bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Short-Term Increase in Particulate Matter Blunts Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping and Daytime Urinary Sodium Excretion
Authors: Tsai Dai-Hua , Riediker Michael , Wuerzner Grégoire , Maillard Marc , Marques-Vidal Pedro , Paccaud Fred , Vollenweider Peter , Burnier Michel , Bochud Murielle
Published: August 2012

Short-term exposure to ambient particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm were found to be positively associated with blood pressure. Yet, little information exists regarding the association between particles and circadian rhythm of blood pressure. Hence, we analyzed the association of exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm on the day of examination and ≤7 days before with ambulatory blood pressure and with sodium excretion in 359 adults from the general population using multiple linear regression. After controlling for potential confounders, a 10-µg/m
3
increase in particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm levels was associated with nighttime systolic blood pressure (β=1.32 mm Hg 95% CI, 0.06–2.58 mm Hg at lag 0;
P
=0.04), nighttime diastolic blood pressure (0.72 mm Hg 95% CI, 0.03–1.42 mm Hg at lag 2;
P
=0.04), nocturnal systolic blood pressure dipping (−0.96 mm Hg 95% CI, −1.89 to −0.03 mm Hg at lag 0;
P
=0.044), and daytime urinary sodium excretion (−0.05 log-mmol/min 95% CI, −0.10 to −0.01 log-mmol/min at lag 0;
P
=0.027) but not with nighttime sodium excretion. The associations with blood pressure rapidly diminished with increasing lag days, and the associations with daytime sodium excretion were maximal with particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm in exposures 2 to 5 days before. The associations of short-term increases in particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm with higher nighttime blood pressure and blunted systolic blood pressure dipping were preceded by associations with reduced ability of the kidney to excrete sodium during daytime. The underlying mechanism linking air pollution to increased cardiovascular risk may include disturbed circadian rhythms of renal sodium handling and blood pressure.
Mercury Exposure and Risk of Hypertension in US Men and Women in 2 Prospective Cohorts
Authors: Mozaffarian Dariush , Shi Peilin , Morris J. Steven , Grandjean Philippe , Siscovick David S. , Spiegelman Donna , Willett Walter C. , Rimm Eric B. , Curhan Gary C. , Forman John P.
Published: August 2012

Cross-sectional studies and animal experiments suggest that methylmercury exposure could increase the risk of hypertension. This relationship has not been evaluated in large prospective studies. Using data from previous nested case-control studies in 2 separate prospective cohorts, we measured toenail mercury, a valid biomarker of long-term methylmercury exposure, among 6045 US men and women free of hypertension at baseline. Geometric mean toenail mercury concentrations were 0.08 μg/g in the lowest quintile and 0.74 μg/g in the highest quintile, the latter corresponding with exposures ≈2.0-fold higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency reference dose. Participants were followed prospectively (mean±SD follow-up, 14.9±7.9 years) for a new self-report of physician-diagnosed hypertension (3540 cases), shown to be >95% sensitive and specific for diagnosing hypertension in these cohorts as compared with review of medical charts and direct blood pressure measurement, respectively. After adjustment for demographic, clinical, and lifestyle risk factors, the hazard ratio (95% CI) for incident hypertension in the highest versus lowest quintile of mercury exposure was 0.96 (0.84–1.09) in women, 0.82 (0.62–1.08) in men, and 0.94 (0.84–1.06) in both cohorts combined. Findings were similar when more extreme categories of mercury were compared (across deciles, with geometric mean levels in highest decile ≈2.9-fold higher than the reference dose) and in analyses stratified by fish or omega-3 consumption, selenium levels, body mass index, and age. These findings from 2 separate large prospective cohort studies do not support any clinically apparent adverse effects of methylmercury exposure on the risk of hypertension in men or women, including at levels ≤2.5-fold higher than the reference dose.
Identification of Hypertension Susceptibility Loci on Rat Chromosome 12
Authors: Flister Michael J. , Prisco Sasha Z. , Sarkis Allison B. , O’Meara Caitlin C. , Hoffman Matthew , Wendt-Andrae Jaime , Moreno Carol , Lazar Jozef , Jacob Howard J.
Published: August 2012

Previous studies have identified multiple blood pressure and renal disease quantitative trait loci located on rat chromosome 12. In the present study, we narrowed blood pressure loci using a series of overlapping Dahl salt-sensitive/Mcwi (SS)-12 Brown Norway (BN) congenic lines. We found that transferring 6.1 Mb of SS chromosome 12 (13.4–19.5 Mb) onto the consomic SS-12
BN
background significantly elevated blood pressure on 1% NaCl (146 ± 6 versus 127 ± 1 mm Hg;
P
<0.001) and 8% NaCl diets (178 ± 7 versus 144 ± 2 mm Hg;
P
<0.001). Compared with the SS-12
BN
consomic, these animals also had significantly elevated albumin (218 ± 31 versus 104 ± 8 mg/d;
P
<0.001) and protein excretion (347 ± 41 versus 195 ± 12 mg/d;
P
<0.001) on a 1% NaCl diet. Elevated blood pressure, albuminuria, and proteinuria coincided with greater renal and cardiac damage, demonstrating that SS allele(s) within the 6.1 Mb congenic interval are associated with strong cardiovascular disease phenotypes. Sequence analysis of the 6.1 Mb congenic region revealed 12 673 single nucleotide polymorphisms between SS and BN rats. Of these polymorphisms, 293 lie within coding regions, and 18 resulted in nonsynonymous changes in conserved genes, of which 5 were predicted to be potentially damaging to protein function. Syntenic regions in human chromosome 7 have also been identified in multiple linkage and association studies of cardiovascular disease, suggesting that genetic variants underlying cardiovascular phenotypes in this congenic strain can likely be translated to a better understanding of human hypertension.
Interactions between Shallow and Deep Convection under a Finite Departure from Convective Quasi Equilibrium
Authors: Yano Jun-Ichi , Plant Robert
Published: August 2012

The present paper presents a simple theory for the transformation of nonprecipitating, shallow convection into precipitating, deep convective clouds. To make the pertinent point a much idealized system is considered, consisting only of shallow and deep convection without large-scale forcing. The transformation is described by an explicit coupling between these two types of convection. Shallow convection moistens and cools the atmosphere, whereas deep convection dries and warms the atmosphere, leading to destabilization and stabilization, respectively. Consequently, in their own stand-alone modes, shallow convection perpetually grows, whereas deep convection simply damps: the former never reaches equilibrium, and the latter is never spontaneously generated. Coupling the modes together is the only way to reconcile these undesirable separate tendencies, so that the convective system as a whole can remain in a stable periodic state under this idealized setting. Such coupling is a key missing element in current global atmospheric models. The energy cycle description used herein is fully consistent with the original formulation by Arakawa and Schubert, and is suitable for direct implementation into models using a mass flux parameterization. The coupling would alleviate current problems with the representation of these two types of convection in numerical models. The present theory also provides a pertinent framework for analyzing large-eddy simulations and cloud-resolving modeling.
A Numerical Study of the Impacts of Dry Air on Tropical Cyclone Formation: A Development Case and a Nondevelopment Case
Authors: Fritz Cody , Wang Zhuo
Published: August 2012

The impacts of dry air on tropical cyclone formation are examined in the numerical model simulations of ex-Gaston (2010) and pre-Fay (2008). The former, a remnant low downgraded from a short-lived tropical cyclone, can be regarded as a nondeveloping system because it failed to redevelop, and the latter developed into a tropical cyclone despite lateral dry air entrainment and a transient upper-level dry air intrusion. Water vapor budget analysis suggests that the mean vertical moisture transport plays the dominant role in moistening the free atmosphere. Backward trajectory analysis and water budget analysis show that vertical transport of dry air from the middle and upper troposphere, where a well-defined wave pouch is absent, contributes to the midlevel drying near the pouch center in ex-Gaston. The midlevel drying suppresses deep convection, reduces moisture supply from the boundary layer, and contributes to the nondevelopment of ex-Gaston. Three-dimensional trajectory analysis based on the numerical model simulation of Fay suggests that dry air entrained at the pouch periphery tends to stay off the pouch center because of the weak midlevel inflow or gets moistened along its path even if it is being wrapped into the wave pouch. Lateral entrainment in the middle troposphere thus does not suppress convection near the pouch center or prevent the development of Tropical Storm Fay. This study suggests that the upper troposphere is a weak spot of the wave pouch at the early formation stage and that the vertical transport is likely a more direct pathway for dry air to influence moist convection near the pouch center.
Structural and Surface Features of Arc-Shaped Radar Echoes along an Outer Tropical Cyclone Rainband
Authors: Yu Cheng-Ku , Tsai Chia-Lun
Published: August 2012

This study uses ground-based dual-Doppler radar and surface observations to document the structural and surface features of the arc-shaped radar echoes (ASREs) evident along an outer rainband of Typhoon Longwang as it approached northern Taiwan on 1 October 2005. The particular aim of this study is to explore the possible distinction between the present case, previously documented tropical cyclone rainbands (TCRs), and squall lines. The dual-Doppler-derived fields show that the leading precipitation of the studied ASREs exhibited a convective nature with a sharp horizontal gradient of reflectivity and a significant vertical extent. The regions behind the leading convection were characterized by band-relative rear-to-front flow at low levels and were associated with a broader area of stratiform precipitation. The deep layer of front-to-rear flow extending from the surface to the upper troposphere was generally present ahead of the ASREs. This flow appears to be lifted upward at and immediately ahead of the leading edge of the low-level rear-to-front flow to form rearward-tilting updrafts. These airflow patterns are similar to those of the convective region of squall lines but differ fundamentally from those of previously documented TCRs that were located closer to the inner core of cyclones. The detailed analyses of surface fluctuations during the passage of one of the studied ASREs further show an abrupt pressure rise (2 mb), a temperature drop (4°C), and a pronounced deceleration of inflow air coincident with the leading heavy precipitation. The evaluation presented suggests that the convectively generated cold pool may be important in influencing the structures and propagation of the studied ASREs.
A Sensitivity Analysis of Surface Biophysical, Carbon, and Climate Impacts of Tropical Deforestation Rates in CCSM4-CNDV*
Authors: Gotangco Castillo C. Kendra , Gurney Kevin Robert
Published: August 2012

The biophysical–climate and combined biophysical and carbon–climate feedbacks of tropical deforestation rates are explored through sensitivity analyses using the Community Climate System Model 4 with prognostic carbon–nitrogen and dynamic vegetation. Simulations test 5%, 2%, 1%, and 0.5% annual deforestation rates, each paired with preservation targets of 10% per tropical tree type. Perturbations are applied over pan-tropical land but analyses also investigate responses over the subcontinental areas of the Amazon basin, central Africa, and Southeast Asia. Sensitivities [expressed as the change in a variable per million square kilometers (Mkm2) of change in tree cover] and means of selected biophysical, carbon, and climate variables during and after deforestation are compared across rates. The most apparent effect of the rates is in hastening/postponing climate change, but otherwise results show no consistent differences across rates and vary more across subcontinents (with the Amazon basin reflecting highest sensitivities in albedo and ground temperatures, and Southeast Asia for total ecosystem carbon). Additionally, biophysical feedbacks alone were found to have significant impact on climate over subcontinental scales. In the Amazon, ground temperature increase due to biophysical feedbacks is as much as 55%, and precipitation decrease up to 61%, of combined biophysical and carbon impacts. Replication with other models is required. Although it is still unclear whether a slow but prolonged deforestation differs in impacts from one that is rapid but short, the rate can still be relevant to planning with regards to the timing of impacts.
Trend Analysis of Precipitation in the Jinsha River Basin in China
Authors: Wang Shunjiu , Zhang Xinli , Liu Zhigang , Wang Deming
Published: August 2012

According to the mean seasonal and annual precipitation from 30 meteorological stations in the periods of 1961–2008, the precipitation trends are analyzed by using the Mann–Kendall (MK) test in the Jinsha River basin (JRB). Both the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of precipitation trends in different regions in the JRB are studied for the first time in this paper. There is a slight and insignificant increasing trend in seasonal and annual precipitation except for autumn precipitation, and the annual precipitation has increased by 0.7634 mm yr−1 during the last 48 years. The increasing precipitation trends in spring seem more significant than those in the other three seasons, and autumn is the only season showing a slight and insignificant decreasing precipitation trend. There are more than 80% of stations exhibiting increasing trends for annual precipitation, and it goes to 90% for spring precipitation. The increasing precipitation trends in the headwater and the middle reaches are more dominant than those in the upper and lower reaches. The largest increase magnitude occurred in the less precipitation area, while the largest decrease magnitude occurred in the more precipitation area. The increasing trend of minimum precipitation series and decreasing trend of maximum precipitation series could result in a decreasing trend for the range series in the JRB. In general, the increasing trends of precipitation in the tributary (the Yalong River) are more significant than those in the mainstream (the Jinsha River). The results of this study will provide further knowledge for understanding on the climate change in the JRB.
Using CloudSat Cloud Retrievals to Differentiate Satellite-Derived Rainfall Products over West Africa
Authors: Tompkins Adrian M. , Adebiyi Adeyemi A.
Published: August 2012

Daily precipitation retrievals from three algorithms [the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42 rain product (TRMM-3B42), the Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH), and the second version (RFEv2) of the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS)] and CloudSat retrievals of cloud liquid water, ice amount, and cloud fraction are used to document the cloud structures associated with rainfall location and intensity in the West African monsoon. The different rainfall retrieval approaches lead to contrasting cloud sensitivities between all three algorithms most apparent in the onset period of June and July. During the monsoon preonset phase, CMORPH produces a precipitation peak at around 12°N associated with upper-level cirrus clouds, while FEWS and TRMM both produce rainfall maxima collocated with the tropospheric–deep convective cloud structures at 4°–6°N. In July similar relative displacements of the rainfall maxima are observed. Conditional sampling of several hundred convection systems proves that, while upper-level cirrus is advected northward relative to the motion of the convective system cores, the reduced cover and water content of lower-tropospheric clouds in the northern zone could be due to signal attenuation as the systems there appear to be more intense, producing higher ice water contents. Thus, while CMORPH may overestimate rainfall in the northern zone due to its reliance on cloud ice, TRMM and FEWS are likely underestimating precipitation in this zone, potentially due to the use of infrared based products in TRMM and FEWS when microwave is not available. Mapping the CloudSat retrievals as a function of rain rate confirms the greater sensitivity of CMORPH to ice cloud and indicates that high-intensity rainfall events are associated with systems that are deeper and of a greater spatial scale.
Seasonality of Vertical Structure in Radar-Observed Precipitation over Southern Switzerland
Authors: Rudolph James V. , Friedrich Katja
Published: August 2012

Operational radar data reveal that precipitation systems occurring on the southern side of the Alps near Locarno, Switzerland, follow seasonal patterns of vertical reflectivity structure. Storms occurring in summer are more convective than winter season storms as indicated by more frequent observation of reflectivity at higher altitudes during summer. Individual precipitation events occurring year-round are classified by comparison to average seasonal vertical reflectivity structure. Seasonal classification of individual storms reveals a transition between winter- and summer-type storms during spring and fall that follows changes in average daily surface temperature. In addition to distinct vertical structure, summer- and winter-type storms have differences in duration, intensity, and interval between storms. Although summer- and winter-type storms result in a similar amount of total precipitation, summer-type storms have shorter duration, and therefore greater intensity. The dependence of storm types on temperature has implications for intensification of the hydrologic cycle due to climate change. Warmer winter, spring, or fall surface temperatures may affect average precipitation intensity by increasing the number of days per year that experience more intense convective precipitation while decreasing the probability of less intense stratiform precipitation.
Using High-Resolution Satellite Rainfall Products to Simulate a Major Flash Flood Event in Northern Italy
Authors: Nikolopoulos Efthymios I. , Anagnostou Emmanouil N. , Borga Marco
Published: August 2012

Effective flash flood warning procedures are usually hampered by observational limitations of precipitation over mountainous basins where flash floods occur. Satellite rainfall estimates are available over complex terrain regions, offering a potentially viable solution to the observational coverage problem. However, satellite estimates of heavy rainfall rates are associated with significant biases and random errors that nonlinearly propagate in hydrologic modeling, imposing severe limitations on the use of these products in flood forecasting. In this study, the use of three quasi-global and near-real-time high-resolution satellite rainfall products for simulating flash floods over complex terrain basins are investigated. The study uses a major flash flood event that occurred during 29 August 2003 on a medium size mountainous basin (623 km2) in the eastern Italian Alps. Comparison of satellite rainfall with rainfall derived from gauge-calibrated weather radar estimates showed that although satellite products suffer from large biases they could represent the temporal variability of basin-averaged precipitation. Propagation of satellite rainfall through a distributed hydrologic model revealed that systematic error in rainfall was severely magnified when transformed to error in runoff under dry initial soil conditions. Simulation hydrographs became meaningful only after recalibrating the model for each satellite rainfall input separately. However, the unrealistic values of model parameters after recalibration show that this approach is erroneous and that model recalibration using satellite rainfall data should be treated with care. Overall, this study highlights the need for improvement of satellite rainfall retrieval algorithms in order to allow a more appropriate use of satellite rainfall products for flash flood applications.
Real-Time Ocean Wind Vector Retrieval from Marine Radar Image Sequences Acquired at Grazing Angle
Authors: Vicen-Bueno Raul , Horstmann Jochen , Terril Eric , de Paolo Tony , Dannenberg Jens
Published: August 2012

This paper proposes a novel algorithm for retrieving the ocean wind vector from marine radar image sequences in real time. It is presented as an alternative to mitigate anemometer problems, such as blockage, shadowing, and turbulence. Since wind modifies the sea surface, the proposed algorithm is based on the dependence of the sea surface backscatter on wind direction and speed. This algorithm retrieves the wind vector using radar measurements in the range of 200–1500 m. Wind directions are retrieved from radar images integrated over time and smoothed (averaged) in space by searching for the maximum radar cross section in azimuth as the radar cross section is largest for upwind directions. Wind speeds are retrieved by an empirical third-order polynomial geophysical model function (GMF), which depends on the range distance in the upwind direction to a preselected intensity level and the intensity level. This GMF is approximated from a dataset of collocated in situ wind speed and radar measurements (~31 000 measurements, ~56 h). The algorithm is validated utilizing wind and radar measurements acquired on the Research Platform (R/P) FLIP (for Floating Instrumentation Platform) during the 13-day Office of Naval Research experiment on High-Resolution Air–Sea Interaction (HiRes) in June 2010. Wind speeds ranged from 4 to 22 m s−1. Once the proposed algorithm is tuned, standard deviations and biases of 14° and −1° for wind directions and of 0.8 and −0.1 m s−1 for wind speeds are observed, respectively. Additional studies of uncertainty and error of the retrieved wind speed are also reported.
Isobaric Height Perturbations Associated with Mountain Waves Measured by Aircraft during the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment
Authors: Parish Thomas R. , Oolman Larry D.
Published: August 2012

It has only been in the last few years that accurate measurement of the horizontal pressure gradient has been possible over complex terrain using an airborne platform. To infer forcing mechanisms for the wind, an independent measure of the height of an isobaric surface is required. Differential GPS analyses have enabled determination of the aircraft height with sufficient accuracy to infer isobaric heights. When coupled with an accurate measurement of static pressure, the horizontal pressure field can be determined. To demonstrate this measurement technique, research flight legs by the University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) conducted in support of the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) in March and April 2006 are examined. UWKA flights conducted on 14 and 25 March and 16 April 2006 encountered strong mountain waves in response to winds directed primarily normal to the Sierra Nevada ridgeline. Winds at flight level showed pronounced variation that suggested topographic influence. The magnitude of isobaric height perturbations along UWKA flight tracks obtained using differential GPS during case study days of 14 and 25 March and 16 April are shown to exceed 70 m, corresponding to horizontal pressure perturbations greater than 4 hPa. Measurements suggest that changes in wind speed are linked primarily to the perturbation height field and that the flow can be classified as Eulerian, implying that Coriolis accelerations are negligible and flows respond to the horizontal pressure gradient force.
Convective and Rainfall Properties of Tropical Cyclone Inner Cores and Rainbands from 11 Years of TRMM Data
Authors: Jiang Haiyan , Ramirez Ellen M. , Cecil Daniel J.
Published: August 2012

Convective and rainfall properties of tropical cyclones (TCs) are statistically quantified by using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data from December 1997 to December 2008. A semimanual method is used to divide the TC raining area into inner core (IC), inner rainband (IB), and outer rainband (OB) regions. Precipitation features (PFs) within these regions are compared for their convective vigor and rainfall characteristics based on passive microwave, infrared, radar, and lightning properties. Strong convective signatures are generally found more often in precipitation features in the IC region, less often in the IB region, and least often in the OB region when examining features with sizes greater than 1000 km2. However, at the very strong end of the convective spectrum, the magnitude of ice scattering signatures in OB features tends to be comparable and even stronger than that in IC features. The flash density when normalized by the raining area is about 2–3 times higher in IC features than that in OB features for all TCs except for category-1–2 hurricanes, in which the flash density is comparable for IC and OB features. The flash count per raining area in IB features is a factor of 2 (4) lower than that in OB (IC) features for all TC intensity categories on average. This confirms the bimodal radial distribution of flash density as suggested by previous studies. However, instead of a weaker maximum in the IC region and a stronger maximum in the OB region, this study finds a stronger maximum in the IC region and a weaker maximum in the OB region.
The “Shukla–Gutzler” Method for Estimating Potential Seasonal Predictability
Authors: DelSole Timothy , Feng Xia
Published: August 2012

This paper reexamines a procedure proposed by Shukla and Gutzler for estimating potential seasonal predictability. Certain subtle and unverified assumptions required for the method to work are clarified, and Monte Carlo experiments are used to demonstrate that these assumptions are adequate even for autocorrelated processes in typical applications, provided the effective time scale T0 of the stochastic process is known. This paper highlights the fact that the time scale T0 is difficult to estimate reliably (as noted in other papers) and can be biased by an order of magnitude. This bias can seriously compromise the reliability of the Shukla–Gutzler method.
Trajectory-Tracking Scheme in Lagrangian Form for Solving Linear Advection Problems: Interface Spatial Discretization
Authors: Dong Li , Wang Bin
Published: August 2012

A previous Lagrangian linear advection scheme (trajectory-tracking scheme) is modified to achieve local mass conservation in this paper, which is more favorable to climate modeling. The discretized tracer parcels are volumes with interfaces instead of centroids. In 2D problems, the parcels are polygons and the interfaces are described by polygonal edges with a finite number. Because polygons will deform under the background wind field, a curvature-guard algorithm (CGA) is devised to retain accurate representation of the deformed interfaces among parcels. The tracer mass carried by parcels is mapped onto the regular latitude–longitude mesh by a first-order conservative remapping algorithm that can handle concave polygons. Several standard test cases have been carried out to show the effectiveness of the new scheme.
Data Assimilation in the Low Noise Regime with Application to the Kuroshio
Authors: Vanden-Eijnden Eric , Weare Jonathan
Published: August 2012

Online data assimilation techniques such as ensemble Kalman filters and particle filters lose accuracy dramatically when presented with an unlikely observation. Such an observation may be caused by an unusually large measurement error or reflect a rare fluctuation in the dynamics of the system. Over a long enough span of time it becomes likely that one or several of these events will occur. Often they are signatures of the most interesting features of the underlying system and their prediction becomes the primary focus of the data assimilation procedure. The Kuroshio or Black Current that runs along the eastern coast of Japan is an example of such a system. It undergoes infrequent but dramatic changes of state between a small meander during which the current remains close to the coast of Japan, and a large meander during which it bulges away from the coast. Because of the important role that the Kuroshio plays in distributing heat and salinity in the surrounding region, prediction of these transitions is of acute interest. Here the authors focus on a regime in which both the stochastic forcing on the system and the observational noise are small. In this setting large deviation theory can be used to understand why standard filtering methods fail and guide the design of the more effective data assimilation techniques. Motivated by this analysis the authors propose several data assimilation strategies capable of efficiently handling rare events such as the transitions of the Kuroshio. These techniques are tested on a model of the Kuroshio and are shown to perform much better than standard filtering methods.
Genesis Criteria for Diabatic Rossby Vortices: A Model Study
Authors: Moore Richard W. , Montgomery Michael T. , Davies Huw
Published: August 2012

A suite of idealized mesoscale model simulations are conducted to examine the dynamic pathway to the genesis of short-scale, moist baroclinic disturbances. It is shown that in an initially subsaturated environment, two distinct stages of development are necessary before a preexisting surface-concentrated, warm-core vortex can begin to amplify. The first stage, termed environmental preconditioning, involves the moistening of the lower atmosphere via the transport of relatively high equivalent potential temperature air into the immediate environment of the translating vortex.

The second stage results from continuous cloud diabatic processes and it involves the emergence of a low-level positive potential vorticity (PV) anomaly with some evidence of a further, more diffuse, negative PV anomaly at higher elevations. The PV structure is characteristic of a diabatic Rossby vortex (DRV). The disturbance does not begin to amplify until the magnitude and coherence of the low-level PV structure allows for the sufficient production of eddy available potential energy through diabatic processes to overcome frictional dissipation, and this necessitates forced convection for a finite period of time. A comparison of the simulated disturbance structure with observed DRVs lends credence to the idealized model results.

Furthermore, the simulations facilitate the identification of an amplitude threshold for DRV genesis that is defined as a function of both environmental parameters (baroclinicity and moisture content) and the strength of an initial disturbance. In particular, if, given a background environment, the amplitude of an initial disturbance is not sufficiently large, frictional processes will inhibit the genesis of a growing disturbance within a realistic time frame.
Convective Modes for Significant Severe Thunderstorms in the Contiguous United States. Part III: Tropical Cyclone Tornadoes
Authors: Edwards Roger , Dean Andrew R. , Thompson Richard L. , Smith Bryan T.
Published: August 2012

A gridded, hourly, three-dimensional environmental mesoanalysis database at the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), based on objectively analyzed surface observations blended with the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) model-analysis fields and described in Parts I and II of this series, is applied to a 2003–11 subset of the SPC tropical cyclone (TC) tornado records. Distributions of environmental convective parameters, derived from SPC hourly mesoanalysis fields that have been related to supercells and tornadoes in the midlatitudes, are evaluated for their pertinence to TC tornado occurrence. The main factor differentiating TC from non-TC tornado environments is much greater deep-tropospheric moisture, associated with reduced lapse rates, lower CAPE, and smaller and more compressed distributions of parameters derived from CAPE and vertical shear. For weak and strong TC tornado categories (EF0–EF1 and EF2–EF3 on the enhanced Fujita scale, respectively), little distinction is evident across most parameters. Radar reflectivity and velocity data also are examined for the same subset of TC tornadoes, in order to determine parent convective modes (e.g., discrete, linear, clustered, supercellular vs nonsupercellular), and the association of those modes with several mesoanalysis parameters. Supercellular TC tornadoes are accompanied by somewhat greater vertical shear than those occurring from other modes. Tornadoes accompanying nonsupercellular radar echoes tend to occur closer to the TC center, where CAPE and shear tend to weaken relative to the outer TC envelope, though there is considerable overlap of their respective radial distributions and environmental parameter spaces.
Determining the Extratropical Transition Onset and Completion Times of Typhoons Mindulle (2004) and Yagi (2006) Using Four Methods
Authors: Wang Qian , Li Qingqing , Fu Gang
Published: August 2012

Four methods for determining the extratropical transition (ET) onset and completion times of Typhoons Mindulle (2004) and Yagi (2006) were compared using four numerically analyzed datasets. The open-wave and scalar frontogenesis parameter methods failed to smoothly and consistently determine the ET completion from the four data sources, because some dependent factors associated with these two methods significantly impacted the results. Although the cyclone phase space technique succeeded in determining the ET onset and completion times, the ET onset and completion times of Yagi identified by this method exhibited a large distinction across the datasets, agreeing with prior studies. The isentropic potential vorticity method was also able to identify the ET onset times of both Mindulle and Yagi using all the datasets, whereas the ET onset time of Yagi determined by such a method differed markedly from that by the cyclone phase space technique, which may create forecast uncertainty.
Shared Parenting, Parental Effort, and Life History Strategy
Authors: Sotomayor-Peterson Marcela , De Baca Tomás Cabeza , Figueredo Aurelio José , Smith-Castro Vanessa
Published: August 2012

Previous developmental research has found that children from households with high shared parenting, childrearing agreement, and equitable division of parental labor experience positive developmental and social outcomes; a major limitation of these studies is that shared parenting measures do not assess the amount of total parental effort the child receives, but instead partitioning the amount of effort between parents. Life History (LH) theory predicts that the total amount of parenting the child receives should produce a greater developmental impact on the future LH strategies of children than precisely how that parental effort was apportioned between mothers and fathers. This report presents a cross-cultural study using convenience samples of university students in Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica, investigating the relationship of total as well as shared parental effort on family emotional climate and the LH strategy of the participants as young adults. The first study was performed exclusively in Mexico; results indicated that higher levels of shared parenting experienced as a child were associated with Family Emotional Climate also during childhood and with participant adult LH. The second study extended these findings; higher total parental effort predicted shared parenting effort, positive emotional climate, and slower offspring adult life history strategy in the three convenience samples of Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica.
The Myth of Asian Exceptionalism
Authors: Welzel Christian
Published: August 2012

In a series of contributions, Welzel describes modernization as human empowerment: a process that emancipates people from external authority. Human empowerment theory (HET) posits two sequential mechanisms. First, cognitive empowerment through rising levels of education and knowledge leads to motivational empowerment, manifest in rising emancipative values. Second, rising emancipative values nurture mass aspirations for liberal democracy, leading to more effective democratic practices. Using World Values Survey (WVS) data from a dozen Asian societies, Bomhoff and Gu claim that Asia is different because these mechanisms do not work among Asian societies. Against these claims, this response shows that Bomhoff and Gu’s results are inconclusive. Upon proper examination of WVS evidence, their conclusions turn actually into the opposite: The emancipative logic of HET applies to Asia as much as it applies to the “West.”
Racial Disparity in Administrative Autism Identification Across the United States During 2000 and 2007
Authors: Travers Jason C. , Krezmien Michael P. , Mulcahy Candace , Tincani Matthew
Published: August 2012

Evidence of disparate identification of autism at national and local levels is accumulating, but there is little understanding about disparate identification of autism at the state level. This study examined trends in state-level administrative identification of autism under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Prevalence rates and odds ratios were calculated for each state using enrollment counts for years 2000 and 2007. Results indicated increases in administrative prevalence of autism for all racial groups from 2000 to 2007, but increasing underidentification of Black and Hispanic students in 2007 compared with White students. Variability existed in the identification of autism among Black and Hispanic students across states over time. Implications for the findings are discussed in the context of the field’s need to establish rigorous policies and practices for eligibility determinations due to autism and equitable access to evidence-based intervention practices.
Jan Kochanowski’s Treny
Authors: Tighe Carl
Published: August 2012

Jan Kochanowski was probably the key figure in Polish Literary humanism. His lifetime spanned the ‘golden years’ of the Polish Renaissance and almost everything he wrote was a ‘first’ in Polish literature. Upon his retirement from the royal court to his hereditary estate, Kochanowski wrote Treny, a lament for his dead daughter. This moving and complex sequence of poems can be seen as reflecting and summarizing the achievements and limitations of humanism in Poland. Kochanowski’s writing and his career as a courtier provide us with an insight into the Polish nobility and the Polish state at the height of their power and wealth. This article is not aimed at the specialist in Polish literature or Slavonic studies, but seeks to introduce Kochanowski to English readers.
Differentiating Competitiveness through Tourism Image Assessment
Authors: Andrades-Caldito Lidia , Sánchez-Rivero Marcelino , Pulido-Fernández Juan Ignacio
Published: August 2012

On the basis of the idea that an understanding of tourists’ perceptions and preferences will enable destination managers to design actions that are coherent with potential visitors’ expectations, this study aims to analyze the destination image perceived by visitors of Andalusia and its provinces over the past decade. A slightly modified Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index is calculated in order to synthesize in a single value the evolution of these destinations’ image during that period. The values obtained enable the identification of those provinces whose image has the strongest influence on the overall destination image of Andalusia. An examination is then made of which of the four major competitiveness components proposed by the Calgary Model explain the better or poorer quality of those destination images. Electre II methods are also applied to obtain a ranking of the provinces according to their level of attractiveness, as perceived by tourists.
Andean Translations
Authors: Gómez-Barris Macarena
Published: August 2012

Since the end of the civil war in the early 1990s, Peru’s tourist industry has been organized around an obsession with the Incan past. One rapidly growing segment of the industry aims to allow tourists to experience the Q’ero mysticism of the highlands in a somewhat “authentic” context. A case study of a center of this spiritual tourism in the Sacred Valley of the Incas that focuses on the transmission of energy healing rites raises questions about the possibility of real cultural exchange under conditions of asymmetry and about the impact on indigenous communities of this appropriation and commodification of their spirituality.

Desde el fin de la guerra civil a principios de la década de los noventa, el turismo peruano se ha organizado alrededor de una obsesión con el pasado inca. Un segmento de esta industria que surge rápidamente propone permitir a los turistas una experiencia del misticismo de la sierra Q’ero en un contexto algo “auténtico.” El caso de un centro de turismo espiritual en el Valle Sagrado de los Incas que se enfoca en la transmisión de energías curanderas plantea cuestiones sobre las posibilidades del auténtico intercambio cultural bajo condiciones asimétricas y el impacto en las comunidades indígenas de esta apropiación y materialización de su espiritualidad.
Women Beach and Marina Vendors in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Authors: Wilson Tamar Diana , Gámez Vázquez Alba Eritrea , Ivanova Antonina
Published: August 2012

The tourism sector in developing regions that are highly integrated into international markets has noticeable effects on the growth of the informal economy. For women vendors on the beach and the marina of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where the economy revolves around tourism and real estate, hawking souvenirs is an opportunity for empowerment and income, but it can also lead to their exploitation and self-exploitation. While women may suffer discrimination within the tourism sector, ambulant vending contributes to the reduction of poverty and may give women a greater say in their households and their communities. Nonetheless these women are marginalized by their low incomes and lack of social security, their lack of access to the education that might lead to formal-sector employment, their residential segregation, and, for some, the racism directed at indigenous people.

El sector de turismo en regiones en vías de desarrollo que se encuentre altamente integrado con los mercados internacionales, tiene efectos en el crecimiento de la economía informal. Para las mujeres vendedoras ambulantes en las playas de Cabo San Lucas, México, en donde la economía se concentra en el turismo y bienes raíces, la venta de recuerdos puede proveer una oportunidad para capacitarse y ganar ingresos, pero también puede llevar a su explotación y auto explotación. Mientras las mujeres pueden sufrir a causa de la discriminación en el sector turístico, la venta ambulante puede reducir la pobreza y darles a las mujeres mayor voz en el hogar y la comunidad. Pese esto, las mujeres se encuentran marginadas por su bajo ingreso y falta de seguro social, su falta de acceso a la educación que puede conducir al empleo en el sector formal, su segregación residencial, y, para algunas, el racismo en contra de los indígenas.
Spontaneous Healing of Traumatic Eardrum Perforation
Authors: Lou Zheng Cai
Published: August 2012

Objective

To characterize the otoendoscopic features of traumatic tympanic membrane perforations (TMPs) with outward‐migrating epithelium at the perforation edges and to evaluate the spontaneous healing outcome of this type of perforation.

Study Design

Case series with chart review.

Setting

Tertiary university hospital.

Materials and Methods

The clinical records of traumatic TMP patients who met the case selection criteria were retrieved and categorized based on the documented migration pathways of the proliferating epithelial cells at the perforation margins into 2 groups: centripetal migration and outward migration. The demographic data and spontaneous healing outcomes (ie, healing rate and time) of these 2 types of TMP were analyzed using the chi‐square test or t‐test. The otoendoscopic features were characterized.

Results

In all, 122 cases were analyzed. During the spontaneous healing process, perforations were associated with centripetal epithelial cell migration in 87 (71.3%) cases and with outward epithelial cell migration in 35 (28.7%) cases. The overall perforation closure rates at the end of 6 months were 97% and 94% for the centripetal and outward migration groups, respectively (P > 0.05). The average perforation closure times were 18.4 ± 3.7 and 37.6 ± 9.2 days, respectively (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Although the outward epithelial migration did not affect the overall perforation spontaneous healing rate, it alone could not close the perforation. The prerequisite for eardrum healing is that the outward epithelium migration pattern evolves into a centripetal migration pattern. Consequently, outward epithelial migration prolonged substantially the time to traumatic eardrum perforation closure.
Home of Hope
Authors: Zhang Yahui , Gajjala Radhika , Watkins Sean
Published: August 2012

This article is an attempt to explore the issues of online representations of orphans in China and India in the intersection of power, voice, and placement. Textual and visual representations of orphans at www.homeofhopeindia.org and www.homeofhope.org are analyzed using the theoretical frameworks of voicings, Whiteness, and the colonial (technological) gaze. We examine how online networks are spaces for discursive reproduction of existing offline hegemonies. We pay particular attention to the reproduction and representation of the so-called voiceless Other in online settings.
DeBeers’ “Fighting Diamonds”
Authors: Ghilani Jessica L.
Published: August 2012

In the 1940s, the advertising agency, N.W. Ayer, created for then-client, DeBeers Consolidated Mines, a campaign that wedded the values of patriotism, American citizenship, and luxury consumerism through advertising copy. The text and accompanying images touted what they termed “Fighting Diamonds.” While most American military and labor propaganda of World War II encouraged civilians to sacrifice, ration, and save, “Fighting Diamonds” ads assured would-be buyers that their wartime gemstone diamond and jewelry splurges supported the Allied Forces. This article examines the connections between American military recruitment history and DeBeers’ “Fighting Diamond” advertisements via a series of archival materials from the N.W. Ayer and Son Advertising Agency Records at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Archives Center. I argue that “Fighting Diamonds” were part of a growing trend within advertisement propaganda that positioned American political participation and civic duties increasingly as consumer decisions.
On considering the application of Amartya Sen's capability approach to an information-based rights framework
Authors: Britz Johannes , Hoffmann Anthony , Ponelis Shana , Zimmer Michael , Lor Peter
Published: August 2012

We live in an information society, and, resultantly, significant attention is devoted to ensure “information-based rights” are protected among other essential human rights. Fostering and protecting information-based rights is essential to human well being, and the traditional strategies to support these rights focus on ensuring free and unfettered access to information, such as the right to education, the freedom to read, or providing for fair use of copyright-protected works. While ensuring informational goods and services are accessible is necessary for participation in our contemporary information society, we argue, however, that given the complexity of our information environment, additional factors must be considered within any information-based rights framework. Building on Amartya Sen’s capability approach, we suggest that individuals’ ability to access and use information is influenced by their relative capabilities. Those advocating for information-based rights – such as the free software, access to knowledge, and open access movements – must adjust their focus to include not only achieving access, but also the fostering of human capabilities.