Origins of Vulcanello based on the re-examination of historical sources (Vulcano, Aeolian Islands)

The lava platform and the three pyroclastic cones of Vulcanello constitute the northernmost volcanic structure of the island of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands). The sandy isthmus connecting the platform to the main island was definitively formed in the first half of the 1500s; before then, Vulcano and Vulcanello were two close but separate islands. For a long time, the interpretation of the sources of the II-I century BC, had considered the islet as built up about 2200 years ago. This belief, which proliferated among naturalists from the 17th century, is not confirmed in the ancient texts or even in the geographical documents of the time, which do not indicate the presence of Vulcanello as a new and stable island near Vulcano. The islet would only be mentioned at the dawn of the second millennium, and named in Arabic “Gabal’ al Burkān”, meaning Mount of Vulcano; shortly thereafter the toponym changed to the Latin “Insulam Vulcanelli” and then, towards the 15th century, finally to Vulcanello. Since the creation of a volcanic island certainly occurred in the Aeolian Islands in the classical era, but traces of it were quickly lost, the most plausible hypothesis is that it was formed in the area of the current Vulcanello, to be subsequently erased by the sea. The shallow, flat seabed, likely remaining as a result of sea abrasion, might have represented the morphological element on which the circular lava platform we know today was formed sometime between 950 and 1000 AD.

A Numerical Analysis on Coral Larval Networks across Reef Areas on the Northwest Coast of Okinawa Main Island, Japan

Coral bleaching has recently occurred extensively over the world’s oceans, primarily due to high water temperatures. Mesophotic corals that inhabit at depths of approximately 30–150 m are expected to survive during bleaching events and to reseed shallow water corals afterward. In particular, in Okinawa, Japan, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) have been reported to serve as a refuge to preserve genotypic diversities of bleaching-sensitive corals. Connectivity of larval populations between different habitats is a key element that determines the area to be conserved for desirable coral ecosystems. Coral larvae generally behave passively to the surrounding currents and are transported by the advective and dispersive effects of ambient ocean currents. Thus, numerical ocean circulation models enable us to quantify connectivity with detailed spatiotemporal network structures. Our aim in this study is to quantify the short-distance and vertical connectivity of coral larvae in reef areas on the northwest coast of Okinawa Main Island. For the reason that both short-distance and vertical larval transport are influenced by complex nearshore topography, a very high-resolution 3-D circulation model is required. Therefore, we developed a quadruple nested high-resolution synoptic ocean model at a lateral spatial resolution of 50 m, coupled with an offline 3-D Lagrangian particle-tracking model. After validation of the developed model, short-distance horizontal coral connectivity across reef areas on the northwest coast was successfully evaluated. Furthermore, a series of Lagrangian particle release experiments were conducted to identify the vertical coral migration and 3-D connectivity required for the preservation of MCEs. The model revealed that coral larvae released from the semi-enclosed areas tended to remain near the source area, whereas they were diffused and dispersed gradually with time. The mesophotic corals were dispersed vertically to the deeper zone below the mixed layer, while upward transport occurred to induce the mesophotic corals to emerge near the surface, under the influence of the surface mixed layer. The model results solidly indicated significant connectivity between MCEs and shallow coral ecosystems.

Time-Slip Journey to Jomon Period: A Case Study of Heritage Tourism in Aomori Prefecture, Japan

This study focuses on Aomori, a prefecture situated in the northern part of the Japanese main island Honshu. Riding on the popularity of time-slip-themed entertainment, Aomori began to brand itself as a place where people can experience a time-travel journey to the Jomon, the Japanese prehistoric era. Through this study, we investigated the practice of Aomori to incorporate fantasy in its heritage tourism. Mixed-method research was used to retrieve and analyze information about Aomori and its Jomon-themed time-slip tourism, including desk research and word frequency analysis. While selling fantasy in tourism is a not-so-new topic, the Aomori case shed light on the alternative strategy that regional areas can consider. The prefecture showed us the prospect to combine fantasy and the local culture to attract younger tourists and dedicated pop-culture fans to visit the local attractions. It also demonstrated the potential of thematic fantasy in heritage tourism, especially archaeotourism, often perceived as boring by the younger generation. Additionally, the Aomori case indicated the importance of tourism infrastructure, creative marketing, and innovation in heritage tourism. It further signifies the importance of speeding up digital transformation for the future of heritage tourism.

Observing linguistic evolution in an Irish archipelago

This article describes the results of a research project carried out over a period of 25 years on the spoken Irish Gaelic of the Aran Islands, Co. Galway, Ireland. It combines microdialectology with sociolinguistics and investigates a wide range of phonological, grammatical, and lexical variables. In addition to revealing complex patterns of geolinguistic variation involving small local areas on the main island and on neighboring islands, it also shows the clear influence of age, gender, and individual creativity on the patterns of variation.

STEMI treatment in remote areas – challenges of the only interventional angioplasty center located in an archipelago

Background In remote islands lack of specialized medical facilities, long distance transfer and emergency medical system organization remains a challenge and fibrinolysis is necessary to achieve revascularization in optimal timing in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Our angioplasty center is the only one located in an archipelago composed of nine islands, six of which do not have hospital facilities and only have small family health care units. Purpose To evaluate the reality and outcomes of our interventional angioplasty center and compare cardiovascular outcomes between STEMI patients from the main island and remote islands. Methods We retrospectively evaluated 103 patients with STEMI admitted to our center between 2018 and 2019. Patients from the main island where the center is located underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (group 1, n=55) and patients from remote islands underwent fibrinolytic therapy followed by transference to our center with facilitated or rescue PCI (group 2, n=48). A subanalysis of the far remote islands without hospital facilities was also performed. Primary outcome was defined as cardiovascular death or re-infarction at two years and secondary outcome as intrahospital haemorrhagic complications. Results Mean age was 58,15±12,6 years, 85,4% were males and follow up period was 30,30±6,46 months. Seventy-eight patients (75,7%) had history of smoking, 45 (43,7%) dyslipidemia, 20 (19,4%) previous acute coronary syndrome, 18 (17,5%) diabetes and 17 (15,5%) were obese. Troponin I peak was 117,42±129,06 ug/L and 14 (13,6%) were in Killip Class III/IV. Infarct-related artery was the left anterior descending artery in 45 (45,5%) and multivessel disease was present in 38 (38,0%). In group 1 reperfusion after PCI was obtained in 91,5%. In group 2, 73,5% met criteria for reperfusion after fibrinolysis and 23,6% after rescue PCI. Mean time from fibrinolysis to PCI was 558±349 minutes. Rates of successful revascularization did not differ between groups, as well as complete patency of the culprit-vessel defined as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow 3 (91,5% vs. 97,2% and 90,0% vs. 93,0% respectively for group 1 and 2). Cardiovascular death at two years occurred in 4 (3,9%) patients and re-infarction in 11 (10,7%) and were similar between groups (3 (5,5%) vs. 1 (2,1%) and 8 (14,5%) vs. 3 (6,3%) respectively) as well as haemorrhagic complications (1 (1,8%) vs. 5 (10,4%) respectively). Nineteen (18,4%) patients were from far remote islands without hospital facilities and when comparing these patients with the others there was also no difference in primary outcome. Conclusion Even in remote islands, an organized STEMI network with attempted fibrinolytic treatment and coordinated transference of patients for facilitated or rescue PCI can provide successful revascularization with cardiovascular outcomes similar to those submitted to primary PCI. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

English in Madeira: History and features of a lesser-known variety in the Atlantic

‘Lesser-known varieties of English’ (Schreier, 2009; Schreier et al., 2010) have received increasing attention in the last decade. In particular, Englishes on islands with historical and political ties to the United Kingdom or the United States have been described, such as the varieties in Bermuda (Eberle, 2021), Samoa (Biewer, 2020), and Tristan da Cunha (Schreier, 2009). However, Madeira has hitherto received extraordinarily little attention, although it used to be home to a small but enormously influential group of British expatriates who controlled large parts of the economy and owned a considerable amount of land on the island. Even today, approximately 1,000 emigrants from the United Kingdom live permanently in Madeira, which constitutes the second largest group of foreign residents (DREM, 2020b: 11). ‘Madeira’ refers to both a Portuguese archipelago and this archipelago's main island located ca. 737 km west of Morocco's coast (see Figure 1). Overall, Madeira had a population of 267,785 in the last official census from 2011 and is a highly popular tourist destination, with roughly 8 million overnight stays by visitors in 2019 (DREM, 2020a).

Soay Sheep: The Back-story

The primitive race of Soay sheep from the St Kilda archipelago in northwest Scotland has played an important role in narratives of the history of domestic sheep. The Soays, apparently a ‘Bronze Age’ race of sheep, were probably confined to the precipitous isle of Soay as soon as ‘Iron Age’ sheep were introduced to Hirta, St Kilda's main island, owing to the competitive edge of the ferocious Soay rams over the new arrivals. In the 1880s, Pitt-Rivers, following his archaeozoological interests, was the first to keep Soays in his park, their epic journey from the edge of the Atlantic to southern England enabled by his acquaintance with their owner. In the early twentieth century, Soays featured in animal bone reports for archaeological sites, were kept in parks and involved in breeding experiments, particularly around Horsham, Sussex (where their owner lived), and in Edinburgh. The transfer of 107 Soays to Hirta in 1934 and 1935, after humans had evacuated St Kilda, was a remarkable feat, enabling the important long-running Soay Sheep Project. The historical exploitation of ‘feral’ Soay sheep by the islanders of St Kilda has significant cultural ramifications.

Origin and Potential Expansion of the Invasive Longan Lanternfly, Pyrops candelaria (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in Taiwan

The longan lanternfly Pyrops candelaria is a new invasive species on the main island of Taiwan. The introduction of an invasive species may negatively influence the native fauna, flora and environment. Thus, this study aimed to infer the invasion history, predict habitat suitability and potential expansion and assess the risk to crop cultivation areas in Taiwan. Genetic structures of P. candelaria from the main island of Taiwan and related regions were analyzed based on partial COI and ND2 sequences. Additionally, machine learning MaxEnt was utilized to study habitat suitability. The results suggested that the Taiwanese populations may originate from the Kinmen Islands and the plain areas of Taiwan are considered to have high habitat suitability. Furthermore, most of the cultivation areas of longan and pomelo crops showed high habitat suitability.

Seeing the “Country” of Tsugaru in Northeastern Japan

This chapter chronicles the history of Hirosaki domain to late-Tokugawa times, charting rule by the Tsugaru clan and developments in the local politics, economy, society, and military defense of Ezo, which was inhabited by the Indigenous Ainu. Hirosaki domain represents a fascinating case of a “country” that underwent transformation within an evolving Japanese state. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Tsugaru family asserted its dominance over its conquered territory on the northeastern edge of Japan's main island. They ingratiated themselves with the rulers of Japan by forming political alliances. The chapter also follows the story of how two merchant-class scholars navigated history: Hirao Rosen established himself as a painter and ethnographic researcher, and Tsuruya Ariyo made his name as a poet in local literati circles. The chapter traces how these young men learned from notable teachers, while yearning for the advanced scholarship of Edo. Through their artistic and scholarly works, Rosen and Ariyo expressed visions of their local “country” of Tsugaru embedded in a larger Japan.