A molecular phylogeny of Asiatic species of Goodyera (Orchidaceae, Cranichideae, Goodyerinae) based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and two chloroplast loci (matK and trnL-F) was presented. Thirty-five species represented by 132 samples of Goodyera were analyzed, along with other 27 genera/48 species, using Pterostylis longifolia and Chloraea gaudichaudii as outgroups. Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods were used to reveal the intrageneric relationships of Goodyera and its intergeneric relationships to related genera. The results indicate that: 1) Goodyera is not monophyletic; 2) Goodyera could be divided into four sections, viz., Goodyera, Otosepalum, Reticulum and a new section; 3) sect. Reticulum can be further divided into two subsections, viz., Reticulum and Foliosum, whereas sect. Goodyera can in turn be divided into subsections Goodyera and a new subsection.

No abstract

No abstract

A new species, Gastrochilus kadooriei, is described from Hong Kong. Notes are presented on its distribution, ecology and conservation status, and its distinguishing features are compared with those of allied taxa. Gastrochilus jeitouensis is reduced to the synonymy of G. distichus, and a lectotype is assigned for G. pseudodistichus. Gastrochilus fuscopunctatus is reinstated as an accepted species. Dichotomous keys to this taxonomically difficult group of morphologically similar species are presented.

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) strives to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by disseminating timely information and analysis and training the next generation of nonproliferation specialists. CNS at the Monterey Institute of International Studies is the largest nongovernmental organization in the United States devoted exclusively to research and training on nonproliferation issues.Dr. William Potter established the Center in 1989 with a handful of Institute students. Today, CNS has a fulltime staff of more than 65 specialists and over 75 graduate student research assistants located in offices in Monterey, California, Washington, DC and Almaty, Kazakhstan. CNS is organized into five research programs: the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program, the East Asia Nonproliferation Program, the International Organizations and Nonproliferation Program, the Newly Independent States Nonproliferation Program, and the WMD Terrorism Research Program (WMDTRP). Each program supports the Centerʹs mission by training graduate students, building a worldwide community of nonproliferation experts, publishing both on-line and print resources on all aspects of WMD, providing background material to the media, and producing analysis for use by educational institutions, government, and the general public.The WMD Terrorism Research Program conducts work on the use or potential use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons by non-state actors. The Program focuses on the motivational aspects of terrorism in the WMD context, bringing together terrorism scholars from the social sciences (history and political science) and technical experts from the sciences (microbiology, medicine, chemistry, and physics) to approach the WMD terrorism problem in an interdisciplinary fashion. Project Research Staff Project OverviewCertain types of infrastructure -critical infrastructure (CI) -play vital roles in underpinning our economy, security and way of life. These complex and often interconnected systems have become so ubiquitous and essential to day-to-day life that they are easily taken for granted. Often it is only when the important services provided by such infrastructure are interrupted -when we lose easy access to electricity, health care, telecommunications, transportation or water, for example -that we are conscious of our great dependence on these networks and of the vulnerabilities that stem from such dependence.Unfortunately, it must be assumed that many terrorists are all too aware that CI facilities pose high-value targets that, if successfully attacked, have the potential to dramatically disrupt the normal rhythm of society, cause public fear and intimidation, and generate significant publicity. Indeed, revelations emerging at the time of this writing about al Qa'ida's efforts to prepare for possible attacks on major financial facilities in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia remind us just how real and immediate such threats to CI may be. Simply b...