During the past two decades, the round goby Apollonia melanostoma (=Neogobius melanostomus) has expanded its range via shipping transport and canals, extending north and west from the Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia and to the North American Great Lakes. Exotic populations of the round goby have been very successful in the Baltic Sea and the Great Lakes regions, exerting significant ecological ...

Foal immunodeficiency syndrome (FIS), a fatal autosomal recessive disease found in three breeds of horses, was first reported (in the Fell pony) in 1996, and it soon became apparent that significant numbers of syndrome foals were being born each year. In each FIS case, the foals are clinically normal at birth, but start to weaken at 2–8 weeks (Scholes and others 1998) as they develop profound a...

In the coming decades, global warming and increase in temperature, in different regions of the world, may change indoor and outdoor thermal comfort conditions and human health. The aim of this research was to study the effects of global warming on thermal comfort conditions in indoor ambiences in Iran. To study the increase in temperature, model for assessment of greenhouse-gas induced climate ...

Persistent organic pollutants are a concern for species occupying high trophic levels since they can cause immunosuppression and impair reproduction. Mass mortalities due to canine distemper virus (CDV) occurred in Caspian seals (Pusa caspica), in spring of 1997, 2000 and 2001, but the potential role of organochlorine exposure in these epizootics remains undetermined. Here we integrate Caspian ...

Nucleophilic addition of phosphinic acid, phosphites, sodium dialkyl phosphites, phosphoramidites, phosphinites, and phosphonites to highly polarized or cationic fluorophores, followed by oxidation, results in new "PONy" dyes with auxochromic phosphinate, phosphonate, or phosphonamidate groups. The reaction was applied to a wide variety of coumarins, (thio)pyronins, and N-alkylacridinium and 5,...

In most parts of the world, the phrase “town meeting” can mean just about any gathering where local citizens offer their opinions, hear from candidates, or endure the latest government “dogand-pony show.” As Susan Clark and Frank Bryan readily admit in All Those in Favor, their new and timely book on Vermont’s town meetings, references to the term in college textbooks “are as apt to be found in...

Fipronil is an effective insecticide widely used in agriculture with potential ecotoxicological consequences. The median lethal dose (LD50) and concentration (LC50) of fipronil in 16.3 g Caspian white fish, Rutilus frisii kutum fingerlings were determined. To determine the LD50, a total of 133 fish were assigned to 19 tanks (7 fish/tank) including one control and 6 treatment groups (300, 450, 5...

Economic expansion in developed countries coupled with dramatically growing economies in countries such as China and India have precipitated a steady increase in demand for oil and natural gas. The Caspian Sea region holds large quantities of both oil and natural gas. Because the Caspian Sea is landlocked and the region’s nations are distant from the largest energy markets, transportation must ...