Yichao; Zhou, Xiaoqi; Shen, Qinhua; Wang, Jinzhi; Jiang, Lili; Luo, Caiyun; Gu, Tianbao; Ma, Wenchao; Chen, Guanyi

2018-03-01

Lack of understanding of the effects of warming and winter grazing on soil fungal contribution to nitrous oxide (N2O) production has limited our ability to predict N2O fluxes under changes in climate and land use management, because soil fungi play an important role in driving terrestrial N cycling. Here, we examined the effects of 10 years' warming and winter grazing on soil N2O emissions potential in an alpine meadow. Our results showed that soil bacteria and fungi contributed 46 % and 54 % to nitrification, and 37 % and 63 % to denitrification, respectively. Neither warming nor winter grazing affected the activity of enzymes responsible for overall nitrification and denitrification. However, warming significantly increased the enzyme activity of bacterial nitrification and denitrification to 53 % and 55 %, respectively. Warming significantly decreased enzyme activity of fungal nitrification and denitrification to 47 % and 45 %, respectively, while winter grazing had no such effect. We conclude that soil fungi could be the main source for N2O production potential in the Tibetan alpine grasslands. Warming and winter grazing may not affect the potential for soil N2O production potential, but climate warming can alter biotic pathways responsible for N2O production. These findings indicate that characterizing how fungal nitrification/denitrification contributes to N2O production, as well as how it responds to environmental and land use changes, can advance our understanding of N cycling. Therefore, our results provide some new insights about ecological controls on N2O production and lead to refine greenhouse gas flux models.

Climate warming and agricultural stressors interact to determine stream periphyton community composition.

PubMed

Piggott, Jeremy J; Salis, Romana K; Lear, Gavin; Townsend, Colin R; Matthaei, Christoph D

2015-01-01

Lack of knowledge about how the various drivers of global climate change will interact with multiple stressors already affecting ecosystems is the basis for great uncertainty in projections of future biological change. Despite concerns about the impacts of changes in land use, eutrophication and climate warming in running waters, the interactive effects of these stressors on stream periphyton are largely unknown. We manipulated nutrients (simulating agricultural runoff), deposited fine sediment (simulating agricultural erosion) (two levels each) and water temperature (eight levels, 0-6 °C above ambient) simultaneously in 128 streamside mesocosms. Our aim was to determine the individual and combined effects of the three stressors on the algal and bacterial constituents of the periphyton. All three stressors had pervasive individual effects, but in combination frequently produced synergisms at the population level and antagonisms at the community level. Depending on sediment and nutrient conditions, the effect of raised temperature frequently produced contrasting response patterns, with stronger or opposing effects when one or both stressors were augmented. Thus, warming tended to interact negatively with nutrients or sediment by weakening or reversing positive temperature effects or strengthening negative ones. Five classes of algal growth morphology were all affected in complex ways by raised temperature, suggesting that these measures may prove unreliable in biomonitoring programs in a warming climate. The evenness and diversity of the most abundant bacterial taxa increased with temperature at ambient but not with enriched nutrient levels, indicating that warming coupled with nutrient limitation may lead to a more evenly distributed bacterial community as temperatures rise. Freshwater management decisions that seek to avoid or mitigate the negative effects of agricultural land use on stream periphyton should be informed by knowledge of the interactive effects of

Sea surface height evidence for long-term warming effects of tropical cyclones on the ocean

PubMed Central

Mei, Wei; Primeau, François; McWilliams, James C.; Pasquero, Claudia

2013-01-01

Tropical cyclones have been hypothesized to influence climate by pumping heat into the ocean, but a direct measure of this warming effect is still lacking. We quantified cyclone-induced ocean warming by directly monitoring the thermal expansion of water in the wake of cyclones, using satellite-based sea surface height data that provide a unique way of tracking the changes in ocean heat content on seasonal and longer timescales. We find that the long-term effect of cyclones is to warm the ocean at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.15 PW between 1993 and 2009, i.e., ∼23 times more efficiently per unit area than the background equatorial warming, making cyclones potentially important modulators of the climate by affecting heat transport in the ocean–atmosphere system. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that the rate of warming increases with cyclone intensity. This, together with a predicted shift in the distribution of cyclones toward higher intensities as climate warms, suggests the ocean will get even warmer, possibly leading to a positive feedback. PMID:23922393

Sea surface height evidence for long-term warming effects of tropical cyclones on the ocean.

PubMed

Mei, Wei; Primeau, François; McWilliams, James C; Pasquero, Claudia

2013-09-17

Tropical cyclones have been hypothesized to influence climate by pumping heat into the ocean, but a direct measure of this warming effect is still lacking. We quantified cyclone-induced ocean warming by directly monitoring the thermal expansion of water in the wake of cyclones, using satellite-based sea surface height data that provide a unique way of tracking the changes in ocean heat content on seasonal and longer timescales. We find that the long-term effect of cyclones is to warm the ocean at a rate of 0.32 ± 0.15 PW between 1993 and 2009, i.e., ∼23 times more efficiently per unit area than the background equatorial warming, making cyclones potentially important modulators of the climate by affecting heat transport in the ocean-atmosphere system. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that the rate of warming increases with cyclone intensity. This, together with a predicted shift in the distribution of cyclones toward higher intensities as climate warms, suggests the ocean will get even warmer, possibly leading to a positive feedback.

Innovative empirical approaches for inferring climate-warming impacts on plants in remote areas.

PubMed

De Frenne, Pieter

2015-02-01

The prediction of the effects of climate warming on plant communities across the globe has become a major focus of ecology, evolution and biodiversity conservation. However, many of the frequently used empirical approaches for inferring how warming affects vegetation have been criticized for decades. In addition, methods that require no electricity may be preferred because of constraints of active warming, e.g. in remote areas. Efforts to overcome the limitations of earlier methods are currently under development, but these approaches have yet to be systematically evaluated side by side. Here, an overview of the benefits and limitations of a selection of innovative empirical techniques to study temperature effects on plants is presented, with a focus on practicality in relatively remote areas without an electric power supply. I focus on methods for: ecosystem aboveground and belowground warming; a fuller exploitation of spatial temperature variation; and long-term monitoring of plant ecological and microevolutionary changes in response to warming. An evaluation of the described methodological set-ups in a synthetic framework along six axes (associated with the consistency of temperature differences, disturbance, costs, confounding factors, spatial scale and versatility) highlights their potential usefulness and power. Hence, further developments of new approaches to empirically assess warming effects on plants can critically stimulate progress in climate-change biology.

Personal efficacy, the information environment, and attitudes toward global warming and climate change in the United States.

PubMed

Kellstedt, Paul M; Zahran, Sammy; Vedlitz, Arnold

2008-02-01

Despite the growing scientific consensus about the risks of global warming and climate change, the mass media frequently portray the subject as one of great scientific controversy and debate. And yet previous studies of the mass public's subjective assessments of the risks of global warming and climate change have not sufficiently examined public informedness, public confidence in climate scientists, and the role of personal efficacy in affecting global warming outcomes. By examining the results of a survey on an original and representative sample of Americans, we find that these three forces-informedness, confidence in scientists, and personal efficacy-are related in interesting and unexpected ways, and exert significant influence on risk assessments of global warming and climate change. In particular, more informed respondents both feel less personally responsible for global warming, and also show less concern for global warming. We also find that confidence in scientists has unexpected effects: respondents with high confidence in scientists feel less responsible for global warming, and also show less concern for global warming. These results have substantial implications for the interaction between scientists and the public in general, and for the public discussion of global warming and climate change in particular.

Sex ratio rather than population size affects genetic diversity in Antennaria dioica.

PubMed

Rosche, C; Schrieber, K; Lachmuth, S; Durka, W; Hirsch, H; Wagner, V; Schleuning, M; Hensen, I

2018-03-09

Habitat fragmentation and small population size can lead to genetic erosion in threatened plant populations. Classical theory implies that dioecy can counteract genetic erosion as it decreases the magnitude of inbreeding and genetic drift due to obligate outcrossing. However, in small populations, sex ratios may be strongly male- or female-biased, leading to substantial reductions in effective population size. This may theoretically result in a unimodal relationship between sex ratios and genetic diversity; yet, empirical studies on this relationship are scarce. Using AFLP markers, we studied genetic diversity, structure and differentiation in 14 highly fragmented Antennaria dioica populations from the Central European lowlands. Our analyses focused on the relationship between sex ratio, population size and genetic diversity. Although most populations were small (mean: 35.5 patches), genetic diversity was moderately high. We found evidence for isolation-by-distance, but overall differentiation of the populations was rather weak. Females dominated 11 populations, which overall resulted in a slightly female-biased sex ratio (61.5%). There was no significant relationship between population size and genetic diversity. The proportion of females was not unimodally but positively linearly related to genetic diversity. The high genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation suggest that A. dioica has been widely distributed in the Central European lowlands in the past, while fragmentation occurred only in the last decades. Sex ratio has more immediate consequences on genetic diversity than population size. An increasing proportion of females can increase genetic diversity in dioecious plants, probably due to a higher amount of sexual reproduction. © 2018 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Anthropogenic warming exacerbates European soil moisture droughts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samaniego, L.; Thober, S.; Kumar, R.; Wanders, N.; Rakovec, O.; Pan, M.; Zink, M.; Sheffield, J.; Wood, E. F.; Marx, A.

2018-05-01

Anthropogenic warming is anticipated to increase soil moisture drought in the future. However, projections are accompanied by large uncertainty due to varying estimates of future warming. Here, using an ensemble of hydrological and land-surface models, forced with bias-corrected downscaled general circulation model output, we estimate the impacts of 1-3 K global mean temperature increases on soil moisture droughts in Europe. Compared to the 1.5 K Paris target, an increase of 3 K—which represents current projected temperature change—is found to increase drought area by 40% (±24%), affecting up to 42% (±22%) more of the population. Furthermore, an event similar to the 2003 drought is shown to become twice as frequent; thus, due to their increased occurrence, events of this magnitude will no longer be classified as extreme. In the absence of effective mitigation, Europe will therefore face unprecedented increases in soil moisture drought, presenting new challenges for adaptation across the continent.

Field and laboratory studies reveal interacting effects of stream oxygenation and warming on aquatic ectotherms.

PubMed

Verberk, Wilco C E P; Durance, Isabelle; Vaughan, Ian P; Ormerod, Steve J

2016-05-01

Aquatic ecological responses to climatic warming are complicated by interactions between thermal effects and other environmental stressors such as organic pollution and hypoxia. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated how oxygen limitation can set heat tolerance for some aquatic ectotherms, but only at unrealistic lethal temperatures and without field data to assess whether oxygen shortages might also underlie sublethal warming effects. Here, we test whether oxygen availability affects both lethal and nonlethal impacts of warming on two widespread Eurasian mayflies, Ephemera danica, Müller 1764 and Serratella ignita (Poda 1761). Mayfly nymphs are often a dominant component of the invertebrate assemblage in streams, and play a vital role in aquatic and riparian food webs. In the laboratory, lethal impacts of warming were assessed under three oxygen conditions. In the field, effects of oxygen availability on nonlethal impacts of warming were assessed from mayfly occurrence in 42 293 UK stream samples where water temperature and biochemical oxygen demand were measured. Oxygen limitation affected both lethal and sublethal impacts of warming in each species. Hypoxia lowered lethal limits by 5.5 °C (±2.13) and 8.2 °C (±0.62) for E. danica and S. ignita respectively. Field data confirmed the importance of oxygen limitation in warmer waters; poor oxygenation drastically reduced site occupancy, and reductions were especially pronounced under warm water conditions. Consequently, poor oxygenation lowered optimal stream temperatures for both species. The broad concordance shown here between laboratory results and extensive field data suggests that oxygen limitation not only impairs survival at thermal extremes but also restricts species abundance in the field at temperatures well below upper lethal limits. Stream oxygenation could thus control the vulnerability of aquatic ectotherms to global warming. Improving water oxygenation and reducing pollution can provide

The Sex and Gender Intersection in Chronic Periodontitis

PubMed Central

Ioannidou, Effie

2017-01-01

Periodontitis, a complex polymicrobial inflammatory disease, is a public health burden affecting more than 100 million people and being partially responsible for tooth loss. Interestingly, periodontitis has a documented higher prevalence in men as compared to women signifying a possible sex/gender entanglement in the disease pathogenesis. Although relevant evidence has treated sex/gender in a simplistic dichotomous manner, periodontitis may represent a complex inflammatory disease model, in which sex biology may interfere with gender social and behavioral constructs affecting disease clinical phenotype. Even when it became clear that experimental oral health research needed to incorporate gender (and/or sex) framework in the hypothesis, researchers overwhelmingly ignored it unless the research question was directly related to reproductive system or sex-specific cancer. With the recognition of gender medicine as an independent field of research, this study challenged the current notion regarding sex/gender roles in periodontal disease. We aimed to develop the methodological and analytical framework with the recognition of sex/gender as important determinants of disease pathogenesis that require special attention. First, we aim to present relevant sex biologic evidence to understand the plausibility of the epidemiologic data. In periodontitis pathogenesis, sex dimorphism has been implicated in the disease etiology possibly affecting the bacterial component and the host immune response both in the innate and adaptive levels. With the clear distinction between sex and gender, gender oral health disparities have been explained by socioeconomic factors, cultural attitudes as well as access to preventive and regular care. Economic inequality and hardship for women have resulted in limited access to oral care. As a result, gender emerged as a complex socioeconomic and behavioral factor influencing oral health outcomes. Taken together, as disease phenotypic presentation is

Warm Up to a Good Sound

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tovey, David C.

1977-01-01

Most choral directors in schools today have been exposed to a variety of warm-up procedures. Yet, many do not use the warm-up time effectively as possible. Considers the factors appropriate to a warm-up exercise and three basic warm-up categories. (Author/RK)

Warming reinforces nonconsumptive predator effects on prey growth, physiology, and body stoichiometry.

PubMed

Janssens, Lizanne; Van Dievel, Marie; Stoks, Robby

2015-12-01

While nonconsumptive effects of predators may strongly affect prey populations, little is known how future warming will modulate these effects. Such information would be especially relevant with regard to prey physiology and resulting changes in prey stoichiometry. We investigated in Enallagma cyathigerum damselfly larvae the effects of a 4°C warming (20°C vs. 24°C) and predation risk on growth rate, physiology and body stoichiometry, for the first time including all key mechanisms suggested by the general stress paradigm (GSP) on how stressors shape changes in body stoichiometry. Growth rate and energy storage were higher at 24°C. Based on thermodynamic principles and the growth rate hypothesis, we could demonstrate predictable reductions in body C:P under warming and link these to the increase in P-rich RNA; the associated warming-induced decrease in C:N may be explained by the increased synthesis of N-rich proteins. Yet, under predation risk, growth rate instead decreased with warming and the warming-induced decreases in C:N and C:P disappeared. As predicted by the GSP, larvae increased body C:N and C:P at 24°C under predation risk. Notably, we did not detect the assumed GSP-mechanisms driving these changes: despite an increased metabolic rate there was neither an increase of C-rich biomolecules (instead fat and sugar contents decreased under predation risk), nor a decrease of N-rich proteins. We hypothesize that the higher C:N and N:P under predation risk are caused by a higher investment in morphological defense. This may also explain the stronger predator-induced increase in C:N under warming. The expected higher C:P under predation risk was only present under warming and matched the observed growth reduction and associated reduction in P-rich RNA. Our integrated mechanistic approach unraveled novel pathways of how warming and predation risk shape body stoichiometry. Key findings that (1) warming effects on elemental stoichiometry were predictable and

Does sex affect the success rate of Canadian ophthalmology residency applicants?

PubMed

Baerlocher, Mark O; Noble, Jason

2006-04-01

Despite equalization of the ratio of men and women among matriculating medical students, it is possible that different rates of success for applicants at the level of resident selection in the annual residency match may occur on the basis of sex. As part of a larger project, we examined this issue across the medical specialties. In the current article, the effect of sex on resident selection within the specialty of ophthalmology is explored. Data were obtained from the Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Canadian Ophthalmological Society, and Canadian Residency Matching Service regarding sex- and age-specific demographics, as well as success rates for male and female applicants ranking an ophthalmology residency program as their top choice. The proportion of men who ranked ophthalmology as their top choice but did not match to any ophthalmology program was compared to the corresponding proportion of women. The female: male ratio of practicing ophthalmologists has slowly increased over the past decade and is highest (0.41:1) within the under-45 age group. By grouping data from 1993 to 2004, we found that men who ranked an ophthalmology program as their first choice had odds of not being accepted to an ophthalmology program that were 1.1 times (95% confidence interval 0.8-2.0; p=0.34) the corresponding odds for women. Our data suggest that discrimination on the basis of sex does not occur at the level of residency selection. The lower level of female recruitment may be due to decreased interest in this specialty among women. Nonetheless, the proportion of female ophthalmologists within the Canadian workforce continues to increase.

Committed warming inferred from observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauritsen, Thorsten; Pincus, Robert

2017-09-01

Due to the lifetime of CO2, the thermal inertia of the oceans, and the temporary impacts of short-lived aerosols and reactive greenhouse gases, the Earth’s climate is not equilibrated with anthropogenic forcing. As a result, even if fossil-fuel emissions were to suddenly cease, some level of committed warming is expected due to past emissions as studied previously using climate models. Here, we provide an observational-based quantification of this committed warming using the instrument record of global-mean warming, recently improved estimates of Earth’s energy imbalance, and estimates of radiative forcing from the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Compared with pre-industrial levels, we find a committed warming of 1.5 K (0.9-3.6, 5th-95th percentile) at equilibrium, and of 1.3 K (0.9-2.3) within this century. However, when assuming that ocean carbon uptake cancels remnant greenhouse gas-induced warming on centennial timescales, committed warming is reduced to 1.1 K (0.7-1.8). In the latter case there is a 13% risk that committed warming already exceeds the 1.5 K target set in Paris. Regular updates of these observationally constrained committed warming estimates, although simplistic, can provide transparent guidance as uncertainty regarding transient climate sensitivity inevitably narrows and the understanding of the limitations of the framework is advanced.

Gifted Students' Perceptions of Parenting Styles: Associations with Cognitive Ability, Sex, Race, and Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudasill, Kathleen Moritz; Adelson, Jill L.; Callahan, Carolyn M.; Houlihan, Deanna Vogt; Keizer, Benjamin M.

2013-01-01

Children whose parents are warm and responsive yet also set limits and have reasonable expectations for their children tend to have better outcomes than their peers whose parents show less warmth and responsiveness, have low expectations, or both. Parenting behavior is related to family race and children's sex, age, and cognitive ability. However,…

High rates of Unintended Pregnancies among Young Women Sex Workers in Conflict-affected Northern Uganda: The Social Contexts of Brothels/Lodges and Substance Use.

PubMed

Duff, Putu; Muzaaya, Godfrey; Muldoon, Katherine; Dobrer, Sabina; Akello, Monika; Birungi, Josephine; Shannon, Kate

2017-06-01

This study aimed to examine the correlates of unintended pregnancies among young women sex workers in conflict-affected northern Uganda. Data were drawn from the Gulu Sexual Health Study, a cross-sectional study of young women engaged in sex work. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the correlates of ever having an unintended pregnancy. Among 400 sex workers (median age=20 years; IQR 19-25), 175 (43.8%) reported at least one unintended pregnancy. In multivariable analysis, primarily servicing clients in lodges/brothels [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR= 2.24; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.03-4.84)], hormonal contraceptive usage [AOR=1.68; 95%CI 1.11-2.59] and drug/alcohol use while working [AOR= 1.64; 95%CI 1.04-2.60] were positively correlated with previous unintended pregnancy. Given that unintended pregnancy is an indicator of unmet reproductive health need, these findings highlight a need for improved access to integrated reproductive health and HIV services, catered to sex workers' needs. Sex work-led strategies (e.g., peer outreach) should be considered, alongside structural strategies and education targeting brothel/lodge owners and managers.

Sex differences in the relationship of regional dopamine release to affect and cognitive function in striatal and extrastriatal regions using positron emission tomography and [¹⁸F]fallypride.

PubMed

Riccardi, Patrizia; Park, Sohee; Anderson, Sharlet; Doop, Mikisha; Ansari, M Sib; Schmidt, Dennis; Baldwin, Ronald

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in the correlations of d-amphetamine (d-AMPH) induced displacements of [¹⁸F]fallypride in striatal and extrastriatal regions in relation to affect and cognition. Seven male and six female healthy subjects, whose mean age was 25.9 years, underwent positron emission tomography (PET) with [¹⁸F]fallypride at baseline and 3 h after a 0.43 mg/kg oral dose of d-AMPH. Percent displacements in striatal and extrastriatal regions were calculated using regions of interest (ROI) analysis and on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Subjects underwent neuropsychological testing prior to the baseline PET study and one hour after d-AMPH administration for the second PET. In order to examine the subjective effect of d-AMPH, subjects rated PANAS at baseline and after administration of amphetamine. Correlations of changes in cognition and affect with regional dopamine (DA) release revealed several significant sex related differences. The results of this study demonstrate in vivo sex related differences in the relationship of regional DA release to affect and cognitive function. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Sex workers, unite! (Litigating for sex workers' freedom of association in Russia).

PubMed

Arps, F S E Freddie; Golichenko, Mikhail

2014-12-11

The existing legal framework in Russia makes sex work and related activities punishable offenses, leaving sex workers stigmatized, vulnerable to violence, and disproportionally affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In 2013, the Ministry of Justice, supported by the courts, refused registration and official recognition to the first all-Russia association of sex workers, referring to the fact that sex work is under administrative and criminal punitive bans and therefore the right of association for sex workers is unjustified. In light of international human rights standards, in particular the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, we examine in this paper whether the overall punitive legal ban on sex work in Russia is discriminatory. The government's positive obligations concerning discrimination against sex workers whose activities are consensual and between adults, and whose working conditions leave them among society's most vulnerable, should outweigh their punitive laws and policies around sex work. The scope of legal criminalization is narrow: it should apply only in exceptional cases where it is clearly justified. Copyright © 2014 Arps and Golichenko. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Evidence linking rapid Arctic warming to mid-latitude weather patterns.

PubMed

Francis, Jennifer; Skific, Natasa

2015-07-13

The effects of rapid Arctic warming and ice loss on weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere is a topic of active research, lively scientific debate and high societal impact. The emergence of Arctic amplification--the enhanced sensitivity of high-latitude temperature to global warming--in only the last 10-20 years presents a challenge to identifying statistically robust atmospheric responses using observations. Several recent studies have proposed and demonstrated new mechanisms by which the changing Arctic may be affecting weather patterns in mid-latitudes, and these linkages differ fundamentally from tropics/jet-stream interactions through the transfer of wave energy. In this study, new metrics and evidence are presented that suggest disproportionate Arctic warming-and resulting weakening of the poleward temperature gradient-is causing the Northern Hemisphere circulation to assume a more meridional character (i.e. wavier), although not uniformly in space or by season, and that highly amplified jet-stream patterns are occurring more frequently. Further analysis based on self-organizing maps supports this finding. These changes in circulation are expected to lead to persistent weather patterns that are known to cause extreme weather events. As emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated, therefore, the continued amplification of Arctic warming should favour an increased occurrence of extreme events caused by prolonged weather conditions.

Sex-Differences, Handedness, and Lateralization in the Iowa Gambling Task

PubMed Central

Singh, Varsha

2016-01-01

In a widely used decision-making task, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), male performance is observed to be superior to that of females, and is attributed to right lateralization (i.e., right hemispheric dominance). It is as yet unknown whether sex-differences in affect and motor lateralization have implications for sex-specific lateralization in the IGT, and specifically, whether sex-difference in performance in the IGT changes with right-handedness or with affect lateralization (decision valence, and valence-directed motivation). The present study (N = 320; 160 males) examined the effects of right-handedness (right-handedness vs. non-right-handedness) as a measure of motor lateralization, decision valence (reward vs. punishment IGT), and valence-directedness of task motivation (valence-directed vs. non-directed instructions), as measures of affective lateralization on IGT decision making. Analyses of variance revealed that both male and female participants showed valence-induced inconsistencies in advantageous decision-making; however, right-handed females made more disadvantageous decisions in a reward IGT. These results suggest that IGT decision-making may be largely right-lateralized in right-handed males, and show that sex and lateralized differences (motor and affect) have implications for sex-differences in IGT decision-making. Implications of the results are discussed with reference to lateralization and sex-differences in cognition. PMID:27303316

Does drinking lead to sex? Daily alcohol-sex behaviors and expectancies among college students.

PubMed

Patrick, Megan E; Maggs, Jennifer L

2009-09-01

A within-person multilevel approach was used to model the links between alcohol use and sexual behavior among first-year college students, using up to 14 days of data for each person with occasions (Level 1, N = 2879 days) nested within people (Level 2, N = 218 people; 51.4% male). Between-persons (Level 2) effects were gender, relationship status, person means of alcohol use, and alcohol-sex expectancies for sexual affect and sexual drive. Within-person (Level 1) effects were weekend days, number of drinks consumed, and the interaction between drinks consumed and alcohol-sex expectancies. Independent of average alcohol use, consuming more drinks on a given day was associated with a greater likelihood of oral sex and with experiencing more positive consequences of sex that day. Significant Alcohol Use x Alcohol-Sex Expectancies interactions were found for oral sex and total sex behaviors, indicating that individuals with more positive expectancies were more likely to have sex after drinking. The negative association between drinks and condom use was at a trend level of significance. Results support the potential for promoting sexual health by focusing on cross-behavior expectancies among late adolescents. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Comment on "The effect of same-sex marriage laws on different-sex marriage: evidence from the Netherlands".

PubMed

Dinno, Alexis

2014-12-01

In the recent Demography article titled "The Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Different-Sex Marriage: Evidence From the Netherlands," Trandafir attempted to answer the question, Are rates of opposite sex marriage affected by legal recognition of same-sex marriages? The results of his approach to statistical inference-looking for evidence of a difference in rates of opposite-sex marriage-provide an absence of evidence of such effects. However, the validity of his conclusion of no causal relationship between same-sex marriage laws and rates of opposite-sex marriage is threatened by the fact that Trandafir did not also look for equivalence in rates of opposite-sex marriage in order to provide evidence of an absence of such an effect. Equivalence tests in combination with difference tests are introduced and presented in this article as a more valid inferential approach to the substantive question Trandafir attempted to answer.

Global patterns in lake ecosystem responses to warming based on the temperature dependence of metabolism.

PubMed

Kraemer, Benjamin M; Chandra, Sudeep; Dell, Anthony I; Dix, Margaret; Kuusisto, Esko; Livingstone, David M; Schladow, S Geoffrey; Silow, Eugene; Sitoki, Lewis M; Tamatamah, Rashid; McIntyre, Peter B

2017-05-01

Climate warming is expected to have large effects on ecosystems in part due to the temperature dependence of metabolism. The responses of metabolic rates to climate warming may be greatest in the tropics and at low elevations because mean temperatures are warmer there and metabolic rates respond exponentially to temperature (with exponents >1). However, if warming rates are sufficiently fast in higher latitude/elevation lakes, metabolic rate responses to warming may still be greater there even though metabolic rates respond exponentially to temperature. Thus, a wide range of global patterns in the magnitude of metabolic rate responses to warming could emerge depending on global patterns of temperature and warming rates. Here we use the Boltzmann-Arrhenius equation, published estimates of activation energy, and time series of temperature from 271 lakes to estimate long-term (1970-2010) changes in 64 metabolic processes in lakes. The estimated responses of metabolic processes to warming were usually greatest in tropical/low-elevation lakes even though surface temperatures in higher latitude/elevation lakes are warming faster. However, when the thermal sensitivity of a metabolic process is especially weak, higher latitude/elevation lakes had larger responses to warming in parallel with warming rates. Our results show that the sensitivity of a given response to temperature (as described by its activation energy) provides a simple heuristic for predicting whether tropical/low-elevation lakes will have larger or smaller metabolic responses to warming than higher latitude/elevation lakes. Overall, we conclude that the direct metabolic consequences of lake warming are likely to be felt most strongly at low latitudes and low elevations where metabolism-linked ecosystem services may be most affected. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Contributions of radiative factors to enhanced dryland warming over East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yanting; Guan, Xiaodan; Yu, Haipeng; Xie, Yongkun; Jin, Hongchun

2017-08-01

Enhanced near-surface atmospheric warming has occurred over East Asia in recent decades, especially in drylands. Although local factors have been confirmed to provide considerable contributions to this warming, such factors have not been sufficiently analyzed. In this study, we extracted the radiatively forced temperature (RFT) associated with the built-up greenhouse gases, aerosol emission, and various other radiative forcing over East Asia and found a close relationship between RFT and CO2. In addition, using climate model experiments, we explored the responses of temperature changes to black carbon (BC), CO2, and SO4 and found that the enhanced dryland warming induced by CO2 had the largest magnitude and was strengthened by the warming effect of BC. Moreover, the sensitivity of daily maximum and minimum temperature changes to BC, CO2, and SO4 was examined. It showed asymmetric responses of daily maximum and minimum temperature to radiative factors, which led to an obvious change of diurnal temperature range (DTR), especially in drylands. The DTR's response to CO2 is the most significant. Therefore, CO2 not only plays a dominant role in enhanced warming but also greatly affects the decrease of DTR in drylands. However, the mechanisms of these radiative factors' effects in the process of DTR change are not clear and require more investigation.

Military Implications of Global Warming.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-05-20

U.S. environmental issues also have important global implications. This paper analyzes current U.S. Policy as it pertains to global warming and climate...for military involvement to reduce global warming . Global warming and other environmental issues are important to the U.S. military. As the United

Soil warming increased whole-tree water use of Pinus cembra at the treeline in the Central Tyrolean Alps

PubMed Central

Wieser, Gerhard; Grams, Thorsten E.E.; Matysssek, Rainer; Oberhuber, Walter; Gruber, Andreas

2016-01-01

The study quantified the effect of soil warming on sap flow density (Qs) of Pinus cembra at treeline in the Central Tyrolean Alps. To enhance soil temperature we installed a transparent roof construction above the forest floor around six trees. Six other trees served as controls in the absence of any manipulation. Roofing enhanced growing season mean soil temperature by 1.6, 1.3, and 1.0 °C at 5, 10, and 20 cm soil depth, respectively, while soil water availability was not affected. Sap flow density (using Granier-type thermal dissipation probes) and environmental parameters were monitored throughout three growing seasons. During the first year of treatment, no warming effect was detected on Qs. However, soil warming caused Qs to increase significantly by 11 and 19% above levels in control trees during the second and third year, respectively. This effect appeared to result from warming-induced root production, a reduction in viscosity and perhaps an increase also in root hydraulic conductivity. Hardly affected were leaf-level net CO2 uptake rate and conductance for water vapor, so that water-use efficiency stayed unchanged as confirmed by needle δ13C analysis. We conclude that tree water loss will increase with soil warming, which may alter the water balance within the treeline ecotone of the Central Austrian Alps in a future warming environment. PMID:25737326

Longitudinal Changes in Tear Evaporation Rates After Eyelid Warming Therapies in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction.

PubMed

Yeo, Sharon; Tan, Jen Hong; Acharya, U Rajendra; Sudarshan, Vidya K; Tong, Louis

2016-04-01

Lid warming is the major treatment for meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). The purpose of the study was to determine the longitudinal changes of tear evaporation after lid warming in patients with MGD. Ninety patients with MGD were enrolled from a dry eye clinic at Singapore National Eye Center in an interventional trial. Participants were treated with hot towel (n = 22), EyeGiene (n = 22), or Blephasteam (n = 22) twice daily or a single 12-minute session of Lipiflow (n = 24). Ocular surface infrared thermography was performed at baseline and 4 and 12 weeks after the treatment, and image features were extracted from the captured images. The baseline of conjunctival tear evaporation (TE) rate (n = 90) was 66.1 ± 21.1 W/min. The rates were not significantly different between sexes, ages, symptom severities, tear breakup times, Schirmer test, corneal fluorescein staining, or treatment groups. Using a general linear model (repeat measures), the conjunctival TE rate was reduced with time after treatment. A higher baseline evaporation rate (≥ 66 W/min) was associated with greater reduction of evaporation rate after treatment. Seven of 10 thermography features at baseline were predictive of reduction in irritative symptoms after treatment. Conjunctival TE rates can be effectively reduced by lid warming treatment in some MGD patients. Individual baseline thermography image features can be predictive of the response to lid warming therapy. For patients that do not have excessive TE, additional therapy, for example, anti-inflammatory therapy, may be required.

Climate warming increases biological control agent impact on a non-target species.

PubMed

Lu, Xinmin; Siemann, Evan; He, Minyan; Wei, Hui; Shao, Xu; Ding, Jianqing

2015-01-01

Climate change may shift interactions of invasive plants, herbivorous insects and native plants, potentially affecting biological control efficacy and non-target effects on native species. Here, we show how climate warming affects impacts of a multivoltine introduced biocontrol beetle on the non-target native plant Alternanthera sessilis in China. In field surveys across a latitudinal gradient covering their full distributions, we found beetle damage on A. sessilis increased with rising temperature and plant life history changed from perennial to annual. Experiments showed that elevated temperature changed plant life history and increased insect overwintering, damage and impacts on seedling recruitment. These results suggest that warming can shift phenologies, increase non-target effect magnitude and increase non-target effect occurrence by beetle range expansion to additional areas where A. sessilis occurs. This study highlights the importance of understanding how climate change affects species interactions for future biological control of invasive species and conservation of native species. © 2014 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

Feedback attribution of the land-sea warming contrast in a global warming simulation of the NCAR CCSM4

DOE PAGES

Sejas, Sergio A.; Albert, Oriene S.; Cai, Ming; ...

2014-12-02

One of the salient features in both observations and climate simulations is a stronger land warming than sea. This paper provides a quantitative understanding of the main processes that contribute to the land-sea warming asymmetry in a global warming simulation of the NCAR CCSM4. The CO 2 forcing alone warms the surface nearly the same for both land and sea, suggesting that feedbacks are responsible for the warming contrast. Our analysis on one hand confirms that the principal contributor to the above-unity land-to-sea warming ratio is the evaporation feedback; on the other hand the results indicate that the sensible heatmore » flux feedback has the largest land-sea warming difference that favors a greater ocean than land warming. Furthermore, the results uniquely highlight the importance of other feedbacks in establishing the above-unity land-to-sea warming ratio. Particularly, the SW cloud feedback and the ocean heat storage in the transient response are key contributors to the greater warming over land than sea.« less

Feedback attribution of the land-sea warming contrast in a global warming simulation of the NCAR CCSM4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sejas, Sergio A.; Albert, Oriene S.; Cai, Ming

One of the salient features in both observations and climate simulations is a stronger land warming than sea. This paper provides a quantitative understanding of the main processes that contribute to the land-sea warming asymmetry in a global warming simulation of the NCAR CCSM4. The CO 2 forcing alone warms the surface nearly the same for both land and sea, suggesting that feedbacks are responsible for the warming contrast. Our analysis on one hand confirms that the principal contributor to the above-unity land-to-sea warming ratio is the evaporation feedback; on the other hand the results indicate that the sensible heatmore » flux feedback has the largest land-sea warming difference that favors a greater ocean than land warming. Furthermore, the results uniquely highlight the importance of other feedbacks in establishing the above-unity land-to-sea warming ratio. Particularly, the SW cloud feedback and the ocean heat storage in the transient response are key contributors to the greater warming over land than sea.« less

Competition magnifies the impact of a pesticide in a warming world by reducing heat tolerance and increasing autotomy.

PubMed

Op de Beeck, Lin; Verheyen, Julie; Stoks, Robby

2018-02-01

There is increasing concern that standard laboratory toxicity tests may be misleading when assessing the impact of toxicants, because they lack ecological realism. Both warming and biotic interactions have been identified to magnify the effects of toxicants. Moreover, while biotic interactions may change the impact of toxicants, toxicants may also change the impact of biotic interactions. However, studies looking at the impact of biotic interactions on the toxicity of pesticides and vice versa under warming are very scarce. Therefore, we tested how warming (+4 °C), intraspecific competition (density treatment) and exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos, both in isolation and in combination, affected mortality, cannibalism, growth and heat tolerance of low- and high-latitude populations of the damselfly Ischnura elegans. Moreover, we addressed whether toxicant exposure, potentially in interaction with competition and warming, increased the frequency of autotomy, a widespread antipredator mechanism. Competition increased the toxicity of chlorpyrifos and made it become lethal. Cannibalism was not affected by chlorpyrifos but increased at high density and under warming. Chlorpyrifos reduced heat tolerance but only when competition was high. This is the first demonstration that a biotic interaction can be a major determinant of 'toxicant-induced climate change sensitivity'. Competition enhanced the impact of chlorpyrifos under warming for high-latitude larvae, leading to an increase in autotomy which reduces fitness in the long term. This points to a novel pathway how transient pesticide pulses may cause delayed effects on populations in a warming world. Our results highlight that the interplay between biotic interactions and toxicants have a strong relevance for ecological risk assessment in a warming polluted world. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Development of Sex Role Stereotypes in the Third Year: Relationships to Gender Labeling, Gender Identity, Sex-Typed Toy Preference, and Family Characteristics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinraub, Marsha; And Others

1984-01-01

The onset and development of preschoolers' awareness of sex role stereotypes, gender labeling, gender identity, and sex-typed toy preference were explored in 26-, 31-, and 36-month-old children. Family characteristics that affect early sex role development also were investigated. (Author/RH)

Long-term soil warming and Carbon Cycle Feedbacks to the Climate System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Melillo, Jerry M.

2014-04-30

The primary objective of the proposed research was to quantify and explain the effects of a sustained in situ 5oC soil temperature increase on net carbon (C) storage in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem. The research was done at an established soil warming experiment at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts – Barre Woods site established in 2001. In the field, a series of plant and soil measurements were made to quantify changes in C storage in the ecosystem and to provide insights into the possible relationships between C-storage changes and nitrogen (N) cycling changes in the warmed plots. Fieldmore » measurements included: 1) annual woody increment; 2) litterfall; 3) carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux from the soil surface; 4) root biomass and respiration; 5) microbial biomass; and 6) net N mineralization and net nitrification rates. This research was designed to increase our understanding of how global warming will affect the capacity of temperate forest ecosystems to store C. The work explored how soil warming changes the interactions between the C and N cycles, and how these changes affect land-atmosphere feedbacks. This core research question framed the project – What are the effects of a sustained in situ 5oC soil temperature increase on net carbon (C) storage in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem? A second critical question was addressed in this research – What are the effects of a sustained in situ 5{degrees}C soil temperature increase on nitrogen (N) cycling in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem?« less

Ethnicity and Sex Affect Diabetes Incidence and Outcomes

PubMed Central

Khan, Nadia A.; Wang, Hong; Anand, Sonia; Jin, Yan; Campbell, Norman R. C.; Pilote, Louise; Quan, Hude

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE Diabetes guidelines recommend aggressive screening for type 2 diabetes in Asian patients because they are considered to have a higher risk of developing diabetes and potentially worse prognosis. We determined incidence of diabetes and risk of death or macrovascular complications by sex among major Asian subgroups, South Asian and Chinese, and white patients with newly diagnosed diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Using population-based administrative data from British Columbia and Alberta, Canada (1997–1998 to 2006–2007), we identified patients with newly diagnosed diabetes aged ≥35 years and followed them for up to 10 years for death, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Ethnicity was determined using validated surname algorithms. RESULTS There were 15,066 South Asian, 17,754 Chinese, and 244,017 white patients with newly diagnosed diabetes. Chinese women and men had the lowest incidence of diabetes relative to that of white or South Asian patients, who had the highest incidence. Mortality in those with newly diagnosed diabetes was lower in South Asian (hazard ratio 0.69 [95% CI 0.62–0.76], P < 0.001) and Chinese patients (0.69 [0.63–0.74], P < 0.001) then in white patients. Risk of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure was similar or lower in the ethnic groups relative to that of white patients and varied by sex. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of diagnosed diabetes varies significantly among ethnic groups. Mortality was substantially lower in South Asian and Chinese patients with newly diagnosed diabetes than in white patients. PMID:20978094

In sickness and in health: same-sex marriage laws and sexually transmitted infections.

PubMed

Francis, Andrew M; Mialon, Hugo M; Peng, Handie

2012-10-01

This paper analyzes the relationship between same-sex marriage laws and sexually transmitted infections in the United States using state-level data from 1981 to 2008. We hypothesize that same-sex marriage laws may directly affect risky homosexual behavior; may affect or mirror social attitudes toward gays, which in turn may affect homosexual behavior; and may affect or mirror attitudes toward non-marital sex, which may affect risky heterosexual behavior. Our findings may be summarized as follows. Laws banning same-sex marriage are unrelated to gonorrhea rates, which are a proxy for risky heterosexual behavior. They are more closely associated with syphilis rates, which are a proxy for risky homosexual behavior. However, these estimates are smaller and less statistically significant when we exclude California, the state with the largest gay population. Also, laws permitting same-sex marriage are unrelated to gonorrhea or syphilis, but variation in these laws is insufficient to yield precise estimates. In sum, the findings point to a modest positive association--if any at all--between same-sex marriage bans and syphilis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ant-mediated seed dispersal in a warmed world

PubMed Central

Patterson, Courtney M.; Rodriguez-Cabal, Mariano A.; Ribbons, Relena R.; Dunn, Robert R.; Sanders, Nathan J.

2014-01-01

Climate change affects communities both directly and indirectly via changes in interspecific interactions. One such interaction that may be altered under climate change is the ant-plant seed dispersal mutualism common in deciduous forests of eastern North America. As climatic warming alters the abundance and activity levels of ants, the potential exists for shifts in rates of ant-mediated seed dispersal. We used an experimental temperature manipulation at two sites in the eastern US (Harvard Forest in Massachusetts and Duke Forest in North Carolina) to examine the potential impacts of climatic warming on overall rates of seed dispersal (using Asarum canadense seeds) as well as species-specific rates of seed dispersal at the Duke Forest site. We also examined the relationship between ant critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and the mean seed removal temperature for each ant species. We found that seed removal rates did not change as a result of experimental warming at either study site, nor were there any changes in species-specific rates of seed dispersal. There was, however, a positive relationship between CTmax and mean seed removal temperature, whereby species with higher CTmax removed more seeds at hotter temperatures. The temperature at which seeds were removed was influenced by experimental warming as well as diurnal and day-to-day fluctuations in temperature. Taken together, our results suggest that while temperature may play a role in regulating seed removal by ants, ant plant seed-dispersal mutualisms may be more robust to climate change than currently assumed. PMID:24688863

Warming alters community size structure and ecosystem functioning

PubMed Central

Dossena, Matteo; Yvon-Durocher, Gabriel; Grey, Jonathan; Montoya, José M.; Perkins, Daniel M.; Trimmer, Mark; Woodward, Guy

2012-01-01

Global warming can affect all levels of biological complexity, though we currently understand least about its potential impact on communities and ecosystems. At the ecosystem level, warming has the capacity to alter the structure of communities and the rates of key ecosystem processes they mediate. Here we assessed the effects of a 4°C rise in temperature on the size structure and taxonomic composition of benthic communities in aquatic mesocosms, and the rates of detrital decomposition they mediated. Warming had no effect on biodiversity, but altered community size structure in two ways. In spring, warmer systems exhibited steeper size spectra driven by declines in total community biomass and the proportion of large organisms. By contrast, in autumn, warmer systems had shallower size spectra driven by elevated total community biomass and a greater proportion of large organisms. Community-level shifts were mirrored by changes in decomposition rates. Temperature-corrected microbial and macrofaunal decomposition rates reflected the shifts in community structure and were strongly correlated with biomass across mesocosms. Our study demonstrates that the 4°C rise in temperature expected by the end of the century has the potential to alter the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems profoundly, as well as the intimate linkages between these levels of ecological organization. PMID:22496185

Gay marriage, same-sex parenting, and America's children.

PubMed

Meezan, William; Rauch, Jonathan

2005-01-01

Same-sex marriage, barely on the political radar a decade ago, is a reality in America. How will it affect the well-being of children? Some observers worry that legalizing same-sex marriage would send the message that same-sex parenting and opposite-sex parenting are interchangeable, when in fact they may lead to different outcomes for children. To evaluate that concern, William Meezan and Jonathan Rauch review the growing body of research on how same-sex parenting affects children. After considering the methodological problems inherent in studying small, hard-to-locate populations--problems that have bedeviled this literature-the authors find that the children who have been studied are doing about as well as children normally do. What the research does not yet show is whether the children studied are typical of the general population of children raised by gay and lesbian couples. A second important question is how same-sex marriage might affect children who are already being raised by same-sex couples. Meezan and Rauch observe that marriage confers on children three types of benefits that seem likely to carry over to children in same-sex families. First, marriage may increase children's material well-being through such benefits as family leave from work and spousal health insurance eligibility. It may also help ensure financial continuity, should a spouse die or be disabled. Second, same-sex marriage may benefit children by increasing the durability and stability of their parents' relationship. Finally, marriage may bring increased social acceptance of and support for same-sex families, although those benefits might not materialize in communities that meet same-sex marriage with rejection or hostility. The authors note that the best way to ascertain the costs and benefits of the effects of same-sex marriage on children is to compare it with the alternatives. Massachusetts is marrying same-sex couples, Vermont and Connecticut are offering civil unions, and several

Ecosystem Warming Affects Vertical Distribution of Leaf Gas Exchange Properties and Water Relations of Spring Wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The vertical distribution of gas exchange and water relations responses to full-season in situ infrared (IR) warming were evaluated for hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yecora Rojo) grown in an open field in a semiarid desert region of the Southwest USA. A Temperature Free-Air Contro...

Preliminary Validation of the Sex Trafficking Attitudes Scale.

PubMed

Houston-Kolnik, Jaclyn D; Todd, Nathan R; Wilson, Midge

2016-09-01

This study presents the Sex Trafficking Attitudes Scale (STAS), assessing cognitive, behavioral, and affective attitudes toward the sex trafficking of women and girls. Across two studies, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed and confirmed six subscales: (a) Knowledge About Sex Trafficking, (b) Awareness of Sex Trafficking, (c) Attitudes Toward Ability to Leave Sex Trafficking, (d) Attitudes Toward Helping Survivors, (e) Empathic Reactions Toward Sex Trafficking, and (f) Efficacy to Reduce Sex Trafficking. Results showed support for convergent validity as the subscales were associated with related measures. The STAS holds promise to expand research and inform efforts to support trafficking survivors. © The Author(s) 2016.

Irrigation enhances local warming with greater nocturnal warming effects than daytime cooling effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xing; Jeong, Su-Jong

2018-02-01

To meet the growing demand for food, land is being managed to be more productive using agricultural intensification practices, such as the use of irrigation. Understanding the specific environmental impacts of irrigation is a critical part of using it as a sustainable way to provide food security. However, our knowledge of irrigation effects on climate is still limited to daytime effects. This is a critical issue to define the effects of irrigation on warming related to greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study shows that irrigation led to an increasing temperature (0.002 °C year-1) by enhancing nighttime warming (0.009 °C year-1) more than daytime cooling (-0.007 °C year-1) during the dry season from 1961-2004 over the North China Plain (NCP), which is one of largest irrigated areas in the world. By implementing irrigation processes in regional climate model simulations, the consistent warming effect of irrigation on nighttime temperatures over the NCP was shown to match observations. The intensive nocturnal warming is attributed to energy storage in the wetter soil during the daytime, which contributed to the nighttime surface warming. Our results suggest that irrigation could locally amplify the warming related to GHGs, and this effect should be taken into account in future climate change projections.

Affect and sexual behavior in the transition to university.

PubMed

Dalton, Andrea L; Galambos, Nancy L

2009-10-01

This research applied a lifespan developmental framework to the study of sexual behavior among late adolescents by examining monthly covariations of penetrative and oral sex with positive and negative affect across the first year of university. Participants were 177 Canadian students who completed baseline questionnaires, followed by six monthly, web-based questionnaires assessing sexual behaviors and affect. Multilevel analyses revealed an average positive relation between oral sex and positive affect. Of six variables, five predicted individual differences in covariation between sex and affect: psychosocial maturity (immature and semi-mature status), attitudes toward sex, prior sexual experience, and living situation. During months when participants reported sexual behavior, psychosocially mature students reported more positive affect than did less mature students; students with more permissive attitudes reported more positive affect than did students with less permissive attitudes; students with no penetrative sexual experience reported more positive affect than students who had penetrative sexual experience; and living away from parents was associated with less negative affect. Implications for further study of sexual behavior from a developmental perspective are discussed.

Bird-like sex chromosomes of platypus imply recent origin of mammal sex chromosomes.

PubMed

Veyrunes, Frédéric; Waters, Paul D; Miethke, Pat; Rens, Willem; McMillan, Daniel; Alsop, Amber E; Grützner, Frank; Deakin, Janine E; Whittington, Camilla M; Schatzkamer, Kyriena; Kremitzki, Colin L; Graves, Tina; Ferguson-Smith, Malcolm A; Warren, Wes; Marshall Graves, Jennifer A

2008-06-01

In therian mammals (placentals and marsupials), sex is determined by an XX female: XY male system, in which a gene (SRY) on the Y affects male determination. There is no equivalent in other amniotes, although some taxa (notably birds and snakes) have differentiated sex chromosomes. Birds have a ZW female: ZZ male system with no homology with mammal sex chromosomes, in which dosage of a Z-borne gene (possibly DMRT1) affects male determination. As the most basal mammal group, the egg-laying monotremes are ideal for determining how the therian XY system evolved. The platypus has an extraordinary sex chromosome complex, in which five X and five Y chromosomes pair in a translocation chain of alternating X and Y chromosomes. We used physical mapping to identify genes on the pairing regions between adjacent X and Y chromosomes. Most significantly, comparative mapping shows that, contrary to earlier reports, there is no homology between the platypus and therian X chromosomes. Orthologs of genes in the conserved region of the human X (including SOX3, the gene from which SRY evolved) all map to platypus chromosome 6, which therefore represents the ancestral autosome from which the therian X and Y pair derived. Rather, the platypus X chromosomes have substantial homology with the bird Z chromosome (including DMRT1) and to segments syntenic with this region in the human genome. Thus, platypus sex chromosomes have strong homology with bird, but not to therian sex chromosomes, implying that the therian X and Y chromosomes (and the SRY gene) evolved from an autosomal pair after the divergence of monotremes only 166 million years ago. Therefore, the therian X and Y are more than 145 million years younger than previously thought.

Sex Discrimination in Simulated Employment Contexts: A Meta-analytic Investigation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Heather K.; Burke, Michael J.

2000-01-01

The hypothesis that applicant and rater sex, job sex-type, and job-relevant information would affect discrimination against applicants was tested in simulations. Both sexes received lower ratings when applying for opposite-sex-typed jobs. Both male and female raters rated male applicants higher. Differences between male and female ratings…

Acclimation and soil moisture constrain sugar maple root respiration in experimentally warmed soil.

PubMed

Jarvi, Mickey P; Burton, Andrew J

2013-09-01

The response of root respiration to warmer soil can affect ecosystem carbon (C) allocation and the strength of positive feedbacks between climatic warming and soil CO2 efflux. This study sought to determine whether fine-root (<1 mm) respiration in a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.)-dominated northern hardwood forest would adjust to experimentally warmed soil, reducing C return to the atmosphere at the ecosystem scale to levels lower than that would be expected using an exponential temperature response function. Infrared heating lamps were used to warm the soil (+4 to +5 °C) in a mature sugar maple forest in a fully factorial design, including water additions used to offset the effects of warming-induced dry soil. Fine-root-specific respiration rates, root biomass, root nitrogen (N) concentration, soil temperature and soil moisture were measured from 2009 to 2011, with experimental treatments conducted from late 2010 to 2011. Partial acclimation of fine-root respiration to soil warming occurred, with soil moisture deficit further constraining specific respiration rates in heated plots. Fine-root biomass and N concentration remained unchanged. Over the 2011 growing season, ecosystem root respiration was not significantly greater in warmed soil. This result would not be predicted by models that allow respiration to increase exponentially with temperature and do not directly reduce root respiration in drier soil.

Spatial heterogeneity and the evolution of sex in diploids.

PubMed

Agrawal, Aneil F

2009-07-01

Much of the theoretical work on the evolution of sex has focused on the effects of recombination. In diploids, segregation also occurs during sexual reproduction. Segregation breaks down some types of genetic associations that are not affected by recombination and thus influences the evolution of sex in ways that are not apparent from studying the evolution of recombination as a surrogate for sex. Here I examine the evolution of sex in diploids experiencing spatially heterogeneous selection. If divergent selection causes genetic differentiation, then migration can be a powerful force generating genetic associations that may not be favored by selection. An advantage to sex can arise from breaking down these associations. By examining modifiers of both sex and recombination, the model allows for a direct comparison of the forces acting on these related but different processes, illuminating the role of segregation. The model also includes inbreeding, which has been shown to be important for both segregation and recombination. I find that inbreeding affects the evolution of sex through segregation, not recombination. Several suggestions for empirical experiments are given.

The influence of averageness on judgments of facial attractiveness: no own-age or own-sex advantage among children attending single-sex schools.

PubMed

Vingilis-Jaremko, Larissa; Maurer, Daphne; Gao, Xiaoqing

2014-04-01

We examined how recent biased face experience affects the influence of averageness on judgments of facial attractiveness among 8- and 9-year-old children attending a girls' school, a boys' school, and a mixed-sex school. We presented pairs of individual faces in which one face was transformed 50% toward its group average, whereas the other face was transformed 50% away from that average. Across blocks, the faces varied in age (adult, 9-year-old, or 5-year-old) and sex (male or female). We expected that averageness might influence attractiveness judgments more strongly for same-age faces and, for children attending single-sex schools, same-sex faces of that age because their prototype(s) should be best tuned to the faces they see most frequently. Averageness influenced children's judgments of attractiveness, but the strength of the influence was not modulated by the age of the face, nor did the effects of sex of face differ across schools. Recent biased experience might not have affected the results because of similarities between the average faces of different ages and sexes and/or because a minimum level of experience with a particular group of faces may be adequate for the formation of a veridical prototype and its influence on judgments of attractiveness. The results suggest that averageness affects children's judgments of the attractiveness of the faces they encounter in everyday life regardless of age or sex of face. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex work among men who have sex with men and transgender women in Bogotá.

PubMed

Bianchi, Fernanda T; Reisen, Carol A; Zea, Maria Cecilia; Vidal-Ortiz, Salvador; Gonzales, Felisa A; Betancourt, Fabián; Aguilar, Marcela; Poppen, Paul J

2014-11-01

This qualitative study examined sex work among internally displaced male and transgender female sex workers in Bogotá, Colombia. Internal displacement has occurred in Colombia as a result of decades of conflict among armed groups and has created large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. Informed by the polymorphous model of sex work, which posits that contextual conditions shape the experience of sex work, we examined three main research questions. The first dealt with how internal displacement was related to the initiation of sex work; the second concerned the effect of agency on sex worker satisfaction; and the third examined how sex work in this context was related to HIV and other risks. Life history interviews were conducted with 26 displaced individuals who had done sex work: 14 were men who have sex with men and 12 were transgender women (natal males). Findings revealed that many participants began doing sex work in the period immediately after displacement, because of a lack of money, housing, and social support. HIV risk was greater during this time due to limited knowledge of HIV and inexperience negotiating safer sex with clients. Other findings indicated that sex workers who exerted more control and choice in the circumstances of their work reported greater satisfaction. In addition, we found that although many sex workers insisted on condom use with clients, several noted that they would sometimes have unprotected sex for additional money. Specific characteristics affecting the experience of sex work among the transgender women were also discussed.

Sex Work among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Bogotá

PubMed Central

Bianchi, Fernanda T.; Reisen, Carol A.; Zea, Maria Cecilia; Vidal-Ortiz, Salvador; Gonzales, Felisa A.; Betancourt, Fabián; Aguilar, Marcela; Poppen, Paul J.

2014-01-01

This qualitative study examined sex work among internally displaced male and transgender female sex workers in Bogotá, Colombia. Internal displacement has occurred in Colombia as a result of decades of conflict among armed groups and has created large-scale migration from rural to urban areas. Informed by the polymorphous model of sex work, which posits that contextual conditions shape the experience of sex work, we examined three main research questions. The first dealt with how internal displacement was related to the initiation of sex work; the second concerned the effect of agency on sex worker satisfaction; and the third examined how sex work in this context was related to HIV and other risks. Life history interviews were conducted with a 26 displaced individuals who had done sex work: 14 were men who have sex with men (MSM) and 12 were transgender women (natal males). Findings revealed that many participants began doing sex work in the period immediately after displacement, because of a lack of money, housing, and social support. HIV risk was greater during this time due to limited knowledge of HIV and inexperience negotiating safer sex with clients. Other findings indicated that sex workers who exerted more control and choice in the circumstances of their work reported greater satisfaction. In addition, we found that although many sex workers insisted on condom use with clients, several noted that they would sometimes have unprotected sex for additional money. Specific characteristics affecting the experience of sex work among the transgender women were also discussed. PMID:24464550

Response of microbial communities to experimental warming and precipitation decrease in Rzecin peatland (Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basińska, Anna M.; Gąbka, Maciej; Reczuga, Monika; Łuców, Dominika; Stróżecki, Marcin; Samson, Mateusz; Józefczyk, Damian; Chojnicki, Bogdan; Urbaniak, Marek; Leśny, Jacek; Olejnik, Janusz; Gilbert, Daniel; Silvennoinen, Hanna; Juszczak, Radosław; Lamentowicz, Mariusz

2017-04-01

In the last decade researchers are intensively testing the consequences of different climate change scenarios. Due to high biodiversity, huge amount of stored carbon and their sensitivity to environmental changes, peatlands became important for the temperature increase and drought experiments. Analyses showed that mosses, vascular plants and microbial communities were affected by warming or drought, but still not all effects are clear. Studying the response of microbial groups and indicators (e.g. mixotrophic species of testate amoeba) to warming in combination with decrease of precipitation will allow to better understand the future environmental changes. To recognize the inflow of organic matter and the carbon fixing processes in disturbed environment, we need to analyse the structure and biomass of main groups living in peatlands and the response of those groups to disturbances. The Polish - Norway "WETMAN" project was designed to recognize biotic and abiotic components of ecosystem response to active warming and decrease of precipitation. In this study we present the response of microbial communities and chosen testate amoeba species (TA) to different treatments: warming, warming and decreased precipitation and only decreased precipitation, in relation to control plots. The microbial biomass of upper and lower Sphagnum segments were analysed separately. Particular microbial groups were positively correlated with manipulations e. g. microalgae and rotifers, and other were negatively affected by combination of drought and warming e.g. cyanobacteria and testate amoeba. The structure of community was modified by manipulations, and differed in the case of upper and lower segment of Sphagnum. RDA analyses showed that different factors were crucial for the biomass of microbial groups in upper (conductivity, temperature and phosphorus) and lower (nitrates and sodium) segment. Considering higher taxonomic resolution we found that at the beginning of the experiment TA

Mesoamerican Nephropathy or Global Warming Nephropathy?

PubMed

Roncal-Jimenez, Carlos A; García-Trabanino, Ramon; Wesseling, Catharina; Johnson, Richard J

2016-01-01

An epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown cause has emerged along the Pacific Coast of Central America. The disease primarily affects men working manually outdoors, and the major group affected is sugarcane workers. The disease presents with an asymptomatic rise in serum creatinine that progresses to end-stage renal disease over several years. Renal biopsies show chronic tubulointerstitial disease. While the cause remains unknown, recent studies suggest that it is driven by recurrent dehydration in the hot climate. Potential mechanisms include the development of hyperosmolarity with the activation of the aldose reductase-fructokinase pathway in the proximal tubule leading to local injury and inflammation, and the possibility that renal injury may be the consequence of repeated uricosuria and urate crystal formation as a consequence of both increased generation and urinary concentration, similar to a chronic tumor lysis syndrome. The epidemic is postulated to be increasing due to the effects of global warming. An epidemic of CKD has led to the death of more than 20,000 lives in Central America. The cause is unknown, but appears to be due to recurrent dehydration. Potential mechanisms for injury are renal damage as a consequence of recurrent hyperosmolarity and/or injury to the tubules from repeated episodes of uricosuria. The epidemic of CKD in Mesoamerica may be due to chronic recurrent dehydration as a consequence of global warming and working conditions. This entity may be one of the first major diseases attributed to climate change and the greenhouse effect. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Otoacoustic emissions, auditory evoked potentials and self-reported gender in people affected by disorders of sex development (DSD).

PubMed

Wisniewski, Amy B; Espinoza-Varas, Blas; Aston, Christopher E; Edmundson, Shelagh; Champlin, Craig A; Pasanen, Edward G; McFadden, Dennis

2014-08-01

Both otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) are sexually dimorphic, and both are believed to be influenced by prenatal androgen exposure. OAEs and AEPs were collected from people affected by 1 of 3 categories of disorders of sex development (DSD) - (1) women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS); (2) women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH); and (3) individuals with 46,XY DSD including prenatal androgen exposure who developed a male gender despite initial rearing as females (men with DSD). Gender identity (GI) and role (GR) were measured both retrospectively and at the time of study participation, using standardized questionnaires. The main objective of this study was to determine if patterns of OAEs and AEPs correlate with gender in people affected by DSD and in controls. A second objective was to assess if OAE and AEP patterns differed according to degrees of prenatal androgen exposure across groups. Control males, men with DSD, and women with CAH produced fewer spontaneous OAEs (SOAEs) - the male-typical pattern - than control females and women with CAIS. Additionally, the number of SOAEs produced correlated with gender development across all groups tested. Although some sex differences in AEPs were observed between control males and females, AEP measures did not correlate with gender development, nor did they vary according to degrees of prenatal androgen exposure, among people with DSD. Thus, OAEs, but not AEPs, may prove useful as bioassays for assessing early brain exposure to androgens and predicting gender development in people with DSD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Otoacoustic Emissions, Auditory Evoked Potentials and Self-Reported Gender in People Affected by Disorders of Sex Development (DSD)

PubMed Central

Wisniewski, Amy B.; Espinoza-Varas, Blas; Aston, Christopher E.; Edmundson, Shelagh; Champlin, Craig A.; Pasanen, Edward G.; McFadden, Dennis

2014-01-01

Both otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) are sexually dimorphic, and both are believed to be influenced by prenatal androgen exposure. OAEs and AEPs were collected from people affected by 1 of 3 categories of disorders of sex development (DSD) – (1) women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS); (2) women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH); and (3) individuals with 46, XY DSD including prenatal androgen exposure who developed a male gender despite initial rearing as females (men with DSD). Gender identity (GI) and role (GR) were measured both retrospectively and at the time of study participation, using standardized questionnaires. The main objective of this study was to determine if patterns of OAEs and AEPs correlate with gender in people affected by DSD and in controls. A second objective was to assess if OAE and AEP patterns differed according to degrees of prenatal androgen exposure across groups. Control males, men with DSD, and women with CAH produced fewer spontaneous OAEs (SOAEs) – the male-typical pattern – than control females and women with CAIS. Additionally, the number of SOAEs produced correlated with gender development across all groups tested. Although some sex differences in AEPs were observed between control males and females, AEP measures did not correlate with gender development, nor did they vary according to degrees of prenatal androgen exposure, among people with DSD. Thus, OAEs, but not AEPs, may prove useful as bioassays for assessing early brain exposure to androgens and predicting gender development in people with DSD. PMID:25038289

The Maternal Legacy: Female Identity Predicts Offspring Sex Ratio in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

PubMed

Reneker, Jaymie L; Kamel, Stephanie J

2016-07-01

In organisms with temperature-dependent sex determination, the incubation environment plays a key role in determining offspring sex ratios. Given that global temperatures have warmed approximately 0.6 °C in the last century, it is necessary to consider how organisms will adjust to climate change. To better understand the degree to which mothers influence the sex ratios of their offspring, we use 24 years of nesting data for individual female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) observed on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. We find that maternal identity is the best predictor of nest sex ratio in univariate and multivariate predictive models. We find significant variability in estimated nest sex ratios among mothers, but a high degree of consistency within mothers, despite substantial spatial and temporal thermal variation. Our results suggest that individual differences in nesting preferences are the main driver behind divergences in nest sex ratios. As such, a female's ability to plastically adjust her nest sex ratios in response to environmental conditions is constrained, potentially limiting how individuals behaviorally mitigate the effects of environmental change. Given that many loggerhead populations already show female-biased offspring sex ratios, understanding maternal behavioral responses is critical for predicting the future of long-lived species vulnerable to extinction.

The Maternal Legacy: Female Identity Predicts Offspring Sex Ratio in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle

PubMed Central

Reneker, Jaymie L.; Kamel, Stephanie J.

2016-01-01

In organisms with temperature-dependent sex determination, the incubation environment plays a key role in determining offspring sex ratios. Given that global temperatures have warmed approximately 0.6 °C in the last century, it is necessary to consider how organisms will adjust to climate change. To better understand the degree to which mothers influence the sex ratios of their offspring, we use 24 years of nesting data for individual female loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) observed on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. We find that maternal identity is the best predictor of nest sex ratio in univariate and multivariate predictive models. We find significant variability in estimated nest sex ratios among mothers, but a high degree of consistency within mothers, despite substantial spatial and temporal thermal variation. Our results suggest that individual differences in nesting preferences are the main driver behind divergences in nest sex ratios. As such, a female’s ability to plastically adjust her nest sex ratios in response to environmental conditions is constrained, potentially limiting how individuals behaviorally mitigate the effects of environmental change. Given that many loggerhead populations already show female-biased offspring sex ratios, understanding maternal behavioral responses is critical for predicting the future of long-lived species vulnerable to extinction. PMID:27363786

Selection for sex in finite populations.

PubMed

Roze, D

2014-07-01

Finite population size generates interference between selected loci, which has been shown to favour increased rates of recombination. In this article, I present different analytical models exploring selection acting on a 'sex modifier locus' (that affects the relative investment into asexual and sexual reproduction) in a finite population. Two forms of selective forces act on the modifier: direct selection due to intrinsic costs associated with sexual reproduction and indirect selection generated by one or two other loci affecting fitness. The results show that indirect selective forces differ from those acting on a recombination modifier even in the case of a haploid population: in particular, a single selected locus generates indirect selection for sex, while two loci are required in the case of a recombination modifier. This effect stems from the fact that modifier alleles increasing sex escape more easily from low-fitness genetic backgrounds than alleles coding for lower rates of sex. Extrapolating the results from three-locus models to a large number of loci at mutation-selection balance indicates that in the parameter range where indirect selection is strong enough to outweigh a substantial cost of sex, interactions between selected loci have a stronger effect than the sum of individual effects of each selected locus. Comparisons with multilocus simulation results show that such extrapolations may provide correct predictions for the evolutionarily stable rate of sex, unless the cost of sex is high. © 2014 The Author. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.