This report is based on an overview talk given at the CLIVAR workshop on “Shallow tropical/subtropical overturning cells and their interactions with the atmosphere” that took place in Venice, Italy, October 9-13, 2000. After briefly touching upon observational studies, this report reviews the recent progress in coupled modeling of tropical Atlantic variability (TAV). This is followed by a discu...

The aim of the present study is to represent an annotated checklist of the Branchiopoda (Crustacea) reported from Chilean inland waters. Only Anostraca and Cladocera are found in Chile, while there are no reports on Notostraca and "Conchostraca". Our checklist contains 85 valid taxa, among which nine anostracans and 76 cladocerans. Such "low" biodiversity of the branchiopods in Chile is in real...

Substantial evidence exists for wetter-thanmodern continental conditions in North America during the pre-Quaternary warm climate intervals. This is in apparent conflict with the robust global prediction for future climate change of a northward expansion of the subtropical dry zones that should drive aridification of many semiarid regions. Indeed, areas of expected future aridification include m...

The genus Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) consists of 40 species that are distributed in humid, subtropical and warm climate regions. Traditional healers have been patronizing various species of this genus in numerous disorders since time immemorial. Some of them are already validated scientifically such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, ant diabetic, antiasthmatic, anticonvulsant, cytotoxic, antiulcer,...

DNA extracted from the kidneys of rodents captured in different urban areas of Palermo, Italy, had been analysed for the presence of pathogenic L. interrogans sensu latu DNA. PCR analysis had shown that in rodents captured close to green areas and small river up to 40 % animals give positive PCR results. Not many cases of human leptospirosis are reported in Sicilian island in which hot season i...