bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Folate status of Ghanaian populations in London and Accra
Authors: Owusu Matilda , Thomas Jane , Wiredu Edwin , Pufulete Maria
Published: October 2009

Migration to the UK is associated with higher incidence of stroke in African populations. A low folate status has been associated with increased risk of stroke, likely to be mediated through raised plasma homocysteine concentrations. We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare blood folate and homocysteine concentrations in eighty healthy Ghanaian migrants living in London matched by sex, age and occupation to 160 individuals from an urban population in Accra, Ghana. Folate intake was determined using three 24 h recalls. Fasting blood samples were collected for the determination of serum and erythrocyte folate and plasma homocysteine concentrations and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C → T polymorphism. Reported mean folate intake was 20 % lower in London compared with Accra (P < 0·001). However, serum folate was 44 % higher, erythrocyte folate 30 % higher and plasma homocysteine was 26 % lower in subjects from London compared with those from Accra (P < 0·001). These differences persisted after adjusting for confounders including the MTHFR 677C → T mutation, which was rare in both populations. Although there were no associations between dietary folate intake and blood folates (P>0·05), folic acid supplement use, which was more prevalent in London than Accra (25 and 10 %, respectively,P = 0·004) was associated with erythrocyte folate in both populations (P < 0·01). The main predictors of plasma homocysteine concentrations were erythrocyte folate and male sex (P < 0·001). Findings from the present study suggest that migration from Ghana to the UK results in improvement of biomarkers of folate status despite the fact that reported dietary intake of folate was apparently lower in subjects from London.
Anti-diabetic and hypoglycaemic effects of Momordica charantia (bitter melon): a mini review
Authors: Leung Lawrence , Birtwhistle Richard , Kotecha Jyoti , Hannah Susan , Cuthbertson Sharon
Published: October 2009

It has been estimated that up to one-third of patients with diabetes mellitus use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. Momordica charantia (bitter melon) is a popular fruit used for the treatment of diabetes and related conditions amongst the indigenous populations of Asia, South America, India and East Africa. Abundant pre-clinical studies have documented the anti-diabetic and hypoglycaemic effects of M. charantia through various postulated mechanisms. However, clinical trial data with human subjects are limited and flawed by poor study design and low statistical power. The present article reviews the clinical data regarding the anti-diabetic potentials of M. charantia and calls for better-designed clinical trials to further elucidate its possible therapeutic effects.
Red wine metabolites modulate NF-κB, activator protein-1 and cAMP response element-binding proteins in human endothelial cells
Authors: Canali Raffaella , Comitato Raffaella , Ambra Roberto , Virgili Fabio
Published: October 2009

We have studied the effect of human serum, collected after red wine consumption (RWS), on TNF-α-dependent activation of transcription factors (NF-κB, activator protein-1 (AP-1) and cAMP response element-binding proteins) and on the expression of selected genes involved in cell adhesion or fibrinolysis processes in human primary endothelial cells (human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)). Our data indicate that RWS containing RW metabolites, isolated after 40 min from an acute consume of wine (5 ml/kg body weight), induces nuclear translocation of NF-κB and AP-1 in the absence of any further stimulus. On the other hand, TNF-α treatment in the presence of RWS is associated with a delay in transcription factor activation and to a negative modulation on the expression of specific genes. Moreover, RWS stimulates c-jun binding to the tissue-type plasminogen activator cAMP responsive element consensus site modulating the expression of the specific gene downstream. These results confirm that RW metabolites affect the activity of different transcription factors playing an important preconditioning role in the modulation of the inflammatory pathway in endothelial cells. This is the first report on the effects of a complex food matrix, on the molecular mechanisms associated with inflammatory response in HUVEC cultured in condition that reproduces the physiological environment occurringin vivo.
Is Davidson a Gricean?
Authors: Cook John
Published: October 2009

ABSTRACT: In his recent collection of essays, Language, Truth and History (2005), Donald Davidson appears to endorse a philosophy of language which gives primary importance to the notion of the speaker’s communicative intentions, a perspective on language not too dissimilar from that of Paul Grice. If that is right, then this would mark a major shift from the formal semanticist approach articulated and defended by Davidson in his Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (1984). In this paper, I argue that although there are many similarities between these two thinkers, Davidson has not abandoned his earlier views on language
Treatment of chronic nasopharyngitis with monopolar suction diathermy
Authors: Bartley J , Barber C
Published: October 2009

Introduction:

Chronic nasopharyngeal infection is rare. To our knowledge, no effective treatment for this condition has previously been described. This report documents our experience of using suction ablation diathermy in this clinical setting.

Method:

We performed a prospective review of four patients aged 23–65 years (two men and two women) who presented with chronic nasopharyngitis. Initial medical management consisted of regular saline irrigation plus a 14-day course of doxycycline 100 mg daily, combined with rifampicin 200 mg twice daily. When this proved unsuccessful, patients subsequently received a four-week course of omeprazole 40 mg daily, also unsuccessfully. Given these treatments' lack of success, surgery was undertaken.

Results:

Following suction diathermy ablation, nasopharyngeal crusting took four to six weeks to settle. After this, all patients ceased to cough up crusts or infected mucus.

Conclusions:

Chronic nasopharyngitis is uncommon. If medical management fails, suction ablation diathermy is a useful surgical treatment option.
Emotional expression of capacity and trustworthiness in humor and in social dilemmas
Authors: Li Norman P. , Balliet Daniel
Published: October 2009

Humor and social dilemmas are two disparate areas that have been linked to emotions. However, they tend to have been studied apart from considerations of emotion and emotional expression. We provide an overview of how such areas might be illuminated by Vigil's socio-relational framework, and how capacity and trustworthiness are communicated in humor and social dilemmas.
Separating production from perception: Perceiver-based explanations for sex differences in emotion
Authors: Fugate Jennifer M. B. , Gouzoules Harold , Barrett Lisa Feldman
Published: October 2009

In this commentary, we review evidence that production-based (perceiver-independent) measures reveal few consistent sex differences in emotion. Further, sex differences in perceiver-based measures can be attributed to retrospective or dispositional biases. We end by discussing an alternative view that women might appear to be more emotional because they are more facile with emotion language.
Beyond our origin: Adding social context to an explanation of sex differences in emotion expression
Authors: Fischer Agneta H.
Published: October 2009

Vigil's socio-relational framework of sex differences in emotional expressiveness emphasizes general sex differences in emotional responding, but largely ignores the social context in which emotions are expressed. There is much empirical evidence showing that sex differences in emotion displays are flexible and a function of specific social roles and demands, rather than a reflection of evolutionary-based social adjustments.
On the Discounting of Gained life-Years in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Authors: Johannesson Magnus
Published: October 2009

A controversial issue in cost-effectiveness analysis is the discounting of gained life-years. What has not been realized, however, is that the different methods used for discounting this measurement provide fundamentally different results. The method used is seldom explicitly stated. In the present article the four main methods for the discounting of gained life-years are reviewed and compared. The conclusion is that if we wish to continue comparing results, researchers must employ the same methodology.
Epidemiology of Intensive Care
Authors: Dragsted Lis , Qvist Jesper
Published: October 2009

It is difficult to study the epidemiology of ICUs, as they lack a uniform nomenclature and/or classification. The organization and distribution of intensive care medicine depend on the size and function of the hospital. The patients in ICUs are predominantly men, with a high proportion of elderly patients (≥70 years) constituting 25–30% of the total. Case-mix, severity of illness and outcome differ from one unit to another, and can be compared only if the patients are classified with a common classification system. Most survivors of intensive care seem to return to normal or near normal functional level within one year. Compared to Western Europe, the United States has more ICU beds and a nearly ten times higher admission rate to intensive care. These variations can be seen as a result of a fundamental difference in the attitudes toward withdrawing or withholding life support.
An Ethical Assessment of Intensive Care
Authors: Marsden Celine
Published: October 2009

Any evaluation of intensive care must include an ethical assessment of that technology. This allows us to consider the use of technologyin light of the ends that we desire. The most pressing ethical issues in intensive care are: forgoing life-sustaining treatment, dehumanization of patients and staff within the technological environment, and the allocation of the technology that is integral to intensive care.
Inborn Errors of Amino Acid Metabolism: The Best Strategy for Their Diagnosis
Authors: Durand-Zaleski Isabelle , Saudubray Jean-Marie , Kamoun Pierre-Prosper , Blum-Boisgard Claudine
Published: October 2009

We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate whether a pediatrician who suspects an inherited disease of amino acid metabolism should refer the child to a specialist in inborn errors of amino acid metabolism or should prescribe the usual screening test, chromatography of amino acids. Actual hospital costs were used to value the referral, the tests, and the complications that occur when the diagnosis is not recognized. The percent of confirmed diagnoses was chosen as a measure of effectiveness. We conclude that it is more cost-effective for a pediatrician to refer the child to a specialist, that the best strategy in the absence of a referral is to prescribe thin-layer chromatography, and that the least cost-effective strategy is to perform ion-exchange chromatography immediately.
The Effectiveness of Means of Controlling Communicable Diseases
Authors: Warren Kenneth S.
Published: October 2009

Most communicable diseases are caused by infectious agents that are not visible to the naked eye, which led earlier societies to believe in miasmas and control by quarantine. Although microscopes revealed the agents in the eighteenth century, they were not associated with disease syndromes until the late nineteeth century. Today, vaccines are the most cost-effective means of control.
The Transfer of Vaccine Technology to Developing Countries: The Latin American Experience
Authors: Homma Akira , Knouss Robert F.
Published: October 2009

Technological advances by developed countries are producing safer, more potent vaccines. In addition, the transfer of the technology of vaccine production to some developing countries has been taking place during the past five decades, thereby making possible the participation of developing countries in the production and supply of the essential biologicals that are required for immunization programs. Examples of successful transfers of technology, the decisive elements and factors that contribute to the transfers, and the major obstacles to such transfers are presented.
Examining the developmental history of child maltreatment, peer relations, and externalizing problems among adolescents with symptoms of paranoid personality disorder
Authors: Natsuaki Misaki N. , Cicchetti Dante , Rogosch Fred A.
Published: October 2009

This study examined the childhood history of maltreatment, peer relations, and externalizing problems among individuals who manifested low, moderate, or high symptom levels of paranoid personality disorder (PPD) in adolescence. Participants included 174 children who attended a longitudinal summer camp research program between the ages of 9 to 12. Multiple sources of information (self-, peer, and counselor reports) were utilized. Subsequently, they participated in a personality disorder assessment during adolescence (mean age = 15.30). The results indicated that children who manifested higher levels of PPD symptoms in adolescence had higher odds of having a history of child maltreatment. Children who manifested high levels of PPD symptoms in adolescence showed a faster growth rate for peer bullying and externalizing problems in childhood. In addition, their peers rated them as less cooperative, less likely to be leaders, and more likely to initiate fights. These findings suggested that children who manifested elevated PPD symptoms in adolescence had shown early signs of behavioral disturbances in childhood, some of which gradually worsened as they approach adolescence.
A developmental, mentalization-based approach to the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder
Authors: Fonagy Peter , Luyten Patrick
Published: October 2009

The precise nature and etiopathogenesis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) continues to elude researchers and clinicians. Yet, increasing evidence from various strands of research converges to suggest that affect dysregulation, impulsivity, and unstable relationships constitute the core features of BPD. Over the last two decades, the mentalization-based approach to BPD has attempted to provide a theoretically consistent way of conceptualizing the interrelationship between these core features of BPD, with the aim of providing clinicians with a conceptually sound and empirically supported approach to BPD and its treatment. This paper presents an extended version of this approach to BPD based on recently accumulated data. In particular, we suggest that the core features of BPD reflect impairments in different facets of mentalization, each related to impairments in relatively distinct neural circuits underlying these facets. Hence, we provide a comprehensive account of BPD by showing how its core features are related to each other in theoretically meaningful ways. More specifically, we argue that BPD is primarily associated with a low threshold for the activation of the attachment system and deactivation of controlled mentalization, linked to impairments in the ability to differentiate mental states of self and other, which lead to hypersensitivity and increased susceptibility to contagion by other people's mental states, and poor integration of cognitive and affective aspects of mentalization. The combination of these impairments may explain BPD patients' propensity for vicious interpersonal cycles, and their high levels of affect dysregulation and impulsivity. Finally, the implications of this expanded mentalization-based approach to BPD for mentalization-based treatment and treatment of BPD more generally are discussed.
The Cromwellian Decimation Tax of 1655 The Assessment Lists
Authors: Cliffe J. T.
Published: October 2009

The Decimation Lists

The royalist uprising of March 1655 led the Protector to adopt a number of measures aimed at improving internal security, in particular the appointment of major generals, each with responsibility for a particular region; the establishment of a new county militia; and the introduction of an extraordinary or decimation tax which was intended to provide the necessary funding for the militia troops. Unlike the monthly assessment for the support of the regular army the decimation tax was a discriminatory tax in the sense that it was specifically designed as a levy on royalists or suspected royalists. In the event, however, it proved to be one of the most short-lived of taxes. On Christmas day 1656 Major General John Desborough introduced a parliamentary bill for its continuation and in a first reading debate on 7 January declared that

I believe no man has come under a decimation but such as have either acted or spoken bitterly against the Government, and for their young king, and drank his health. Many have escaped that have done such things. I hope they shall come under decimation I think it is too light a tax, a decimation; I would have it higher.
The Chronicle of John Somer, OFM
Authors: Catto Jeremy , Mooney Linne
Published: October 2009

Acknowledgements 201

Abbreviations 202

Introduction 203

Editorial Principles 220

The Chronicle of John Somer, OFM 221

The BL Royal 13.C.I. Redaction of Somer's Chronicle
Introduction
Authors: Kyle Chris R.
Published: October 2009

Early modern English Parliaments were institutional events: institutional because they occupied a significant role in the governance of the realm, and after the Reformation Parliament statute law became omnicompetent. Furthermore, they established and followed (more or less) fixed procedures and had a permanent clerical staff. However, they were also events, summoned and dissolved at irregular intervals by the monarch, at least until the passage of the Triennial Act in February 1641. The very nature of the assembly and its power, influence and role in English society and politics has been hotly debated by historians for many years and continues today to fill the pages of scholarly journals and the catalogues of publishers. No less controversial than the nature and role of the assembly is the impact and validity of its sources, official and unofficial. It is the aim of this introduction and the ensuing editorials and documents to discuss and deconstruct the nature of parliamentary sources and how they can be utilised in the study of parliamentary history.
Medical and surgical perspectives of cardiac hypertrophy in Costello syndrome
Authors: Kalfa David , Fraisse Alain , Kreitmann Bernard
Published: October 2009

We describe our experience with 2 patients having Costello syndrome, aged 11 and 36 months, who suffered systolic anterior motion of the aortic leaflet of the mitral valve and obstructive cardiac hypertrophy requiring surgery, comparing their cardiac characteristics to those described previously. We conclude that the heterogeneous nature of the cardiac hypertrophy in this syndrome can be considered and managed as the sum of a diffuse hypertrophy accessible to beta-blockade, and an asymmetric hypertrophy accessible to surgical myomectomy.
An Infant With Mucolipidosis-II And an Atretic orifice of the Left Coronary Artery
Authors: Siles Ana , Mitchell Grant A. , Dahdah Nagib S.
Published: October 2009

A one-month-old boy, with type-II mucolipidosis, presented with congestive heart failure and elevated cardiac enzymes. The atretic nature of the orifice of the left coronary artery was revealed by retrograde flow on color Doppler and selective coronary angiography. Type-II mucolipidosis and atresia of the left coronary artery are rare. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of their combined occurence, suggesting a possible causal relationship.
TECHNOLOGY SHOCKS AND HOURS WORKED: A FRACTIONAL INTEGRATION PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Gil-Alana Luis Alberiko , Moreno Antonio
Published: October 2009

Previous research has found that the dynamic response of hours worked to a technology shock crucially depends on whether the hours variable is assumed to be anI(0) or anI(1) variable ex ante. In this paper we employ a multivariate fractionally integrated model that allows us to simultaneously estimate the order of integration of hours worked and its dynamic response to a technology shock. Our evidence lends support to the hypothesis that hours fall in response to a positive technology shock.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity among 7–9-year-old children in Aveiro, Portugal: comparison between IOTF and CDC references
Authors: Pedrosa Carla , Correia Flora , Seabra Dulce , Oliveira Bruno MPM , Simões-Pereira Carlos , Vaz-de-Almeida Maria D
Published: October 2009

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren from Aveiro, Portugal, according to two criteria: the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cut-offs.

Design

Weight, height and waist circumference were measured. Using the BMI, gender- and age-specific prevalences of overweight and obesity were determined according to the IOTF cut-offs extrapolated from an adult BMI of 25 and 30 kg/m2and the CDC cut-off values of 85th and 95th BMI percentile.

Setting

Aveiro, Portugal.

Subjects

A random representative sample of 905 children (457 boys; 448 girls) aged 7–9 years.

Results

The prevalence of excess weight (overweight and obesity) was lowest according to IOTF cut-offs compared to CDC (28·1 %v.31·2 %), especially obesity (8·1 %v.14·0 %). However, the CDC and IOTF criteria have a strong agreement (Cohen’sk= 0·755;P< 0·001). There were significant differences in excess weight between boys and girls according to the CDC (26·9 %v.35·7 %;P= 0·003). Obese children are younger and the majority present abdominal obesity.

Conclusions

The present study shows a high prevalence of excess weight in Aveiro children, similar to other Portuguese regions and among the highest in Europe, especially in the female gender. The IOTF cut-off values give a lower prevalence of excess weight, namely obesity.
CONSCIOUSNESS OR QUALIA: WHAT A CONVERSATION FROM LEADING THINKERS IN THE FIELD MAY SOUND LIKE
Authors: Sweis Khaldoun A.
Published: October 2009

The following is an imaginary conversation on the ever elusive qualia, or the ‘what is it like’ feeling, or conscious experiences, that has left philosophers and cognitive scientists searching for answers. This article is meant to give the beginning reader an overall view of this phenomena. Qualia is the technical name for conscious experiences like seeing the colour red or listening to Handel's Messiah. The problem is that these conscious experiences are apparently nowhere to be found in our physical brains. Thus, it would not register on any physical system in the known world (although the results of it, such as neurons firing, would).
THINKING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS: SOME BRIEF NOTES ON ITS CAUSES AND REMEDIES
Authors: Crespo Ricardo F.
Published: October 2009

An economic crisis is an unexpected phenomenon with strong consequences for nations, institutions and people's wealth, habits, and behaviors. It departs from the ‘normal’ evolution of the affairs foreseen by economic theory. It makes the claim for new theoretical explanations. It surprises the economic agents (individuals, firms and governments) that try to ascertain what kind of phenomenon they are facing in order to decide the appropriate actions to undertake. It calls for revisions of theory, plans and expectations. Overall, a crisis calls for an explanation which clarifies its causes.
LOCKE'S PARROT
Authors: Moore Terence
Published: October 2009

In this their fourth conversation the 17th century philosopher, John Locke and the 21st century linguist, Terence Moore, consider a question not fully answered even today: what might count as the key distinction beween man and animals, or in Locke's phrase what ‘puts a perfect distinction between Man and Brutes.’ In the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke considers two possible linguistic candidates: the ability to use language appropriately, and the ability to ‘quit Particulars’. As Locke and Moore explore these possibilities they come to see that the distinction between man and animals is not as clear-cut as previous generations have believed. Locke tentatively posits a third possible distinction based on a central idea in his Essay – one however Moore is compelled to dismiss, though he, in return, also tentatively, offers a fourth.
Erziehungskonfliktskala (EKS): Reliabilität und Validität
Authors: Kröger Christine , Hahlweg Kurt , Heinrichs Nina , Döpfner Manfred , Plück Julia
Published: October 2009

Zusammenfassung. Die Erziehungskonfliktskala (EKS) ist eine deutsche Version der „Parent Problem Checklist (PPC)” und erfasst mit 16 Items Schwierigkeiten und Konflikte, die sich aufgrund mangelnder Kooperation beider Eltern ergeben. Somit informiert die EKS darüber, wie gut Eltern in der Erziehung zusammenwirken und sich gegenseitig unterstützen (Coparenting). Anhand einer Stichprobe von 437 Zwei-Eltern-Familien, die an einer Studie zur Wirksamkeit elternbezogener Präventionsansätze teilnahmen, wurden Faktorenstruktur, Reliabilität und Validität der EKS untersucht. Die Eindimensionalität der englischsprachigen Version konnte bestätigt werden; die interne Konsistenz ist mit α = .89 sehr gut. Die Konstruktvalidität erscheint gegeben, da sich signifikante und erwartungskonforme Zusammenhänge zu anderen relevanten Fragebogen (Partnerschaftsqualität, psychische Belastung der Eltern, Erziehungsverhalten und Kompetenzen sowie Verhaltensauffälligkeiten der Kinder) zeigten. Darüber hinaus differenziert die EKS zwischen Eltern von Kindern mit expansiven Verhaltensstörungen und Eltern von unauffälligen Kindern. Mit der EKS liegt eine ökonomische, reliable und valide Skala zur Erfassung wichtiger Aspekte der elterlichen Coparenting-Beziehung vor.
Überprüfung der psychometrischen Qualität der deutschen Version des Angstsensitivitätsindex-3
Authors: Kemper Christoph J. , Ziegler Matthias , Taylor Steven
Published: October 2009

Zusammenfassung. Angstsensitivität ist ein Konstrukt, das bei der Ätiologie von Angststörungen relevant ist und sich in der internationalen Forschung zunehmender Beliebtheit erfreut. Bisher existiert jedoch kein aktuelles deutschsprachiges Instrument mit einer robusten faktoriellen Validität zur Erfassung von Angstsensitivität. Daher zielte diese Studie darauf ab, die psychometrische Qualität einer deutschsprachigen Version des Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 ( Taylor et al., 2007 ) zu überprüfen. In die Auswertung gingen Daten von insgesamt N = 5477 Personen aus drei Ländern ein. Die Ergebnisse belegen eine zufriedenstellende Messgenauigkeit, faktorielle Validität und Konstruktvalidität der Übersetzung. Zudem konnte die Messinvarianz mit der englischsprachigen Originalversion gezeigt werden. Die praktischen und theoretischen Implikationen der Ergebnisse werden diskutiert.
Carbon and nitrogen balances for six shrublands across Europe
Authors: Beier Claus , Emmett Bridget A. , Tietema Albert , Schmidt Inger K. , Peñuelas Josep , Láng Edit Kovács , Duce Pierpaolo , De Angelis Paolo , Gorissen Antonie , Estiarte Marc , de Dato Giovanbattista D. , Sowerby Alwyn , Kröel‐Dulay György , Lellei‐Kovács Eszter , Kull Olevi , Mand Pille , Petersen Henning , Gjelstrup Peter , Spano Donatella
Published: October 2009

Shrublands constitute significant and important parts of European landscapes providing a large number of important ecosystem services. Biogeochemical cycles in these ecosystems have gained little attention relative to forests and grassland systems, but data on such cycles are required for developing and testing ecosystem models. As climate change progresses, the potential feedback from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere through changes in carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and general knowledge on biogeochemical cycles becomes increasingly important. Here we present carbon and nitrogen balances of six shrublands along a climatic gradient across the European continent. The aim of the study was to provide a basis for assessing the range and variability in carbon storage in European shrublands. Across the sites the net carbon storage in the systems ranged from 1,163 g C m−2 to 18,546 g C m−2, and the systems ranged from being net sinks (126 g C m−2 a−1) to being net sources (−536 g C m−2 a−1) of carbon with the largest storage and sink of carbon at wet and cold climatic conditions. The soil carbon store dominates the carbon budget at all sites and in particular at the site with a cold and wet climate where soil C constitutes 95% of the total carbon in the ecosystem. Respiration of carbon from the soil organic matter pool dominated the carbon loss at all sites while carbon loss from aboveground litter decomposition appeared less important. Total belowground carbon allocation was more than 5 times aboveground litterfall carbon which is significantly greater than the factor of 2 reported in a global analysis of forest data. Nitrogen storage was also dominated by the soil pools generally showing small losses except when atmospheric N input was high. The study shows that in the future a climate‐driven land cover change between grasslands and shrublands in Europe will likely lead to increased ecosystem C where shrublands are promoted and less where grasses are promoted. However, it also emphasizes that if feedbacks on the global carbon cycle are to be predicted it is critically important to quantify and understand belowground carbon allocation and processes as well as soil carbon pools, particularly on wet organic soils, rather than plant functional change as the soil stores dominate the overall budget and fluxes of carbon.
Two‐mode long‐distance propagation of coseismic ionosphere disturbances
Authors: Astafyeva Elvira , Heki Kosuke , Kiryushkin Vladislav , Afraimovich Edward , Shalimov Sergey
Published: October 2009

Using GPS total electron content (TEC) measurements, we analyzed ionosphere response to the great Kurile earthquake of 4 October 1994. High spatial resolution of the Japanese dense array of GPS receivers (GEONET) provided us the unique opportunity to observe the evolution of coseismic ionospheric disturbances (CID), which propagated for more than 1800 km away from the epicenter. Plotting a traveltime diagram for the CID and using an “array processing” technique within the approximation of a spherical CID wavefront, we observed a phenomenon of CID separation into two modes and we found that characteristics of the CID depend on the distance from the epicenter. The maximum of the CID amplitude was observed at ∼500 km from the epicenter. Within the first 600–700 km, the CID propagation velocity was about 1 km/s, which is equal to the sound speed at the height of the ionospheric F‐layer. Starting from ∼600 to 700 km out from the epicenter, the disturbance seems to divide into two separate perturbations, with each propagating at a different velocity, about 3 km/s for the one and about 600 m/s for the other. Apparently, the TEC response in the far‐field of the CID source is a mixture of signals that further “splits” into two modes because of the difference in their velocities. Our observations are in good agreement with the results of space‐time data processing in the approximation of a spherical wavefront of CID propagation.
Multifrequency observations of Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes using Alaskan radar facilities: Comparisons and scattering calculations
Authors: Ramos Camilo , Kelley Michael C. , Djuth Frank T. , Groves Keith M. , Murayama Yasuhiro , Kawamura Seiji , Thorsen Denise
Published: October 2009

We present polar mesospheric radar observations at three frequency bands (MF/HF/VHF) and eight radar frequencies: 2.43, 3.3, 4.53, 4.9, 7.6, 28, 50, and 139 MHz, in order to better understand the well known but still not fully understood Polar Mesosphere Summer Echoes (PMSE). The echo morphology at the different frequencies is described by means of case studies where PMSE events were observed concurrently using at least two radar systems deployed over the Alaskan central region. The identity of MF and HF radar echoes as PMSE is resolved for the first time by means of simultaneous measurements made with VHF radars, the reference sensors employed traditionally for PMSE studies. On the basis of echo duration and radar reflectivity estimates, we suggest that low‐power HF radars would be more appropriate for PMSE monitoring. This is confirmed by a radar target analysis of turbulent scattering mechanisms in the polar summer mesosphere. MF radars show highly organized PMSE layers quite often but are more susceptible to ionospheric absorption and higher‐altitude returns associated with geomagnetic activity. Both phenomena produce a blanking effect in MF PMSE, which at times can persist for hours. HF and VHF radars are less affected by absorption events, but the PMSE echoes become weaker as the radar frequency increases.
Ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation for a process‐based catchment scale model of surface and subsurface flow
Authors: Camporese Matteo , Paniconi Claudio , Putti Mario , Salandin Paolo
Published: October 2009

A sequential data assimilation procedure based on the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is introduced and tested for a process‐based numerical model of coupled surface and subsurface flow. The model is based on the three‐dimensional Richards equation for variably saturated porous media and a diffusion wave approximation for overland and channel flow. A one‐dimensional soil column experiment and a three‐dimensional tilted v‐catchment test case are presented. A preliminary analysis of the assimilation scheme is undertaken for the one‐dimensional test case in order to validate the implementation by comparison with published results and to assess the influence of various factors on the filter's performance. The numerical results suggest robustness with respect to the ensemble size and provide useful information for the more complex tilted v‐catchment test case. The assimilation frequency and the effects induced by data assimilation on the surface and/or subsurface system states are then evaluated for the v‐catchment experiment using synthetic observations of pressure head and streamflow. The results suggest that streamflow prediction can be improved by assimilation of pressure head and streamflow, either individually or in tandem, whereas assimilation of streamflow data alone does not improve the subsurface system state. In terms of the global system state, i.e., surface and subsurface variables, frequent updates are especially beneficial when assimilating both pressure head and streamflow. Furthermore, it is shown that better evaluation of the subsurface volume resulting from assimilation of head data is crucial for improving subsequent surface response.
Decomposition of projected regional sea level rise in the North Atlantic and its relation to the AMOC
Authors: Körper J. , Spangehl T. , Cubasch U. , Huebener H.
Published: October 2009

While it is well understood that thermal expansion dominates global mean steric sea level rise, climate models show large differences in spatial patterns. This study aims to decompose regional steric sea level rise in the North Atlantic into thermal and saline effects in a fully coupled model. In contrast to other studies we focus on the differences between two climate change scenarios and establish a link between the sea level changes and the differences in the response of the overturning circulation. While overturning is reduced in the phase of the greenhouse gas increase, differences between the scenarios are not significant until the stabilization in the 22nd century. The influence from thermosteric and halosteric contributions on the meridional density gradient is of the same size during the increase of greenhouse gas concentrations. The haline effect becomes prominent afterwards, reducing the meridional density gradient and preventing the overturning from recovery.
Extraordinary September Arctic sea ice reductions and their relationships with storm behavior over 1979–2008
Authors: Simmonds Ian , Keay Kevin
Published: October 2009

Dramatic changes have been observed in Arctic sea ice, cyclone behavior and atmospheric circulation in recent decades. Decreases in September ice extent have been remarkable over the last 30 years, and particularly so in very recent times. The analysis reveals that the trends and variability in September ice coverage and mean cyclone characteristics are related, and that the strength (rather than the number) of cyclones in the Arctic basin is playing a central role in the changes observed in that region, especially in the last few years. The findings reinforce suggestions that the decline in the extent and thickness of Arctic ice has started to render it particularly vulnerable to future anomalous cyclonic activity and atmospheric forcing.
West Florida Shelf mean circulation observed with long‐term moorings
Authors: Weisberg Robert H. , Liu Yonggang , Mayer Dennis A.
Published: October 2009

The mean circulation on the West Florida Continental Shelf is described using long‐term current measurements. Bounded by the Florida peninsula to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the West Florida Continental Shelf mean flow is oriented approximately along‐isobath and southward. The mean velocity vectors veer systematically with depth, shoreward over shallow water and seaward over deeper water. This polarization change implies that the mean flow is upwelling over shallow water and downwelling seaward from the inner shelf. Such a well‐organized, three‐dimensional coastal ocean circulation pattern, revealed by an unprecedented set of observations, and explained on the basis of wind forcing and density field adjustment, has important implications for both fisheries and red tide occurrences.
Infrasonic evidences for branched conduit dynamics at Mt. Etna volcano, Italy
Authors: Marchetti Emanuele , Ripepe Maurizio , Ulivieri Giacomo , Caffo Salvatore , Privitera Eugenio
Published: October 2009

On multi‐vents volcanoes changes in activity between different vents reflect a complex fluid‐dynamics of the shallow feeding systems and are often explained numerically and experimentally in terms of conduit branches and bifurcations. We present new geophysical constraints on the shallow feeding system of Etna volcano derived from array analysis of infrasound radiated from two distinct sources, one located in the SE crater and one in the Voragine or NE crater (VNE). These two sources alternated in their behavior, with the VNE crater system radiating low amplitude background infrasound interrupted by episodes of increased infrasound radiation from the SE crater. This switching behavior suggested a branched shallow feeding system strongly controlled by the gas/magma‐flux. Here, the VNE craters represented the preferential and most stable branch of degassing during stationary flux regime, while the SE crater branch activated in response to an increase in the magma/gas supply rate.
Prospects for predicting two flavors of El Niño
Authors: Hendon Harry H. , Lim Eunpa , Wang Guomin , Alves Oscar , Hudson Debra
Published: October 2009

Global climatic impacts of El Niño are sensitive to details of the surface warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which vary between each El Niño event. The ability to predict the differences in pattern of anomalous ocean temperatures is explored for two prominent types of El Niño, traditional cold tongue events that have maximum surface warming in the eastern Pacific, and warm pool events that have maximum warming in the central Pacific. We assess seasonal predictions of the two types of El Niño using the Australian Bureau of Meteorology coupled ocean‐atmosphere seasonal forecast model. Prediction of the major differences in pattern of anomalous ocean surface temperature between the two types of El Niño is limited to less than 1 season lead time, which is much shorter than for prediction of the occurrence of El Niño but which does have important practical application for prediction of regional climate. Improved understanding of the mechanisms of warm pool events and reduction of systematic model biases of the mean state and the coupled modes of variability in the Pacific warm pool/cold tongue should lead to improved skill for predicting regional climate variability associated with El Niño.
Infrasonic ambient noise interferometry from correlations of microbaroms
Authors: Haney M. M.
Published: October 2009

We show that microbaroms, continuous infrasound fluctuations resulting from the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere, have long‐range correlation properties that make it possible to estimate the impulse response between two microphones from passive recordings. The processing is analogous to methods employed in the emerging field of ambient noise seismology, where the random noise source is the ocean coupling with the solid Earth (microseisms) instead of the atmosphere (microbaroms). We find that time‐dependent temperature fields and temperature inversions determine the character of infrasonic impulse responses at Fourpeaked Volcano in Alaska. Applications include imaging and monitoring the gross structure of the Earth's atmospheric boundary layer.
Simulation of a supercell storm in clean and dirty atmosphere using weather research and forecast model with spectral bin microphysics
Authors: Khain Alexander , Lynn Barry
Published: October 2009

The development of supercell storms was simulated using a 2‐km‐resolution weather research and forecast (WRF) model with spectral (bin) microphysics (WRF‐SBM) and a recent version of the Thompson bulk‐parameterization scheme. The simulations were performed in clean, semipolluted, and dirty air under two values of relative humidity, conditionally referred to as low and high humidity. Both SBM and the Thompson scheme simulated the development of supercell storm with storm splitting. Both SBM and the Thompson scheme demonstrated that an increase in relative humidity by ∼10% invigorates convection and increases precipitation by factor of 2, i.e., to much larger extent than can be achieved by variations of the aerosol concentration. At the same time the storms simulated by the schemes are quite different. The maximum updrafts in the Thompson scheme are about 65 m/s, and the left‐moving storm prevails. The SBM predicts 35 m/s maximum updrafts, and the right‐moving storm prevails in the SBM simulations. While the bulk scheme predicts decrease in precipitation in clean air at both low and high humidity, the SBM indicates decrease precipitation in polluted air under low humidity and increase in precipitation under high humidity. The SBM scheme shows a substantial effect of aerosols on spatial distribution of precipitation, especially in the low‐humidity case. The sensitivity of the Thompson scheme to aerosols turns out to be much less than that of SBM. The difference in the results (vertical velocities, microphysical cloud structure, and precipitation) obtained by different schemes is much larger than the changes caused by variation of the aerosol concentration within each scheme. However, the average amount of precipitation in the Thompson scheme in each simulation was about twice that of the corresponding SBM simulation. The possible reasons for such difference are discussed. A scheme for classifying aerosol effects on precipitation from clouds and cloud systems is also discussed.
A gridded multisite weather generator and synchronization to observed weather data
Authors: Wilks Daniel S.
Published: October 2009

Procedures are described for constructing a daily multisite weather generator at a collection of arbitrary (e.g., gridded) locations and for synchronizing the gridded generator to observed weather series at a set of reference stations. The gridded generator is constructed by interpolating conventional single‐station weather generator parameters using locally weighted regressions and producing coherent simulations of daily weather from them using spatial correlation functions. When implemented, the synchronization algorithm results in simulated spatial weather fields at the grid points that are consistent with daily weather observations at nearby locations for particular years. The synchronization is achieved by exploiting the latent multivariate Gaussian structure of the spatially distributed weather generator and making use of well‐known statistical results that define conditional multivariate Gaussian distributions given known values for a subset of variables from the larger joint distribution. The primary focus is on precipitation, but the nonprecipitation variables in the weather generator are also amenable to gridding and to synchronization with nearby observed weather series. The motivating idea is to allow calibration of spatially distributed hydrological models consistent with the climate of the spatial weather generator, potentially allowing more realistic hydrological simulation, but the procedure may also be useful for interpolation of missing daily weather data.
Influences of Meteorology on Air Pollution Concentrations and Processes in Urban Areas
Authors: Salmond Jennifer A. , McKendry I. G.
Published: October 2009

In urban areas pollutant concentrations are determined by the balance between pollutant emissions, and the state of the atmosphere which determines pollutant transport and dispersion processes. In this chapter we demonstrate that although the nature and characteristics of urban emissions can be variable in time and space, it is changes in pollutant dispersion pathways both locally and regionally that often determine the temporal and spatial patterns of atmospheric composition in urban areas.

Due to the complexity of the urban atmosphere it is useful to look at the relations between urban meteorology and air pollution at a variety of different scales. At scales ranging from individual buildings and street canyons to the entire city, microscale mechanical and thermally driven turbulence dominates local dispersion processes. However, these processes operate within an hierarchy of larger scales which provide the background state of the atmosphere that modulates air quality within urban areas. Day-to-day variations in urban air quality are determined in large part by processes operating at scales greater than the urban environment. These meteorological processes extend from the regional scale flows such as sea breezes, to the synoptic scale (cyclonic and anticyclone systems that give our day-to-day weather), and finally to the hemispheric and global scales which permit long-range transport of pollutants.

Generally, as the ability of the urban atmosphere to disperse pollutants horizontally and vertically increases, pollutant concentrations decrease. However, complex feedback loops exist between pollutant emission rates, urban form and meteorological processes, local and regional pollutant transport rates and atmospheric chemistry such that individual parameters are rarely independent of each other. Thus an understanding of local, urban and regional scale atmospheric processes is fundamental to a comprehensive evaluation of air pollution in urban areas.