Health transition: examples from the western Pacific.

The Industrial Revolution ushered in a rapid transition from agriculture to industrialization. Some biological effects of this transition included increasing life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, and some decline in fertility. Reduced infant mortality first brought about an increase in life expectancy, but as humans were able to control infectious diseases, child and adult mortality also decreased. Now, accidents and chronic diseases are responsible for most mortality in many age groups. This shift from infectious diseases to accidents and chronic diseases is called the health transition. Japan and US are Pacific Basin countries which have relatively high life expectancy and low infant mortality (1988, 75.54 years vs. 71.38 years, and 4.4 vs. 9.9, respectively). These figures suggest that these countries rather advanced in the health transition. Japan may have better life expectancy than the US because of the effect of environmental factors, ethnic diversity, and health care differentials by social class on cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. China and Thailand hold intermediate positions (67.98 years (1985-1990) vs. 63.82 years (1985-1986), and 32.4 vs. 39, respectively). Some research indicates that urban conditions and factory work increase the cardiovascular disease risk among the Chinese. Recent research suggests that access to immunization and modern medical care for acute disease are the only critical variables of the health transition rather than other variables. Papua New Guinea is not progressing very well (53.18 years and 58). Papua New Guinea has not yet been able to control infectious diseases, especially malaria. This comparison illustrates that populations progress through the health transition at different rates.     

Changes in specific photosynthetic rate of oceanic phytoplankton from the northeast Pacific Ocean

The study is based on data (n=244) from light-saturation experiments utilizing artificial incubation under fluorescent light. Values of maximum photosynthetic rate,P _max, and the light intensity at which it takes place,I _max, are estimated by non-linear regression using stepwise Gauss-Newton iterations. Estimated values ofP _max ranged from 0.85 to 5.48 mg C (mg Chla·h)^?1;I _max varied from 2.35 to 5.52 cal (cm²·h)^?1. The effects of time (months) and depth (illumination levels) and their interaction are evaluated by analysis of covariance using a linear model. A significant time-depth interaction is noted: The maximum specific primary productivity occurred in the surface layers during March, at the 50% light level during April, and at 1% level during May. Estimates ofP _max from simulated in situ primary productivity experiments for the same period are lower than those from light-saturation experiments. A comparison of data from light-saturation and simulated in situ experiments indicated that effects of duration of experiments and the quality of available light may affect primary productivity data considerably.     

Quantitative analysis of accommodation patterns in carbonate platforms: an example from the mid-Cretaceous of SE Spain

For sequence stratigraphic analysis of extensive carbonate platforms (hundreds of kilometres wide) developed in greenhouse climates on broad, passive margins, less emphasis should be placed on large-scale seismic geometries, and more attention paid to sequence stratigraphic correlation of stratigraphic sections based usually on isolated outcrops. To this end, quantitative analysis of accommodation emerges as a simple, useful tool, that allows detailed architectural reconstructions, regional chronostratigraphical correlation and systems tract interpretation. In this paper, a quantitative analysis of accommodation was applied to the wide platforms that developed in the southern passive continental margin of Iberia during the mid-Cretaceous (late Albian to early middle Cenomanian interval). This analysis was based on several integrated techniques including: (1) construction of total accommodation curves with the aid of backstripping techniques for calculating decompacted sedimentary accumulation through time, (2) mathematical analysis of these curves and characterisation of second- and third-order accommodation patterns, and (3) analysis of parasequence stacking patterns in peritidal cyclic successions by means of Fischer plots. By applying these techniques to eight individual sections logged at the decimetre scale in outcrops of the External Zones of the Betic orogenic belt, it was possible to characterise the second- and third-order accommodation signal for this interval in the basin. The second-order curve defines a long-term sigmoidal pattern of nearly six million years, with low rates of accommodation generation in the first and the last part of the interval, and high rates in the mid-interval. The third-order signal defines six accommodation events of one million years average duration, which controlled the development of six successive depositional sequences and their systems tracts. On the basis of this new sequence stratigraphic framework, a high-resolution, 2-D platform transect, showing the spatial distribution of facies, was erected and analysed. The results notably complete previous qualitative sequence stratigraphic data on the platform and contribute to a better understanding of the nature of systems tracts and their boundaries in response to overlapping of second- and third-order accommodation patterns.     

Ecological controls on geometries of carbonate platforms: Miocene/Pliocene shallow-water microfaunas and carbonate biofacies from the Queensland Plateau (NE Australia)

Summary The Miocene and Pliocene of three ODP Leg 133 sites (812, 813, 814) record the biofacies evolution prior and during the partial drowning of the Queensland Plateau carbonate platform. Four major skeletal assemblages occur in the succession. The first, middle Miocene assemblage consists of a tropical chlorozoan association. The second assemblage, which records warm-temperate depositional conditions, lacks aragonitic skeletal elements. It is dominated by foraminifera and bryozoans. The third skeletal association (uppermost Lower Pliocene) contains green algae, foraminifera, and bryozoans. The last skeletal association is pelagic (ooze) and mainly consists of planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton. The middle Miocene depositional geometry in the analysed transect of drill sites is that of a carbonate bank with a well-defined rim and a flank. During the late Miocene and early Pliocene carbonate ramps formed. Upper Miocene and lower Pliocene deposits in the drill holes are rich in large benthic foraminifera. Combination of micropaleontological with seismic data allows the reconstruction of a curve of relative sea level for the Tortonian and Messinian. The long term trend of relative sea level is characterised by a rise punctuated by four short term falls.Lepidocyclina (Nephrolepidina) rutteni is described from the Australian faunal province for the first time.     

Biosynthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol by lipase in dimethyl carbonate as the solvent

Glycerol carbonate was synthesized from renewable glycerol and dimethyl carbonate using lipase in solvent-free reaction system in which excess dimethyl carbonate played as the reaction medium. A variety of lipases have been tested for their abilities to catalyze transesterification reaction, and Candida antartica lipase B and Novozyme 435 exhibited higher catalytic activities. The silica-coated glycerol with a 1:1 ratio was supplied to prevent two-phase formation between hydrophobic dimethyl carbonate and hydrophilic glycerol. Glycerol carbonate was successfully synthesized with more than 90% conversion from dimethyl carbonate and glycerol with a molar ratio of 10 using Novozyme 435-catalyzed transesterification at 70 °C. The Novozyme 435 [5% (w/w) and 20% (w/w)] and silica gel were more than four times recycled with good stability in a repeated batch operation for the solvent-free synthesis of glycerol carbonate.     

The demise of the rudist-bearing carbonate platforms at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary: a global control

The demise of the rudist-bearing carbonate blatforms at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary is tudied in different ways through examples from the Vestern Mediterranean Province. During the Late Cenonanian, North and South Tethyan carbonate platforms xtened widely and were subjected to different climatic and oceanographic conditions. The onset of the demise of the carbonate platforms occurred during Upper Arphaeocretacea and Helvetica biozone times and was boeval with the Global Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE₂). A major biologic turnover affected the benthic organisms i.e. rudists and large foraminifera. The rudists underwent a severe extinction event, leading to the disappearance of the dominantly aragonite secreting rudists, while the dominantly calcitic forms were less affected. The major development of the carbonate platforms occurred during the Latest Cenomanian — Earliest Turonian, involving a transgressive highstand system tract and a keep-up carbonate organization. During the Early Turonian the carbonate sedimentation was disturbed; hard-grounds, condensed beds, terrigenous inputs developed and a gap in the carbonate platform deposition occurred. A combination of several sequentially linked factors, could explain the demise of the carbonate platform and the major change on the benthic ecosystem at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary.     

Depositional sequences in the Kimmeridgian of the Vocontian Basin (France) controlled by carbonate export from shallow-water platforms

Detailed sedimentological analyses and sequential and cyclostratigraphic interpretations in the Kimmeridgian of the Swiss Jura and the Vocontian Basin lead to a high-resolution correlation from the platform to the basin where the biostratigraphy is well established. Several orders of depositional sequences are defined. Their duration is estimated from the time frame given in the sequence-chronostratigraphic chart of Hardenbol et al. (1998). It is suggested that an elementary sequence formed in tune with the 20 ky precession cycle. Small-scale and medium-scale sequences correspond to the 100 and 400 ky eccentricity cycles, respectively. The platform-to-basin correlation shows that the composition of the hemipelagic and pelagic deposits depends to a large part on cyclical variations of carbonate production in shallow-marine environments and subsequent export to the basin. The distribution of thick versus thin marl-limestone alternations and carbonate-dominated versus marl-dominated intervals observed in the basinal sections is explained by the superposition of high- and low-frequency sea-level changes that controlled the carbonate productivity on the platform and the export potential of carbonate mud to the basin.     

Late Quaternary history of atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the eastern equatorial Pacific

Four radiolarian assemblages have been defined in recent seafloor sediments of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The distribution of these assemblages corresponds to the modern pattern of oceanic circulation and water mass structure in this region: the eastern Pacific shallow permanent thermocline and the Equatorial Undercurrent; Peru Current upwelling and the oxygen minimum; the subtropical water mass; warm western tropical water and the North Equatorial Countercurrent. In twelve cores chosen to transect the region both longitudinally and latitudinally, the distribution of these four assemblages has been reconstructed for six time-intervals during the last 127,000 years: 18,000 B.P. (glacial Stage 2); 36,000 B.P. and 52,000 B.P. (interstadial Stage 3); 65,000 B.P. (glacial Stage 4); 82,000 B.P. and 120,000 B.P. (interglacial Stage 5). Atmospheric and oceanic circulation changes through time have been inferred from the reconstructed microfossil assemblage distributions. Changes in assemblage distributions indicate that variations in intensity, direction and mean position of the tradewinds caused marked changes in the oceanic circulation patterns through the last glacial cycle.Near the end of interglacial Stage 5, the disappearance of the North Equatorial Countercurrent from the eastern Pacific suggests that the mean position of the tradewinds was shifted to the south approximately 5° of latitude relative to the modern position, so that the Northeast trades prevented the flow of the North Equatorial Countercurrent into the eastern Pacific. Near the end of interstadial Stage 3, a change in wind direction occurred from predominantly zonal winds, which enhance equatorial divergence and surfacing of the Equatorial Undercurrent, to more meridional winds, which enhance coastal upwelling associated with the Peru Current.In the tropical Pacific Ocean, late Quaternary changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation are linked with times of continental ice sheet growth in the Northern Hemisphere (i.e., the interglacial-to-glacial transitions across oxygen isotope stage boundaries $\text{5}\text{4}$ and $\text{3}\text{2}$). The major changes in circulation seem to occur a few thousand years in advance of the glacial episodes, at or near periods of ice sheet growth. This relationship indicates that changes in atmospheric circulation in the tropics led and influenced the development of conditions suitable for polar and continental ice sheet growth in the Northern Hemisphere.     

Calcified epibionts as palaeoecological tools: examples from the Recent and Pleistocene reefs of Barbados

Calcified epibionts (crustose coralline algae, bryozoans, foraminiferans and serpulid worms) which colinize primary framebuilders of Recent Barbados reefs exhibit a well-defined zonation of species and morphological growth forms in response to environmental factors such as water turbulence and light. Exposed environments are characterized by thick crusts of coralline algae whereas cryptic environments are dominated by thin crusts of algae, bryozoans, foraminiferans and serpulid worms. A model, based on this zonation, was used to decipher the environments of growth and early burial of Pleistocene reefs. Lagoonal corals possess an assemblage of encrusters which document prolonged growth in a uniform environment. Reef crest corals support a mixed succession of shallow water encrusters which record a gradual decrease in light as substrates are smothered by accumulating debris. Sequences such as these represent growth under stable conditions. The model can also be used to interpret sequences formed by catastrophic events and fluctuations in sea level.     

Remarks on the systematic position of Lithocodium Elliott, a problematic microorganism from the Mesozoic carbonate platforms of the Tethyan realm

The encrusting genus Lithocodium Elliott, widespread in Tethyan Triassic-Cretaceous carbonate platforms and interpreted in the past as a codiacean alga, is presently regarded as a colony of calcified cyanobacteria, a microorganism incertae sedis or a loftusiacean foraminifer. The absence of apertures connecting neighbouring cavities, as well as the very irregular form and arrangement of these hollows within a frequently massive micritic matrix, excludes assigning Lithocodium to the foraminifers, but could rather suggest colonies of calcified cyanobacteria.     

Transit towards floristic homogenization on oceanic islands in the south-eastern Pacific: comparing pre-European and current floras

Aim  To quantify the occurrence of processes of homogenization or differentiation in the vascular flora of six oceanic islands.
Location  Six islands in the south-eastern Pacific drawn from the Desventuradas Archipelago, Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Archipelago.
Methods  Using published floristic studies, we determined the floristic composition of each island at two different stages: (1) pre-European colonization and (2) current flora. We compared changes in the number of shared plants and the floristic similarity among islands for each stage.
Results  The number of plant species doubled from 263 in pre-European flora to 531 species currently. Only three native species became extinct, four natives were translocated among the islands and 271 plant species were introduced from outside. The frequency of plant species shared by two or more islands is higher in the post-European floras than prior to European contact, and the level of floristic similarity between islands increased slightly.
Main conclusions  Considering the low naturalization rate of alien plants, the small number of extinctions and the meagre increase in floristic similarity, these islands are undergoing a slow process of floristic homogenization.     

Modern sediments and Pleistocene reefs from isolated carbonate platforms (Iles Eparses,SW Indian Ocean): A preliminary study

Isolated carbonate platforms occur throughout the geologic record, from Archean to present. Although the respective roles of tectonics, sediment supply and sea-level changes in the stratigraphical architecture of these systems are relatively well constrained, the details of the nature and controls on the variability of sedimentological patterns between and within individual geomorphologic units on platforms have been barely investigated. This study aims at describing and comparing geomorphological and sedimentological features of surficial sediments and fossil reefs from three isolated carbonate platforms located in the SW Indian Ocean (Glorieuses, Juan de Nova and Europa). These carbonate platforms are relatively small and lack continuous reef margins, which have developed only on windward sides. Field observations, petrographic characterization and grain-size analyses are used to illustrate the spatial patterns of sediment accumulation on these platforms. The internal parts of both Glorieuses and Juan de Nova platforms are blanketed by sand dunes with medium to coarse sands with numerous reef pinnacles. Skeletal components including coral, green algae, and benthic foraminifera fragments prevail in these sediments. Europa platform exhibits a similar skeletal assemblage dominated by coral fragments, with the absence of wave-driven sedimentary bodies. Fossil reefs from the Last interglacial (125,000 years BP) occur on the three platforms. At Glorieuses, a succession of drowned terraces detected on seismic lines is interpreted as reflecting the last deglacial sea-level rise initiated 20,000 years ago. These findings highlight the high potential of these platforms to study past sea-level changes and the related reef response, which remain poorly documented in the SW Indian Ocean.     

Short communication. Statolith microstructure from hatchlings of the oceanic squid, Gonatus onyx (Cephalopoda, Gonatidae) from the Northeast Pacific

Statolith microstructure was studied in hatchlings of deepwater-spawned gonatid squid Gonatus onyx, caught between 1350 and 1420 m over a bottom depth of 2100 m in the San Clemente Basin off San Diego, California. It was found that the shape and size of the hatchling statolith were similar to those of the first-check statolith observed in paralarvae and small juveniles of G.onyx. The inner part of the bipartite postnuclear zone (= first-check statolith) is formed during late embryo-genesis, and the first check within the statolith microstructure must be considered as a starting point of increment counting for age estimation of Gonatus spp.      

Perceived insufficient milk as a barrier to optimal infant feeding: examples from Bolivia

In its recently adopted Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, the World Health Assembly called for urgent action in addressing the barriers to optimal feeding practices. This paper examines mothers' concerns about milk insufficiency as a major contributor to suboptimal infant feeding decisions, using survey data from peri-urban areas of two Bolivian cities. Mothers in the lowland modernizing city of Santa Cruz were more likely than mothers in the highland traditional city of Cochabamba to express concern about insufficient milk, and also less likely to feed their infants according to international recommendations. Furthermore, perceived milk insufficiency was particularly common among mothers of infants younger than 6 months of age -- an age at which infants are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of breast-feeding cessation and complementary feeding initiation. The paper concludes with policy, programme and research recommendations to address the critical problem of perceived insufficient breast milk.     

Two new parrotfishes of the genus Scarus from the Central and South Pacific, with further examples of sexual dichromatism

Scarus lauia (Jordan & Evermann) and Scarus formosus Valenciennes are junior synonyms oi Scarus dubius Bennett, the former based on the terminal phase and the latter on the initial phase. Scarus dubius is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, one of five species of the genus in these islands. The initial phase of Scarus fiavipectoralis Schultz is grey to brown with whitish streaks on the abdomen, a dark caudal fin and yellow at the pectoral base. The range of this species is extended from the Philippines to the Marshall, Solomon, and Caroline Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Scarusfasciatus Valenciennes is a junior svnonym of of the western Pacific 5. rivulatus Valenciennes. The initial phase is grey to brown with three pale stripes on the abdomen. Scarus lepidus Jenyns is a junior synonym of the wide-ranging Indo-Pacific S. globiceps Valenciennes. The initial phase is coloured like that of S. rivulatus. Scarus janthochir Bleeker, S. chlorodon Jenyns, and S. singaporensis Bleeker are junior synonyms of 5. prasiognathos Valenciennes; it occurs from the western Pacific to the Maldive Islands. Scarus elerae Jordan & Seale and S. urbanus (Smith) are junior synonyms of the wide-ranging Indo-Pacific S. tricolor Bleeker based on the terminal phase. Scarus dimidiatus Bleeker occurs in the western Pacific east to Samoa. Its initial phase, very similar to that of the western Indian Ocean S. scaber, is yellowish, shading to whitish ventrally, with five slightly diagonal dark bars on the upper half of the body. Callyodon mutabilis Gray is a junior synonym of S. quoyi Valenciennes. Scarus spinus (Kner) is the valid name for the distinctive bullet-headed parrotfish with a greenish yellow snout which was misidentified as S.formosus by Schultz. The initial phase is dark brown with pale bars. The terminal phase of the Pacific parrotfish Scarus schlegeli Bleeker is distinctive in possessing a pale bar on the side (yellow dorsally, light green ventrally). The drab initial phase with alternating dark and light bars was misidentified as S. venosus Valenciennes by Schultz, a junior synonym of S. psittacus Forsskǎl. The terminal phase of the western Pacific Scarus bleekeri de Beaufort has a characteristic large whitish patch bordered with blue-green on the cheek. The initial phase is dark brown, the edges of the scales narrowly orangish, shading to orange-red ventrally, with faint yellowish bars, caudal peduncle and caudal fin. A closely related species from Indonesia and the Andaman Sea is tentatively identified as 5. troschelii Bleeker. The terminal phase has a band of blue-green curving from the corner of the mouth to below the eye and back down to the pectoral base. Scarus japanensis (Bloch), identified in most recent papers as S. capistratoides Bleeker, is the terminal phase and senior synonym of the dark brown, red-tailed S. pyrrhurus (Jordan & Seale); it is restricted to the western Pacific (easternmost record, Samoa). Scarus gibbus Ruppell is differentiated into three populations based on colour. Scarus koputea sp. nov., unique in having four rows of scales on the cheek, is described from the Marquesas Islands. Scarus longipinnis sp. nov. is described from Pitcairn, Rapa, and the Capricorn Group of the Great Barrier Reef; its pelvic lins are longer and the dorsal fin more elevated than other Scarus.