A 5000-Year Sedimentary Record of East Asian Winter Monsoon from the Northern Muddy Area of the East China Sea

The variability of the winter monsoon is one of the key components of the Asian monsoon, significantly influencing paleoenvironmental evolution in East Asia. However, whether the winter or the summer monsoon is the dominated factor controlling sedimentary dynamics of the muddy areas of the continental shelves of the East China Sea is debated, due to lack of consistency between various winter monsoon proxies in previous studies. In this work, the sediments of the upper part of core ECS-DZ1 with several marine surface samples were studied in terms of sediment grain size and radiocarbon dating, and changes in sedimentary dynamics of the northern muddy area of the ECS over the past 5000 years were documented. The main findings are as follows: (1) regional sedimentary dynamics were low and did not significantly change since the middle Holocene; (2) coarse particles are the dominated component in the sediments; (3) a proxy can be derived to indicate changes in winter monsoon. Based on this reconstructed winter monsoon record, we found that this record was generally negatively correlated to the stalagmite-based summer monsoon variability over the past 3500 years, but positively correlated before that. Moreover, this record can be well correlated to changes in the Kuroshio Current and the Bond ice-rafting debris events in the North Atlantic on millennial timescales, inferring large-scale and common atmospheric dynamics across the Asian continent over the past 5000 years. Therefore, we concluded that the winter monsoon is the predominant factor controlling sedimentary dynamics in the northern part of the ECS and proposed that the contribution of coarse particles may be one of potential indices to identify the role of the winter and the summer monsoons in sedimentary evolution.

Sedimentary signals of the upwelling along the Zhejiang coast, China

<p>The muddy deposits of the Zhe-Min coastal area are of great importance to understand "source to sink" processes. However, the sedimentary processes that dominate along the Zhejiang coast remain controversial. Determining sedimentation rates is an important element of our understanding of sedimentary processes and deposition patterns. Therefore, 23 vibrocores were collected from the muddy area along the Zhejiang coast to analyse their sedimentation rates using <sup>210</sup>Pb geochronology. The spatial distribution of the sedimentation rates derived from the 23 vibrocores, as well as previously published data, demonstrated that the middle part of the study area around 29°N experienced relatively high sedimentation rates, which has never been reported in previous studies. This location of high sedimentation rates is approximately consistent with that of the Holocene maximum thickness deposition, finest surface sediments and high concentration of chlorophyll, resulting from the existence of upwelling along the Zhejiang coast besides the fluvial inputs. </p>

A New Record From East Malaysia: Sphaerolaimus macrocirculus (Nematoda)

A new record of Sphaerolaimus macrocirculus (Filipjev 1918) in East Malaysian coastal water was described. The species was isolated from the muddy area of Muara Tebas, Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 47 species of Sphaerolaimus have been reported worldwide. Samples of Sphaerolaimus macrocirculus were previously recorded in the sublittoral mud area of temperate country. S. macrocirculus possesses a stout body (1.1 – 1.6 mm; De Man ratios: a (body length/body width) = 16.8 – 27.5; b (body length/oesophagus length) = 2.3 – 4.3; c (body length/tail length) = 5.6 – 8.6). The circular amphid is very clear and situated at the base of the cephalic capsule. In male, the amphid ranged from 11.3 – 14.3 μm in diameter (mean = 12.7 ± 1.3) and 0.4 c.d. (corresponding diameter). In female, the amphid ranged from 7.2 – 9.4 μm in diameter (mean 7.8 ± 0.9) and 0.2 c.d. The species is characterised by the presence of eight groups of subcephalic setae at the head region and three longer terminal setae.

The gastrotrich community of a north Adriatic Sea site, with a redescription of Musellifer profundus (Chaetonotida: Muselliferidae)

During a survey of the marine meiobenthos in a predominantly muddy area, 40 km south of Venice (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy), 11 species of gastrotrichs were recorded. Gastrotrichs were found in 11 out of the 16 investigated stations, with densities (mean ± standard deviation) ranging from 0.6 ± 0.5 to 97.7 ± 71.2 ind./10 cm2. The community was dominated by Musellifer profundus, which made up 24.5% of the entire gastrotrich assemblage and reached in a single station the abundance peak of 18.3 ind./10 cm2. The finding bears relevance to the biogeography and ecology of several species. The presence of numerous specimens of the rare M. profundus allowed new insights into the arrangement and functioning of the hermaphroditic sexual apparatus in this phylogenetically important genus, for which such data are scanty. The new information will certainly be useful in evolutionary studies aimed at reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships within Gastrotricha, while offering at the same time additional morphological traits to be used in reliable species identification. Although only three species of Musellifer have been described so far, there are several others awaiting a formal affiliation, a task that will benefit from this new information.

Cults and Mental Health: Clinical Conclusions

The field of cults and their relation to psychological and psychiatric disorder is reft with rhetoric and opinion. There has been a particular dearth of documentation and substantiated data supporting psychiatric opinion. As a result of considerable research, clinical work, and an extensive literature review, certain conclusions or strongly suggested positions are enunciated. An attempt is made to substantiate each of the ten assertions based on existing data, in the hope that they will clarify the muddy area, make clinical positions and interventions more soundly based, and inspire debate and heuristic efforts.