Global Distribution of Thermosteric Contribution to Sea Level Rising Trend

The sea level derived from TOPEX/Poseidon （T/P） altimetry data shows prominent long term trend and inter-annual variability. The global mean sea level rising rate during 1993-2003 was 2.9mm a^-1. The T/P sea level trend maps the geographical variability. In the Northern Hemisphere （15°-64°N）, the sea level rise is very fast at the mid-latitude （20°-40°N） but much slower at the high-latitude, for example, only 0.5 mm a^-1 in the latitude band 40°-50°N. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sea level shows high rising rate both in mid-latitude and high-latitude areas, for example, 5.1 mm a^-1 in the band 40°- 50°S. The global thermosteric sea level （TSL） derived from Ishii temperature data was rising during 1993-2003 at a rate of 1.2 mm a^-1 and accounted for more than 40% of the global T/P sea level rise. The contributions of the TSL distribution are not spatially uniform; for instance, the percentage is 67% for the Northern Hemisphere and only 29% for the Southern Hemisphere （15°-64°S） and the maximum thermosteric contribution appears in the Pacific Ocean, which contributes more than 60% of the global TSL. The sea level change trend in tropical ocean is mainly caused by the thermosteric effect, which is different from the case of seasonal variability in this area. The TSL variability dominates the T/P sea level rise in the North Atlantic, but it is small in other areas, and shows negative trend at the high-latitude area （40°-60°N, and 50°-60°S）. The global TSL during 1945-2003 showed obvious rising trend with the rate of about 0.3 mm a-l and striking inter-annual and decadal variability with period of 20 years. In the past 60 years, the Atlantic TSL was rising continuously and remarkably, contributing 38% to the global TSL rising. The TSL in the Pacific and Indian Ocean rose with significant in- ter-annual and decadal variability. The first EOF mode of the global TSL from Ishii temperature data was the ENSO mode in which the time series of the first mode showed steady rising trend. Among the three oceans, the first mode of the Pacific TSL presented the ENSO mode; there was relatively steady rising trend in the Atlantic Ocean, and no dominant mode in the Indian Ocean.

Relationship Between Upper-Ocean Heat Content in the Tropical Indian Ocean and Summer Precipitation in China

An analysis of the Ishii ocean heat content(OHC) in the tropical Indian Ocean from the surface to 700-m depth shows that the OHC changes dramatically on the interannual timescale in the Indian Ocean.The first mode of empirical orthogonal function(EOF1) of the OHC shows that there is a strong air-sea interaction pattern in the Indian Ocean with a positive(negative) loading in the east and a negative(positive) loading in the west.This seesaw oscillation pattern influences the summer precipitation in China with a North-South reversed distribution.Composite analysis shows that during a positive(negative) OHC episode,an anomalous cyclonic(anticyclonic) circulation over the western Pacific and South China weakens(enhances) the monsoonal northward flow in the lower troposphere;meanwhile,anomalous meridional circulation connects the descending(ascending) branch over the Southeast Indian Ocean and the ascending(descending) branch in South China as well as a descending(ascending) branch over North China.Analysis of the mechanism behind these features suggests that(1) the accumulation of OHC-induced vorticity is related to the wave activity over the mid-latitudes and that(2) the meridional teleconnection induced by the Indo-Pacific air-OHC interaction appears over East Asia and the western Pacific.Both of these patterns can cause summer precipitation anomalies in China.

Changes in the Thermal and Hydraulic Regime within the Active Layer in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The change trends of air temperature,precipitation and evaporation from 1999 to 2008 shows that the climate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost region had become warmer.The analysis of the systematic active-layer data monitoring network along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway indicated that the active-layer thickness had been increasing and the soil temperature was rising.The soil temperature was rising in winter but not at the end of spring or during the entire summer.With thickening and warming of the active layer,the liquid water content of the active layer had an obvious downward migration and liquid water content in the top horizons decreased,but in the deeper horizons it increased.

Changes in Air Temperatures and Atmosphere Circulation in High Mountainous Parts of Bulgaria for the Period 1941-2008

Changes of air temperatures and atmosphere circulation at three high mountainous stations in Bulgaria are investigated for the period of 1941-2008.The three stations are located on peaks Musala,Cherni vrah and Botev,where air temperature data have good quality.Some missing data were recovered using the method of differences. A significant mean annual air temperature rise happened in high mountainous parts of Bulgaria- the warming is in the order of 0.7°C for the entire period.The increase is very prominent particularly in the last 30 years.Main contributors to this overall tendency are summer months-June,July and August.To some degree,January also could be included in this group.November trend shows temperature rise at the beginning of the investigated period.One of the causes for such a tendency is atmosphere circulation in respective months.It also shows signs of considerable reorganization in both winter and summer.There is an increase of the cases of warm atmosphere patterns typical for winter, summer and autumn seasons in Bulgaria.Meridional circulation has essential significance for air temperatures during the cold half of the year.In January and June atmosphere circulation has a substantial influence on the thermal regime of air in high mountains of Bulgaria.In July,August and November this influence is reduced.There are no cycles in air temperatures for the investigated period.

The Overexpressed FAK （Focal Adhesion Kinase） in Higher Grade Human Urothelial Tumors

Malignant transformation of normal cells involves important structural and functional changes, particularly in cell adhesion. In this study, we wanted to assess whether changes in the expression of FAK, a tyrosine kinase, which is recruited to focal adhesions and plays a key role in cell migration, proliferation and survival, could reflect the invasive capacity of bladder carcinomas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the FAK expression in cancer ceils as an important prognostic factor of the evolution of bladder carcinomas. Tumor and paired peritumoral biopsies were obtained during transurethral endoscopic resection or cystectomy of bladder tumors in 280 patients at the Urology Unit of the Mustapha Hospital of Algiers and the Hospital of Tizi-Ouzou （Algeria）. The authors studied FAK expression in samples from bladder carcinomas at different stages of malignant transformation by western blot analysis using a specific anti-FAK antibody. Western blot is one of the most common laboratory techniques; it is used to detect the presence of a specific protein in a complex mixture extracted from cells. A weak increase in FAK expression was observed in tumors of grade 1 and 2 （1.65; 2.99） as compared to healthy tissues; it became particularly important in grade 3 tumors; the authors show that FAK levels significantly increased gradually according to the tumor stage.

Does Independent External Auditing Play a Role in Corporate Governance？ An Empirical Study on Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

In China, an emerging economy, where investor protection is relatively weak, it is worthwhile and interesting to investigate whether independent external auditing, a sort of external corporate governance mechanism, exerts its influence. Using a sample of all A-share listed firms in 2005, this paper investigates the effects of independent external auditing on corporate governance via three aspects： （1） choice of auditing institution; （2） auditing fee; and （3） auditing opinion for annual reports. Empirical results show that, with worse agency problems in firms, the possibility of employing the “Big 41” to audit its annual reports is bigger. When determining auditing fees, auditing institutions take both firms＇ agency problems and the firm size into account. When issuing qualified opinions for poor-performing firms, auditors do not consider agency problems embedded in concentrated ownership. Overall, external independent auditing plays a limited role in corporate governance.

Empirical Research on Factors Influencing Level of Environmental Protection Information Disclosure in Annual Reportsby Listed Companies

Taking 248 A-share manufacturing listed companies in 2006 Shanghai Stock Exchange as example, using "index method" to measure level of environmental protection infor-mation disclosure, this paper examines the factors influencing level of environmental protection information disclosure. The findings show that the disclosure level has improved, but the overall level is still low and unable to satisfy information users; there is positive correlation between corporate size, industry type, accounting firm's type and corporate environmental dis-closure index. The companies of large scale and heavy pollu-tion and those audited by international "Big 4" and domestic "Big 10" accounting firms have a high level of environmental disclosure, while the profitability and financial leverage has no impact on the disclosure level. Finally some suggestions are put forward to establish environmental information disclosure sys-tem in China.