g., Galli and Otten, 2011). A block design also avoided the interpretational problems Palbociclib in vivo engendered by intermixing four different visual and four different auditory cues. In the easy discrimination condition, visual cues had large differences in grating orientation (−85°/85°) and auditory cues large differences in tone frequency (300/2300 Hz). In the difficult discrimination condition, these differences were considerably smaller (−45°/45° for visual cues and 700/1700 Hz for auditory cues). Of the 24 word lists, half were memorized while performing easy cue discriminations and half while performing difficult cue discriminations. Six lists in each difficulty condition were presented consecutively, with presentation

order of the blocks counterbalanced across participants. Different word lists were created such that across participants, each critical word appeared equally often in the visual and auditory modality and in the

easy and difficult cue discrimination conditions. Participants practiced with two word lists, one for each discrimination condition, before starting the experimental lists. Cues were presented for 100 msec, starting Selleckchem Akt inhibitor 2.5 sec before word onset. This interval is longer than the 1.5 sec employed in our previous prestimulus work with auditory and visual stimuli (Galli et al., 2012; Otten et al., 2006, 2010). Pilot work indicated that participants could not both perform the cue discrimination task and memorize the word when the cue-word interval was too short. We therefore opted for a longer interval to maintain acceptable discrimination and memory performance. The time in between successive cue onsets varied randomly between 5 and 5.5 sec. A fixation point (a plus sign) was continuously present on the screen except when words and

cues were presented. Before memorizing the word lists, we asked participants to perform two simple perceptual discrimination tasks (hereafter referred to as Task 1 and Task 2) to help understand the findings obtained in the memorization task. These tasks also allowed participants to practice the perceptual discriminations. In Task 1, the gratings and pure tones used as cues in the memorization task were presented in isolation. Visual and auditory stimuli were randomly intermixed and separated by an interval that varied Glutathione peroxidase randomly between 2 and 2.5 sec. In one block of 48 trials, the stimuli associated with the easy discrimination were presented (gratings tilted 85° to the left or right and 300 or 2300 Hz tones). In another block of 48 trials, the more subtle differences had to be discriminated (gratings tilted 45° and 700/1700 Hz tones). The decisions and response assignments were identical to those used for cue discriminations in the memorization task. In Task 2, the same stimulus sequence was employed as in the memorization task except that neutral stimuli rather than words were presented.

The North Sea is a shallow shelf sea adjacent to the North Atlantic with a mean depth of 80 m (the maximum water depth in the Norwegian Trench is about 800 m) (see Figure 1). It is characterized by a broad connection to the ocean

and by strong continental impacts from north-western Europe. This results in a substantial interplay of oceanic influences (tides, the North Atlantic Oscillation NAO, North Atlantic low pressure systems) and continental ones (freshwater discharge, heat flow, input of pollutants). This interaction generates a specific physical and biogeochemical regime that requires an appropriate modelling concept. Ocean circulation models cannot be directly find more applied to the North Sea. Schematically, the bottom of the North Sea rises from a depth of 200 m at its northern entrance to 50 m at the cross-section from the Dogger Banks to northern Denmark and to 20 m and less off the Dutch-German coast. This topography influences especially the system of eigen-oscillations (and hence the resonance to tidal p38 MAPK inhibitor forcing) and water level rise during storm surges. Figure 2 shows the ranges and phases of the semidiurnal tides M2 + S2. It exhibits in principle the classical oscillation pattern of Taylor’s solution for a rectangular basin of constant depth. Owing to the inclined bottom, the position of the central amphidromic point is shifted southwards. Two additional amphidromies are generated

by eigen-oscillations in marginal sub-basins. The Kelvin wave penetrating from the north (with its increasing amplitudes towards the British coast) is strongly dissipated by bottom friction in the shallow southern coastal waters. Thus, the reflected wave shows significantly smaller amplitudes (off the Danish and Norwegian coasts). The effect of topography on a schematic storm surge with a constant northerly wind is shown in Figure 3 (model result by Sündermann (1966)). On the left-hand side (a) the natural depth distribution of the North Sea is chosen, on the right-hand side (b) a constant depth of 80 m (corresponding to the mean

depth) is assumed. The southward water level rise up to the 80 m isobath is nearly the same in both cases. Thereafter, learn more the piling up is much higher for the shallower real depth situation. One reason for the increased storm surge danger in the southern North Sea is therefore the specific topography of the basin. We may add that the analytical formula for the maximum water elevation in a one-ended, open, wind-driven basin ξL=λW2Lghwhere W – wind speed, L – length of the basin, h – water depth, g – the acceleration due to gravity, and λ = 3.2 × 10−6, yields for North Sea conditions with a 23.2 m s−1 wind speed the value ξL = 159.3 cm, which is in very good agreement with the 160 cm of the numerical solution. Through the vertical flux of momentum the atmosphere significantly controls the general circulation of the North Sea. Figure 4 shows the basic patterns of the wind-driven currents depending on the wind direction.

, 2007). All experiments were conducted in accordance with the National Institute of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH publication number 80-23 revised 1996). Our research protocol was approved by the Ethical Committee for animal experimentation of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Male and female Wistar rats (Rattus novergicus) from our breeding colony were used in the present study. The animals were caged in groups of five animals with free access to water and standard commercial food (CR1 lab chow, Nuvilab, Curitiba, Brazil) and were kept on a 12 h light–dark cycle (7:00–19:00 h) at 23 ± 1 °C. AC220 molecular weight These conditions were maintained throughout the experiments.

NVP-BEZ235 mouse The nulliparous females, with 90 days and 200–250 g, were daily checked for their estrous cyclicity for 2 weeks, by direct vaginal smear examination in light microscope, before mating. Thereafter the females were selected in their sexual receptive phase of the estrous cycle (proestrous) and caged overnight with a single mature male (1F:1M). In the morning, the presence of a vaginal plug and/or viable sperm shown in a vaginal smear was regarded as successful mating. The day which a vaginal plug was detected and/or the presence of sperm in the vaginal smear was designated as gestation day 0 (GD0). The dams were allowed to litter naturally and the date

of birth was defined as postnatal day 0 (PND0). The pregnant females were randomly divided into 4 groups of treatment: control, 2500, 12,500 and 25,000 IU/kg/day Selleckchem Staurosporine of retinol palmitate (Arovit®; a water-soluble form of vitamin). Treatment was orally performed, with a metallic gastric tube (gavage) in a maximum volume of 0.5 mL. Control group received NaCl 0.9%. The rats were treated once a day for the entire period of gestation and nursing (21 days of gestation and 21 days of nursing). They were always treated at night in order to ensure maximum vitamin A absorption, since it is better absorbed during or after a meal. Each

female and its litter were separated into a cage at parturition and maintained according to conditions described earlier. Arovit® (retinol palmitate, a commercial water-soluble form of vitamin A) was purchased from Roche, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. All other chemicals were purchased from Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA. Vitamin A administration solutions were prepared daily, protected from light exposure and temperature. All female rats were observed for clinical symptoms of toxicity and mortality once a day throughout the study. Body weights of the dams were assessed on GDs 0, 7, 14 and 20 and lactant days (LDs) 0, 7, 14 and 21, and body weight gain was calculated. Rats that died during the administration period were autopsied and simply examined. On PND0, pups of both sexes were counted, weighed and checked for the presence of external malformations and/or stillbirths.

The analysis of the spreading oil in each hypothetical scenario extends for two months after the start of the spill. Because of the lack of data on wind situations after 15 November

2008, the last two scenarios starting on 25 September 2008 and 28 October 2008 are not covered by numerical simulations. Explanations regarding the modelling approach are given in part 2. Validation of the numerical model results through comparisons with the measurements and results of the oil spreading modelling is given in part 3. The conclusions of the study are listed in part 4. A sea circulation model was initially used for the purpose of the following oil transport simulations. In the analysis of sea circulation, the three-dimensional Mike 3 numerical model (DHI 2005) was used. The mathematical HSP inhibitor foundation of Mike 3 is the mass conservation equation, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, including the effect of turbulence and variable density, together with the conservation equations for salinity and temperature. The hydrodynamic module of Mike 3 makes use of the so-called Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) technique to integrate equations for mass and momentum conservation in the space-time domain. The equation matrices were resolved by a Double buy Mitomycin C Sweep (DS) algorithm, discretized on an Arakawa C-grid

with second-order accuracy. The 3D Quickest-Sharp scheme was used for the analysis of the transported scalar fields. The model spatial domain (Figure 1 and Figure 3) was discretized using a finite difference mesh with equidistant spatial increments ∆x = ∆y = 500 m in the horizontal and ∆z = 2 m in the vertical direction. The calculation time step used in the numerical integration was set to ∆t = 60 s. The simulation period covered the time span from 1 Progesterone January 2008 to 15 November 2008. The model output data sets included sea currents (u, v components), sea temperature (T) and salinity (S). The sea level dynamics on the model open boundaries were synthesized using seven major tidal constituents:

M2, S2, K2, N2, K1, O1 and P1 (Janeković et al., 2003, Janeković and Kuzmić, 2005 and Janeković and Sikiri-Dutour, 2007). The influences of river inflows along the shoreline under scrutiny were introduced with daily average discharges according to Raicich (1996). Salinity at the positions of the river mouths was parameterized with a value of 0 PSU. Bottom freshwater springs were also taken into account with positions and intensity defined within the scope of the ‘Adriatic Sea monitoring programme’ (Andročec et al. 2009). For atmospheric forcing, Mike 3 utilizes the output data from the Aladin-HR prognostic atmospheric model (Members of the ALADIN international team, 1997, Courtier et al., 1991, Cordoneanu and Geleyn, 1998, Brzović, 1999, Brzović and Strelec-Mahović, 1999 and Ivatek-Šahdan and Tudor, 2004) with a spatial resolution of 8 km and a temporal resolution of 3 hours.

Several researchers have successfully studied the feeding habits of earthworms by means of analysing stable isotope natural abundances (Spain et al., 1990, Martin et al., 1992a, Martin et al., 1992b, Schmidt et al., 1997, Spain and Feuvre, 1997, Scheu and Falca, 2000, Schmidt et al., 2004, Elfstrand et al., 2008 and Seeber et al., 2009). Natural abundances of stable isotopes can reveal IDH inhibitor drugs patterns in food-webs, mainly by identifying

the trophic level of organisms, but they provide only limited information on functional relationships. These functional relationships have been studied successfully using isotopic tracers by feeding earthworms with isotopically labelled plant material (Barois et al., 1987, Scheu, 1991, Binet and Trehen, 1992, Hameed et al., 1994, Curry et al., 1995, Whalen et al., 2000 and Whalen and Janzen, 2002). This method seemed to work very well although its wider use is restricted because incorporating stable isotopes into plants requires special growth chambers, which are often not available in ecological laboratories. This was also the motivation for Dyckmans et al. (2005) to test a method whereby the endogeic Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny) was kept in soil enriched with 13C and 15N and the label enrichment

in tissue and mucus was examined. In the current study, we tested extensions of the method of Dyckmans et al. (2005) in three major aspects: (i) in addition CAL-101 clinical trial to the endogeic A. caliginosa we also tested the anecic Lumbricus terrestris L.; (ii) in addition to earthworm tissue, we also tested earthworm casts for tracer signals; and

(iii) we tested if the 15N and 13C signal in potentially labelled L. terrestris casts remains stable over a longer period of time so that casts could be Bay 11-7085 used in later experiments. Additionally, we varied the labelling procedure at several stages where we expected to achieve higher 15N and 13C enrichments in earthworm tissue and casts: (i) like Dyckmans et al. (2005) we incubated the labelled soil to improve the availability of nitrogen for earthworms through microbial metabolism of ammonium nitrate, but we also tested a variant without soil incubation. (ii) Since microbial activity could also decrease the amount of N and especially of C available through microbial respiration, we included a variant with a staggered application of glucose (13C-source) and of ammonium nitrate (15N-source). (iii) We set up a variant providing additional food which could improve the earthworms’ condition and thus, the incorporation of stable isotopes. The latter variant was also thought to be more suitable for the litter feeding L. terrestris than the geophagous A. caliginosa ( Doube et al. 1997). Soil (Haplic Chernozem, silty loam, pH = 7.6, Corg = 2.2 g kg−1, Ntot = 0.

6 and 0.4 μg/g in mussels in Granger Bay and Green Point, respectively

(site 3), but they used different mussel species. The source of the zinc is thus uncertain and needs further investigation. Iron had the second highest concentration reported for the study period and the mean concentrations of Fe for all sites reported phosphatase inhibitor library in this study (129.3 μg/g) is lower than that reported in other investigations where mussels were sampled (Shiber and Shatila, 1978 and Kavun et al., 2002). According to Giarratano et al. (2010), changes in marine Fe concentrations may be related to continental sources of Fe, as the major contributor to Fe is from rock weathering as a result of continental rainfall. Potential anthropogenic sources of Fe are from fertilizers, industry wastes, atmospheric deposition, solid waste disposal units and run-off from urban areas (Pergram and Görgens, 2001). The Fe tissue values recorded in the present study suggest that there are no major anthropogenic sources of Fe other than from urban STA-9090 cell line run-off and the main source of Fe is postulated

to be as a result of rock weathering due to higher rainfall in autumn (Fig. 2d). According to Giarratano et al. (2010), Fe concentrations reported from their study came from natural sources, as human activities were not responsible for Fe input into the system. Cadmium concentrations (mean = 6.2 μg/g) were similar to that of Cu for the study period 1985–2008 along the west coast of the Cape Peninsula. However, the Cd levels recorded in this study are higher than the recommended SABS of 3.0 μg/g (South Africa, 1994). The values are higher than Cd values for mussels that were indicative of contamination (3.7 μg/g) set by Cantillo (1998). The levels for Cd were also higher than the 2.48 μg/g recorded by Henry et al. (1986) for Table Bay (sites 3–5). Cadmium occurs at high levels in the environment due to anthropogenic sources (Chiffoleau et al., 2001). Cadmium reactions cause various geochemical

processes such as the solubilization of Cd on freshwater particles when these reach sea water. As a result, Cd becomes available to molluscs living close to fresh water sources (Chiffoleau et al., 2001). This phenomenon could account for the higher levels of Cd at sites 2–5 as there are potential freshwater inputs such as river very mouths and stormwater pipes, although a study on metal concentrations from Diep River (freshwater input into Milnerton) showed low Cd concentrations in both water and sediment (Shuping, 2008). This cannot, however, explain the high values in site 1. The postulated reason for high Cd values at site 1 could be due to site 1 being a combination of two stations, where the mean Cd concentration in Noordhoek was 7.7 μg/g and in Olifantsbos was 6.0 μg/g. Noordhoek is a coastal area that could have substantial input of freshwater due to high levels of urbanisation.

, 2008). Thus, melanocortin hormone levels predicted the amount of testosterone and other sexual steroids along with concomitant increases (or decreases) in aggression and sexual behavior. Placing darker versus lighter pigmented individuals with adoptive parents of the opposite pigmentation did not modify offspring behavior. Male lions with darker manes remained more aggressive and sexually active than those with lighter manes, and darker feathered barn owls continued to have a stronger immune response to stress than lighter feathered barn owls. It was the biological, not adopting parent who determined coloration in the offspring. The biological

and behavioral responses are a finely regulated balance between neurotransmitters and see more hormones at the level of the whole organism. The genes that control that balance occupy a high level in the hierarchical system of the genome. The system is defined anatomically as a collection of central nervous system circuits which include neurons that express peptides and proteins that originate in the arcuate nucleus and the brainstem. Downstream, targets of these melanocortin hormones bind to five melanocortin receptors, each one being associated with different physiological and behavioral functions. selleck (For a review of the biochemistry of the melanocortin system, see Fong (2003);

for a review of pharmacological effects, see Roulin and Ducrest (2011).) Further, Roulin and Ducrest (2011) describe the role of the melanocortin system in activating the MC1 receptor induced by the production of brown to black eumelanic pigments. Teicoplanin Activation of four other melanocortin receptors affected stress response, energy homeostasis, female sexual receptivity and male sexual performance. These were mediated by the production of sexual steroids including

testosterone. Although numerous genes interact to stabilize an organism’s development, the lead role belonged to the genes controlling the functioning of the neural and endocrine systems. However, Ducrest et al. (2008) cautioned, because of genetic mutations, melanin-based coloration may not exhibit these traits consistently across human populations. Pigmentation change in wild silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was one outcome of breeding for tameness. It was the Russian geneticist Belyaev (1917–1986) who found that selecting easy-to-handle foxes pulled along with it many features that distinguish domestic animals from their wild forebears including white patches in the fur, droopy ears, a smaller skull, and a faster reproductive cycle ( Trut, 2003 and Trut et al., 1997). Domesticated foxes reached sexual maturity a month earlier (at 7 months) than non-domesticated foxes, and gave birth to litters averaging one pup larger (about six).

1 gC m2 yr−1 (Carroll et al. 2008b). This may indicate that contaminants at this location are diluted by organic material associated with high rates of primary productivity in the region. Studies

of organic contaminants Sirolimus typically report on different congeners, making it difficult to compare results among different investigations. Thus, we adopt the strategy of Gustafsson et al. (2001) and evaluate CB52 alone as an indicator of site-to-site differences in contaminant supplies. The CB52 fluxes at our stations were 79–146 pg m−2 d−1 (station I), 62–304 pg m−2 d−1 (station IV), 138–853 pg m−2 d−1 (station III) and 33–341 pg m−2 d−1 (station VIII). In the Baltic Sea, CB52 fluxes were ~ 400 pg m−2 d−1, whereas in Baffin Bay, CB 52 fluxes were considerably lower, ranging from 19 to 56 pg m−2 d−1 (Savinov et al. 2000). Thus, CB 52 burial fluxes for the Barents Sea are generally higher than those at the Baffin Bay site in the Canadian Arctic and comparable to fluxes in the more heavily industrialized Baltic Sea area: this is quite an astonishing

feature, considering the long distance between Olaparib in vivo industrial sources and the study area. HCB concentrations in surface sediments (stations III, IV and VIII only) were 0.5–2.0 ng g−1 d.w−1 (Table 2). Previous measurements of HCB levels in sediments from Guba Pechenga (northern Russia) and the southern Barents Sea shelf ranged from 0.3 to 1.8 ng g−1 d.w−1 (Savinov et al. 2003). These sediment concentrations are higher than those reported for the Bering and Chukchi Seas (0.04 to 0.08 ng g−1 d.w−1) (Iwata et al. 1994), while concentrations up to 6.7 ng g−1 d.w−1 have also been reported in some harbours of northern Norway (Dahle et al. 2000). At stations III and VIII the highest HCB burial fluxes (Figure 5) are observed at surface sediments and decrease down-core. Although the industrial, direct production of HCB in Europe and N. America ended in the early 1990s (no data from the former USSR is available), this

recent contamination may have originated from the production of other chlorinated ID-8 compounds, such as perchloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride and, to some extent, trichloroethylene, polychlorinated-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (CEPA 1993). The pattern of HCB burial flux at station IV is constant and similar to the pattern observed for ∑7PCB (Figure 5), which again provides confirmation of the strong sediment mixing there (Zaborska et al. 2008). The dominant PCB congeners in the western Barents Sea are CB101, CB153 and CB138 (Figure 6). However, the southernmost station (I) has a lower total PCB concentration than the other stations. Moreover, these sediments exhibit no dominant PCB congener. In contrast, CB 101 dominates the composition at station IV, accounting for 23–28% ∑7 PCB. At station III CB 101 is predominant (22–41%), particularly in the deeper sediment layers. In addition, the congeners CB 153 and CB 138 are important at station III.

The mesenteric arteries harvests to fluorescence microscopy for oxidised dihydroethidium (Section 2.6) were also used to NOS-3 staining. The vascular sections were fixed with acetone, incubated with PBS/0.5% Tween (20 min) and subsequently blocked with 5% bovine serum albumin and PBS/0.1% Tween (60 min). buy FDA-approved Drug Library Then, the slices were incubated overnight at 4 °C with rabbit polyclonal anti-NOS3 (1:100; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, CA, USA). After washing three times, the slides were incubated for 60 min with Alexa 488-conjugated, anti-rabbit IgG (1:1000; Invitrogen, UK) at room temperature. After washing, the coverslips were

mounted on the slides using Gel Mount™ aqueous mounting medium (Sigma–Aldrich Co. LLC, St. Louis, MO, USA) and visualised by

fluorescence microscopy (Olympus BX41; Olympus, Tokyo, Japan), and the images were captured using Q-capture Pro 5.1 (Q-imaging). Briefly, the relative quantification of fluorescence intensity was achieved through densitometry analysis, using the ImageJ® imaging software (NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA). The same microscope settings SCH727965 research buy were used to acquire all images. Coloured pixels were visually selected using threshold colour plugins from the ImageJ® imaging software. A threshold value for the optical density that better discriminated staining from the background was obtained, and the settings of this threshold were recorded using Plugins Macro. All images were analyzed by the recorded Macro in order to dispose of any subjectivity. The results were expressed as fluorescence intensity (arbitrary units). Immediately before

the withdrawal of the aorta (Section 2.4), whole blood samples were obtained in fresh vials containing heparin by cardiac puncture. The total leucocyte count was determined by Cell Dyn 1400 (Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA). Plasma lipid analyses were performed with a automated chemistry analyser (Vital Scientific, Netherlands) using a cholesterol Methamphetamine oxidase method. Plasma CRP was quantified using a highly sensitive, rat enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Immunology Consultants Laboratory Inc, Newberg, USA). Plasma IL-6 was measured using an ELISA assay kit (RayBiotech, Inc, Norcross, USA). After blood pressure experiments (Section 2.3), the withdrawal of the aorta (Section 2.4) and mesenteric arterial bed (Section 2.5) the mandible and maxilla were dissected. The mandible was split in half along the midline and between the central incisors. The defleshed mandible and maxilla were stained with aqueous 1% methylene blue to identify the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). Standardised pictures were taken of each specimen with a digital camera (Sony Cybershot DSC 707, São Paulo, SP, Brazil). A minimal focal distance was used, and the samples were placed with the occlusal surface parallel to the horizontal plane and a millimetre ruler was used as a scale reference. Pictures were taken from the lingual aspect of the specimens.

A longer westerly wind fetch also induces more growth of the headland at the Darsser Ort and more sedimentation in the channel between Bock Island and Hiddensee. The division factor of two (Run04) of the westerly wind sub-groups in the representative

wind series produces a better-fit coastline change to the measured data than the other two runs. In the third set of runs, Run03 (the same run as mentioned above), Run06 and Run07, the long-term effects caused by the different orderings of the wind sub-groups Seliciclib mw are calculated. Model results indicate that the long-term (100 years) coastline change is not very sensitive to the ordering of the wind sub-groups. Differences in the calculated bathymetric change at the same coastal profile

are within 7% among the different model runs, and the differences in coastline change at the same point (the coastal points are indicated in Figure 8) are within 4%. This may be due to two reasons: (1) the repetitive cycles of calculation with these wind series smooth out the differences caused by different orderings of wind sub-groups and (2) the effects of the dominant westerly winds cannot be eliminated by different orderings of the wind sub-groups. As a whole, Run04 (with a return period of 5 years for the NE storm and division of Raf inhibitor the westerly wind sub-groups by a factor of two) produces the best-fit coastline change to the measured data in the last century. A digital elevation model (DEM) of the research area for the year below 1696 was reconstructed on the basis of high-resolution bathymetric and topographic data sets measured in modern times (Zhang et

al. 2011). Based on the reconstructed DEM, a recent sediment map, an isostatic map, an eustatic scenario for the last three centuries (Meyer et al. 2008) and validated modules, the model was applied to hindcast the coastal evolution of the Darss-Zingst peninsula from 1696 to 2000 without taking into account anthropogenic influence (Zhang et al. 2011). The calibrated representative wind series serve as input conditions for the model. Successful validation of the representative wind series was shown by comparison between the modelled coastline change and the measured data along the peninsula with a RMSE = 61 m (which is about 1/5 of the averaged coastline change for the last 300 years). The simulated coastline in different time periods indicates a smooth evolution of the area in the last 300 years. Most of the coastline has been retreating except two parts: (1) the headland and its eastern side and (2) Bock Island. These two areas act like reservoirs where sediment converges, but the mechanisms driving their evolution are different. The growth of the headland is a combination of long-term wave dynamics (wave breaking, longshore currents) and short-term storm effects.