bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revisiting the ENSO Teleconnection to the Tropical North Atlantic
Authors: García-Serrano Javier , Cassou Christophe , Douville Hervé , Giannini Alessandra , Doblas-Reyes Francisco J.
Published: June 2017

One of the most robust remote impacts of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the teleconnection to tropical North Atlantic (TNA) sea surface temperature (SST) in boreal spring. However, important questions still remain open. In particular, the timing of the ENSO–TNA relationship lacks understanding. The three previously proposed mechanisms rely on teleconnection dynamics involving a time lag of one season with respect to the ENSO mature phase in winter, but recent results have shown that the persistence of ENSO into spring is necessary for the development of the TNA SST anomalies. Likewise, the identification of the effective atmospheric forcing in the deep TNA to drive the regional air–sea interaction is also lacking. In this manuscript a new dynamical framework to understand the ENSO–TNA teleconnection is proposed, in which a continuous atmospheric forcing is present throughout the ENSO decaying phase. Observational datasets in the satellite era, which include reliable estimates over the ocean, are used to illustrate the mechanism at play. The dynamics rely on the remote Gill-type response to the ENSO zonally compensated heat source over the Amazon basin, associated with perturbations in the Walker circulation. For El Niño conditions, the anomalous diabatic heating in the tropical Pacific is compensated by anomalous diabatic cooling, in association with negative rainfall anomalies and descending motion over northern South America. A pair of anomalous cyclonic circulations is established at upper-tropospheric levels in the tropical Atlantic straddling the equator, displaying a characteristic baroclinic structure with height. In the TNA region, the mirrored anomalous anticyclonic circulation at lower-tropospheric levels weakens the northeasterly trade winds, leading to a reduction in evaporation and of the ocean mixed layer depth, hence to positive SST anomalies. Apart from the dominance of latent heat flux anomalies in the remote response, sensible heat flux and shortwave radiation anomalies also appear to contribute. The “lagged” relationship between mature ENSO in winter and peaking TNA SSTs in spring seems to be phase locked with the seasonal cycle in both the location of the mechanism’s centers of action and regional SST variance.
The Impact of Layer Perturbation Potential Energy on the East Asian Summer Monsoon
Authors: Huyan Lidou , Li Jianping , Zhao Sen , Sun Cheng , Dong Di , Liu Ting , Zhao Yufei
Published: June 2017

This paper analyzes the relationship between the 1000–850-hPa layer perturbation potential energy (LPPE) as the difference in local potential energy between the actual state and the reference state and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) using reanalysis and observational datasets. The EASM is closely related to the first-order moment term of LPPE (LPPE1) from the preceding March to the boreal summer over three key regions: the eastern Indian Ocean, the subtropical central Pacific, and midlatitude East Asia. The LPPE1 pattern (−, +, +), with negative values over the eastern Indian Ocean, positive values over the subtropical central Pacific, and positive values over East Asia, corresponds to negative LPPE1 anomalies over the south of the EASM region but positive LPPE1 anomalies over the north of the EASM region, which lead to an anomalous downward branch over the southern region but an upward branch over the northern region. The anomalous vertical motion affects the local meridional circulation over East Asia that leads to a southwesterly wind anomaly over East Asia (south of 30°N) at 850 hPa and anomalous downward motion over 100°–120°E (along 25°–35°N), resulting in a stronger EASM, more kinetic energy over the EASM region, and less boreal summer rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley (24°–36°N, 90°–125°E). These LPPE1 anomalies in the eastern Indian Ocean and subtropical central Pacific appear to be connected to changes in local sea surface temperature through the release of latent heat.
Arctic Stratosphere Dynamical Response to Global Warming
Authors: Karpechko Alexey Yu. , Manzini Elisa
Published: June 2017

The role of stationary planetary waves in the dynamical response of the Arctic winter stratosphere circulation to global warming is investigated here by analyzing simulations performed with atmosphere-only models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) driven by prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Climate models often simulate dynamical warming of the Arctic stratosphere as a response to global warming in association with a strengthening of the deep branch of the Brewer–Dobson circulation; however, until now, no satisfactory mechanism for such a response has been suggested. This study focuses on December–February (DJF) because this is the period when the troposphere and stratosphere are strongly coupled. When forced by increased SSTs, all the models analyzed here simulate Arctic stratosphere dynamical warming, mostly due to increased upward propagation of quasi-stationary wavenumber 1, as diagnosed by the meridional eddy heat flux. Further, it is shown that the stratospheric warming and increased wave flux to the stratosphere are related to the strengthening of the zonal winds in subtropics and midlatitudes near the tropopause. Evidence presented in this paper corroborate climate model simulations of future stratospheric changes and suggest a dynamical warming of the Arctic polar vortex as the most likely response to global warming.
Decadal Modulation of Precipitation Patterns over Eastern China by Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies
Authors: Yang Qing , Ma Zhuguo , Fan Xingang , Yang Zong-Liang , Xu Zhongfeng , Wu Peili
Published: June 2017

Annual precipitation anomalies over eastern China are characterized by a north–south dipole pattern, referred to as the “southern flooding and northern drought” pattern (SF/ND), fluctuating on decadal time scales. Previous research has suggested possible links with oceanic forcing, but the underlying physical mechanisms by which sea surface temperature (SST) variability impacts the dipole pattern remains unclear. Idealized atmospheric general circulation model experiments conducted by the U.S. CLIVAR Drought Working Group are used to investigate the role of historical SST anomalies associated with Pacific El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) patterns in this dipole pattern. The results show that the Pacific SST pattern plays a dominant role in driving the decadal variability of this dipole pattern and the associated atmospheric circulation anomalies, whereas the Atlantic SST pattern contributes to a much lesser degree. The direct atmospheric response to the Pacific SST pattern is a large-scale cyclonic or anticyclonic circulation anomaly in the lower troposphere occupying the entire northern North Pacific. During the warm phase of the Pacific SST pattern, it is cyclonic with northwesterly wind anomalies over northern China pushing the monsoon front to the south and consequently SF/ND. During the cold phase of the Pacific SST pattern, the circulation anomaly reverses with southeasterly winds over northern China allowing the monsoon front and the associated rainband to migrate northward, resulting in southern drought and northern flooding. The Atlantic SST pattern plays a supplementary role, enhancing the dipole pattern when the Pacific SST and Atlantic SST patterns are in opposite phases and weakening it when the phases are the same.
Storylines of Atmospheric Circulation Change for European Regional Climate Impact Assessment
Authors: Zappa Giuseppe , Shepherd Theodore G.
Published: June 2017

There is increasing interest in understanding the regional impacts of different global warming targets. However, several regional climate impacts depend on the atmospheric circulation, whose response to climate change remains substantially uncertain and not interpretable in a probabilistic sense in multimodel ensemble projections. To account for these uncertainties, a novel approach where regional climate change is analyzed as a function of carbon emissions conditional on plausible storylines of atmospheric circulation change is here presented and applied to the CMIP5 models’ future projections. The different storylines are determined based on the response in three remote drivers of regional circulation: the tropical and polar amplification of global warming and changes in stratospheric vortex strength. As an illustration of this approach, it is shown that the severity of the projected wintertime Mediterranean precipitation decline and central European windiness increase strongly depends on the storyline of circulation change. For a given magnitude of global warming, the highest impact storyline for these aspects of European climate is found for a high tropical amplification and a strengthening of the vortex. The difference in the precipitation and wind responses between the storylines is substantial and equivalent to the contribution from several degrees of global warming. Improving the understanding of the remote driver responses is thus needed to better bound the projected regional impacts in the European sector. The value of these storylines to represent the uncertainty in regional climate projections and to inform the selection of CMIP5 models in regional climate impact studies is discussed.
Distinct Influence of Air–Sea Interactions Mediated by Mesoscale Sea Surface Temperature and Surface Current in the Arabian Sea
Authors: Seo Hyodae
Published: June 2017

During the southwest monsoons, the Arabian Sea (AS) develops highly energetic mesoscale variability associated with the Somali Current (SC), Great Whirl (GW), and cold filaments (CF). The resultant high-amplitude anomalies and gradients of sea surface temperature (SST) and surface currents modify the wind stress, triggering the so-called mesoscale coupled feedbacks. This study uses a high-resolution regional coupled model with a novel coupling procedure that separates spatial scales of the air–sea coupling to show that SST and surface currents are coupled to the atmosphere at distinct spatial scales, exerting distinct dynamic influences. The effect of mesoscale SST–wind interaction is manifested most strongly in wind work and Ekman pumping over the GW, primarily affecting the position of GW and the separation latitude of the SC. If this effect is suppressed, enhanced wind work and a weakened Ekman pumping dipole cause the GW to extend northeastward, delaying the SC separation by 1°. Current–wind interaction, in contrast, is related to the amount of wind energy input. When it is suppressed, especially as a result of background-scale currents, depth-integrated kinetic energy, both the mean and eddy, is significantly enhanced. Ekman pumping velocity over the GW is overly negative because of a lack of vorticity that offsets the wind stress curl, further invigorating the GW. Moreover, significant changes in time-mean SST and evaporation are generated in response to the current–wind interaction, accompanied by a noticeable southward shift in the Findlater Jet. The significant increase in moisture transport in the central AS implies that air–sea interaction mediated by the surface current is a potentially important process for simulation and prediction of the monsoon rainfall.
Untangling the Annual Cycle of the Tropical Tropopause Layer with an Idealized Moist Model
Authors: Jucker M. , Gerber E. P.
Published: June 2017

The processes regulating the climatology and annual cycle of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and cold point are not fully understood. Three main drivers have been identified: planetary-scale equatorial waves excited by tropical convection, planetary-scale extratropical waves associated with the deep Brewer–Dobson circulation, and synoptic-scale waves associated with the midlatitude storm tracks. In both observations and comprehensive atmospheric models, all three coexist, making it difficult to separate their contributions. Here, a new intermediate-complexity atmospheric model is developed. Simple modification of the model’s lower boundary allows detailed study of the three processes key to the TTL, both in isolation and together.

The model shows that tropical planetary waves are most critical for regulating the mean TTL, setting the depth and temperature of the cold point. The annual cycle of the TTL, which is coldest (warmest) in boreal winter (summer), however, depends critically on the strong annual variation in baroclinicity of the Northern Hemisphere relative to that of the Southern Hemisphere. Planetary-scale waves excited from either the tropics or extratropics then double the impact of baroclinicity on the TTL annual cycle. The remarkably generic response of TTL temperatures over a range of configurations suggests that the details of the wave forcing are unimportant, provided there is sufficient variation in the upward extent of westerly winds over the annual cycle. Westerly winds enable the propagation of stationary Rossby waves, and weakening of the subtropical jet in boreal summer inhibits their propagation into the lower stratosphere, warming the TTL.
Warm-Route versus Cold-Route Interbasin Exchange in the Meridional Overturning Circulation
Authors: Cessi Paola , Jones C. S.
Published: June 2017

The interbasin exchange of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is studied in an idealized domain with two basins connected by a circumpolar channel in the southernmost region. Gnanadesikan’s conceptual model for the upper branch of the MOC is extended to include two basins of different widths connected by a reentrant channel at the southern edge and separated by two continents of different meridional extents. Its analysis illustrates the basic processes of interbasin flow exchange either through the connection at the southern tip of the long continent (cold route) or through the connection at the southern tip of the short continent (warm route). A cold-route exchange occurs when the short continent is poleward of the latitude separating the subpolar and subtropical gyre in the Southern Hemisphere (the zero Ekman pumping line); otherwise, there is warm-route exchange. The predictions of the conceptual model are compared to primitive equation computations in a domain with the same idealized geometry forced by wind stress, surface temperature relaxation, and surface salinity flux. Visualizations of the horizontal structure of the upper branch of the MOC illustrate the cold and warm routes of interbasin exchange flows. Diagnostics of the primitive equation computations show that the warm-route exchange flow is responsible for a substantial salinification of the basin where sinking occurs. This salinification is larger when the interbasin exchange is via the warm route, and it is more pronounced when the warm-route exchange flows from the wide to the narrow basin.
The Transient Response of Ice Shelf Melting to Ocean Change
Authors: Holland Paul R.
Published: June 2017

Idealized modeling studies have shown that the melting of ice shelves varies as a quadratic function of ocean temperature. However, this result is the equilibrium response, derived from steady ice–ocean simulations subjected to a fixed ocean forcing. This study considers instead the transient response of melting, using unsteady simulations subjected to forcing conditions that are oscillated with a range of periods. The results show that the residence time of water in the subice cavity offers a critical time scale. When the forcing varies slowly (period of oscillation ≫ residence time), the cavity is fully flushed with forcing anomalies at all stages of the cycle and melting follows the equilibrium response. When the forcing varies rapidly (period ≤ residence time), multiple cold and warm anomalies coexist in the cavity, cancelling each other in the spatial mean and thus inducing a relatively steady melt rate. This implies that all ice shelves have a maximum frequency of ocean variability that can be manifested in melting. Between these two extremes, an intermediate regime occurs in which melting follows the equilibrium response during the cooling phase of the forcing cycle, but deviates during warming. The results show that ice shelves forced by warm water have high melt rates, high equilibrium sensitivity, and short residence times and hence a short time scale over which the equilibrium sensitivity is manifest. The most rapid melting adjustment is induced by warm anomalies that are also saline. Thus, ice shelves in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, Antarctica, are highly sensitive to ocean change.
The Ocean Version of the Lagrangian Analysis Tool LAGRANTO
Authors: Schemm Sebastian , Nummelin Aleksi , Kvamstø Nils Gunnar , Breivik Øyvind
Published: June 2017

The Lagrangian Analysis Tool (LAGRANTO) is adopted and applied to ECMWF’s latest ocean reanalysis. The primary motivation behind this study is to introduce and document LAGRANTO Ocean (LAGRANTO.ocean) and explore its capabilities in combination with an eddy-permitting ocean reanalysis. The tool allows for flexibly defining starting points, within circles, cylinders, or any user-defined region or volume. LAGRANTO.ocean also offers a sophisticated way to refine a set of computed trajectories according to a wide range of mathematical operations that can be combined into a single refinement criterion. Tools for calculating—for example, along-trajectory cross sections or trajectory densities—are further provided. After introducing the tool, three case studies are presented, which were chosen to reflect a selection of phenomena on different spatial and temporal scales. The case studies also serve as hands-on examples. For the first case study, at the mesoscale, ocean trajectories are computed during the formation of a Gulf Stream cold-core ring to study vertical motion in the developing eddy. In the second example, source waters are traced to the East Greenland Spill Jet. This example highlights the usefulness of a Lagrangian method for identifying sources or sinks of buoyancy. The third example, on annual time scales, focuses on the temporal evolution of extreme potential temperature anomalies in the South Pacific and the memory of the involved water parcels. Near-surface trajectories reveal that it takes approximately 5 months after the highest temperature anomaly before the involved water parcels cool to their climatological mean values at their new positions. LAGRANTO.ocean will be made publicly available.
Three-Dimensional Shape and Fall Velocity Measurements of Snowflakes Using a Multiangle Snowflake Imager
Authors: Minda Haruya , Tsuda Norio , Fujiyoshi Yasushi
Published: June 2017

This paper describes a Multiangle Snowflake Imager (MSI) designed to capture the pseudo-three-dimensional (3D) shape and the fall velocity of individual snowflakes larger than 1.5 mm in size. Four height-offset line-image scanners estimate fall velocities and the four-angle silhouettes are used to reconstruct the 3D snowflake shapes. The 3D shape reconstruction is tested using reference objects (spheres, spheroids, cubes, and plates). The four-silhouette method of the MSI improves the representation of the particle shape and volume compared to two-silhouette methods, such as the two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD). The volume (equivolumetric diameters) of snowflakes estimated by the four-silhouette method is approximately 44% (13%) smaller than that estimated by the two-silhouette method. The ability of the imager to measure the fall velocity and particle size distributions based on the silhouette width and the equivolumetric diameter of 3D-shaped particles is verified via a comparison with the 2DVD in three snowfall events.
Analysis and Mitigation of Striping Noise in Two Water Vapor Sounding Channels of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager
Authors: Dong H. , Zou X.
Published: June 2017

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) plays an important role in monitoring global precipitation. In this study, an along-track striping noise is found in GMI observations of brightness temperatures for the two highest-frequency channels—12 and 13—with their central frequencies centered at 183.31 GHz. These two channels are designed for sounding the water vapor in the middle and upper troposphere. The pitch maneuver data of deep space confirmed an existence of striping noise in channels 12 and 13. A striping noise mitigation method is used for extracting the striping noise from the earth scene or deep space measurements of brightness temperatures by combining the principle component analysis (PCA) with the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method. A power spectrum density analysis indicated that the frequency of striping noise ranges between 0.06 and 0.533 s−1, where the right bound of 0.533 s−1of frequency is exactly the inverse of the time (i.e., 1.875 s) it takes for the GMI to complete one conical scan line. The magnitude of striping noise in the brightness temperature observations of GMI channels 12 and 13 is about ±0.3 K. It is shown that after striping noise mitigation, the observation minus model simulation (O − B) distributions of both the earth scene and deep space brightness temperatures show no visible striping features.
Feasibility Study of the Reconstruction of Historical Weather with Data Assimilation
Authors: Toride Kinya , Neluwala Panduka , Kim Hyungjun , Yoshimura Kei
Published: June 2017

There is a large amount of documented weather information all over the world, including Asia (e.g., old diaries, log books, etc.). The ultimate goal of this study is to reconstruct historical weather by deriving total cloud cover (TCC) from historically documented weather records and to assimilate them using a general circulation model and a data assimilation scheme. Two experiments are performed using the Global Spectral Model and an ensemble Kalman filter: 1) a reanalysis data experiment and 2) a ground observation data experiment, for 18 synthesized observation stations in Japan according to the Historical Weather Data Base. By assuming that weather records can be converted into three TCC categories, the synthetic observation data of daily TCC are created from reanalysis data, with a large observation error of 30%, and by classifying ground observation data into the three categories. Compared with the simulation without assimilation of any observation, the results of the reanalysis data experiment show improvements, not only in TCC but also in other meteorological variables (e.g., humidity, precipitation, precipitable water, wind, and pressure). For specific humidity at 2 m above the surface, the monthly averaged root-mean-square error is reduced by 18%–22% downstream of the assimilated region. The results of the ground observation data experiment are not as successful as a result of additional error sources, indicating the bias needs to be handled correctly. By showing improvements with the loosely classified cloud information, the feasibility of the developed model to be applied for historical weather reconstruction is confirmed.
Evolution and Vertical Structure of an Undular Bore Observed on 20 June 2015 during PECAN
Authors: Mueller Dana , Geerts Bart , Wang Zhien , Deng Min , Grasmick Coltin
Published: June 2017

This study documents the evolution of an impressive, largely undular bore triggered by an MCS-generated density current on 20 June 2015, observed as part of the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) experiment. The University of Wyoming King Air with profiling nadir- and zenith-viewing lidars sampled the south-bound bore from the time the first bore wave emerged from the nocturnal convective cold pool and where updrafts over 10 m s−1 and turbulence in the wave’s wake were encountered, through the early dissipative stage in which the leading wave began to lose amplitude and speed. Through most of the bore’s life cycle, its second wave had a higher or equal amplitude relative to the leading wave. Striking roll clouds formed in wave crests and wave energy was detected to about 5 km AGL. The upstream environment indicates a negative Scorer parameter region due to flow reversal at midlevels, providing a wave trapping mechanism. The observed bore strength of 2.4–2.9 and speed of 15–16 m s−1 agree well with values predicted from hydraulic theory. Surface and profiling measurements collected later in the bore’s life cycle, just after sunrise, indicate a transition to a soliton.
Diurnal Cycle of a Heavy Rainfall Corridor over East Asia
Authors: Chen Guixing , Sha Weiming , Iwasaki Toshiki , Wen Zhiping
Published: June 2017

Moist convection occurred repeatedly in the midnight-to-morning hours of 11–16 June 1998 and yielded excessive rainfall in a narrow latitudinal corridor over East Asia, causing severe flood. Numerical experiments and composite analyses of a 5-day period are performed to examine the mechanisms governing nocturnal convection. Both simulations and observations show that a train of MCSs concurrently developed along a quasi-stationary mei-yu front and coincided with the impact of a monsoon surge on a frontogenetic zone at night. This process was regulated primarily by a nocturnal low-level jet (NLLJ) in the southwesterly monsoon that formed over southern China and extended to central China. In particular, the NLLJ acted as a mechanism of moisture transport over the plains. At its northern terminus, the NLLJ led to a zonal band of elevated conditionally unstable air where strong low-level ascent overcame small convective inhibition, triggering new convection in three preferred plains. An analysis of convective instability shows that the low-tropospheric intrusion of moist monsoon air generated CAPE of ~1000 J kg−1prior to convection initiation, whereas free-atmospheric forcing was much weaker. The NLLJ-related horizontal advection accounted for most of the instability precondition at 100–175 J kg−1h−1. At the convective stage, instability generation by the upward transport of moisture increased to ~100 J kg−1h−1, suggesting that ascending inflow caused feedback in convection growth. The convection dissipated in late morning with decaying NLLJ and moisture at elevated layers. It is concluded that the diurnally varying summer monsoon acted as an effective discharge of available moist energy from southern to central China, generating the morning-peak heavy rainfall corridor.
Raman and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) Analyses of a Microsubstance Adhering to a Fiber of the Turin Shroud
Authors: Laude Jean-Pierre , Fanti Giulio
Published: June 2017

The Raman spectrum of a microsubstance, smeared on a fiber coming from the Shroud of Turin, was compared with numerous spectra published for old or modern pigment dyes, whole bloods, dried bloods, red blood cells, albumin, very ancient blood stains, and various “degradation” products of heme. Within the wavenumber measure accuracy, it is shown that all Raman lines detected above background could correspond to vibration frequencies found in biliverdin-derived compounds except a weak line that we tentatively attributed to amide I. Biliverdin is known as an oxidative ring cleavage product of the heme of blood. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the sample confirms an elemental composition fully compatible with this hypothesis. Therefore, it is very likely that this microsubstance contains products of heme including heme/biliverdin-derived compounds and protein traces (amide I). Nevertheless, other measures will be necessary to confirm it. This method of identification, adding EDS to Raman spectrometry can be applied to nondestructive testing (NDT) of many other microsamples.
Through a Window, Brightly: A Review of Selected Nanofabricated Thin-Film Platforms for Spectroscopy, Imaging, and Detection
Authors: Dwyer Jason R. , Harb Maher
Published: June 2017

We present a review of the use of selected nanofabricated thin films to deliver a host of capabilities and insights spanning bioanalytical and biophysical chemistry, materials science, and fundamental molecular-level research. We discuss approaches where thin films have been vital, enabling experimental studies using a variety of optical spectroscopies across the visible and infrared spectral range, electron microscopies, and related techniques such as electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and single molecule sensing. We anchor this broad discussion by highlighting two particularly exciting exemplars: a thin-walled nanofluidic sample cell concept that has advanced the discovery horizons of ultrafast spectroscopy and of electron microscopy investigations of in-liquid samples; and a unique class of thin-film-based nanofluidic devices, designed around a nanopore, with expansive prospects for single molecule sensing. Free-standing, low-stress silicon nitride membranes are a canonical structural element for these applications, and we elucidate the fabrication and resulting features—including mechanical stability, optical properties, X-ray and electron scattering properties, and chemical nature—of this material in this format. We also outline design and performance principles and include a discussion of underlying material preparations and properties suitable for understanding the use of alternative thin-film materials such as graphene.
Spectroscopic Analysis to Characterize Finishing Treatments of Ancient Bowed String Instruments
Authors: Fiocco Giacomo , Rovetta Tommaso , Gulmini Monica , Piccirillo Anna , Licchelli Maurizio , Malagodi Marco
Published: June 2017

Historical bowed string instruments exhibit acoustic features and aesthetic appeal that are still considered inimitable. These characteristics seem to be in large part determined by the materials used in the ground and varnishing treatments after the assembly of the instrument. These finishing processes were kept secret by the violinmakers and the traditional methods were handed down orally from master craftsmen to apprentices. Today, the methods of the past can represent a secret to be revealed through scientific investigations. The “Cremonese” methods used in the 17th and 18th centuries were lost as the last Great Masters from the Amati, Guarneri, and Stradivari families passed away. In this study, we had the chance of combining noninvasive and microinvasive techniques on six fragments of historical musical instruments. The fragments were detached from different instruments during extraordinary maintenance and restoration treatments, which involved the substitution of severely damaged structural parts like top plates, back plates, or ribs. Therefore, the fragments can offer to the scientists a valuable overview on the materials and techniques used by the violinmakers. The results obtained by portable X-ray fluorescence, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared microscopy allowed us to: (1) determine the stratigraphy of six instruments; (2) obtain new information about the materials involved in the finishing processes employed in Cremona; and (3) elucidate the technological relationship among the procedures adopted in the violin making workshops during the considered period.
Nondispersive Infrared Gas Analyzer for Vapor Density Measurements of a Carbonyl-Containing Organometallic Cobalt Precursor
Authors: Maslar James E. , Kimes William A. , Sperling Brent A. , Kanjolia Ravindra K.
Published: June 2017

A nondispersive infrared (NDIR) gas analyzer was demonstrated for measuring the vapor-phase density of the carbonyl-containing organometallic cobalt precurso μ2-η2-(tBu-acetylene) dicobalthexacarbonyl (CCTBA). This sensor was based on direct absorption by CCTBA vapor in the C≡O stretching spectral region and utilized a stable, broadband IR filament source, an optical chopper to modulate the source, a bandpass filter for wavelength isolation, and an InSb detector. The optical system was calibrated by selecting a calibration factor to convert CCTBA absorbance to a partial pressure that, when used to calculate CCTBA flow rate and CCTBA mass removed from the ampoule, resulted in an optically determined mass that was nominally equal to a gravimetrically-determined mass. In situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was performed simultaneously with the NDIR gas analyzer measurements under selected conditions in order to characterize potential spectroscopic interferences. Interference due to CO evolution from CCTBA was found to be small under the flow conditions employed here. A CCTBA minimum detectable molecular density as low as ≈3 × 1013 cm−3 was calculated (with no signal averaging and for a sampling rate of 200 Hz). While this NDIR gas analyzer was specifically tested for CCTBA, it is suitable for characterizing the vapor delivery of a range of carbonyl-containing precursors.
Rating Politics? Partisan Discrimination in Credit Ratings in Developed Economies
Authors: Barta Zsófia , Johnston Alison
Published: June 2017

How does government partisanship influence sovereign credit ratings of developed countries? Given the convergence of fiscal and monetary outcomes between left and right governments in the past decades, credit rating agencies (CRAs) should in principle not discriminate according to ideology. However, we hypothesize that CRAs might lower ratings for left governments as a strategy to limit negative policy and market surprises as they strive to keep ratings stable over the medium term. A panel analysis of Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch’s rating actions for 23 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries from 1995 to 2014 shows that left executives and the electoral victory of nonincumbent left executives are associated with significantly higher probabilities of negative rating changes. We find no evidence of similar systematic partisan bias in spreads on government bonds, but spreads do adjust to partisan-biased downgrades. This suggests that CRAs may introduce partisan discrimination into sovereign credit markets.
The Electoral Consequences of Offshoring: How the Globalization of Production Shapes Party Preferences
Authors: Rommel Tobias , Walter Stefanie
Published: June 2017

How does offshoring affect individual party preferences in multiparty systems? We argue that exposure to offshoring influences individual preferences for those political parties with clear policy positions on issues relevant for individuals with offshorable jobs (left, liberal, and center-right parties) but does not affect voting decisions for parties concentrating on other issues (green or populist right parties). Examining individual-level data from five waves of the European Social Survey for 18 advanced democracies, we find that these effects vary by skill level and exposure. Offshoring increases preferences for liberal and center-right parties that advocate economic openness among the highly skilled. In contrast, low-skilled individuals exposed to offshoring are more likely to prefer leftist political parties that champion social protection and redistribution. Offshoring does not affect the propensity to vote for green and populist right parties.
Explaining Employer Responses to Transnational Labor Activism: Indonesia and Cambodia Compared
Authors: Brookes Marissa
Published: June 2017

Attempts to expand labor rights are rarely met with automatic acceptance by employers who benefitted from past practices. Workers, thus, sometimes engage in transnational activism in an attempt to secure labor rights on the local or national scale. This article investigates why some employers alter their behavior in response to such activism. I hypothesize that an employer will concede to a transnational labor campaign only when workers fully shift that employer’s attention onto the international scale and directly threaten the employer’s core, material interests. Evidence from a controlled comparison of labor disputes at luxury hotels in Indonesia and Cambodia during a period of institutional transition in the early 2000s supports this argument. This analysis sheds light on the conditions necessary for the implementation of labor rights through transnational activism and the causal mechanisms linking labor and employer strategies to the outcomes of transnational campaigns.
The Role of Asceticism in Deification in Cyril of Alexandria’s Festal Letters
Authors: Morgan Jonathan
Published: June 2017

Scholars agree that Cyril of Alexandria is an important patristic proponent of the doctrine of deification. The concept is ubiquitous throughout his writings and often couched in Scriptural phraseology. In his Festal Letters, however, his usual passages of Scripture and the traditional terminology to describe deification are absent. In this essay, I argue that in spite of the dearth of deification language in these letters, Cyril teaches its basic tenets but within a pastoral context that emphasizes the dynamic, practical means of deification through an ascetic lifestyle. While not ignoring the role of divine grace in salvation through the work of Christ and the indwelling Spirit, Cyril stresses that asceticism is an essential means by which deification occurs in believers. This particular emphasis in the Festal Letters brings into focus both Cyril’s concerns as a pastor as well as the synergistic and holistic dynamics of his soteriology.
College students’ knowledge, attitudes and adherence to public service announcements on Ebola in Nigeria: Suggestions for improving future Ebola prevention education programmes
Authors: Ajilore Kolade , Atakiti Ifeoluwa , Onyenankeya Kevin
Published: June 2017

Introduction:

Apprehension over a possible recurrence of Ebola remains pervasive among college students in Nigeria. Prevention education continues to be carried out through public service announcements (PSAs) on radio, television and in the social media. However, little is known about college students’ knowledge, attitudes and adherence to PSAs on Ebola virus. The purpose of this study was to investigate college students’ knowledge and attitude about Ebola and factors that predict adherence to Ebola education information mediated through PSAs.

Methods:

A total of 211 copies of structured questionnaire were administered to a multi-stage sample drawn from a medium-sized private university in Nigeria.

Results:

The majority of the participants responded correctly to the questions related to Ebola virus transmission. Nearly 86% of students agreed that Ebola can be contracted through the body secretions of a sick person, 83% students identified the basic symptoms of Ebola as fatigue and vomiting, while 82% agreed that regular washing of hands and use of hand sanitisers can prevent transmission of Ebola. Knowledge and attitudes emerged as significant predictors of students’ adherence to PSA advice on Ebola disease ( p < .05).

Discussion:

Misconceptions about the causes and transmission of Ebola abound in spite of the high awareness about the virus, suggesting that the Ebola PSAs may not have succeeded in dispelling some strongly held beliefs about Ebola virus disease. The findings suggest that a considerable percentage of college students no longer follow the advice contained in Ebola-related PSAs. It may be that the declaration that Nigeria is Ebola free by World Health Organization (WHO) has given rise to a lax attitude towards the disease.

Conclusion:

In spite of their shortcomings, PSAs remains an important vehicle for conveying Ebola prevention education to college students.
Rights of people with mental disorders: Realities in healthcare facilities in Tunisia
Authors: Rekhis Mayssa , Ben Hamouda Abir , Ouanes Sami , Rafrafi Rym
Published: June 2017

Background:

Mental disorders have been associated worldwide with human rights’ violations. Controversially, many occur in mental health facilities.

Aim:

This work aimed to assess the rights of people with mental disorders in healthcare facilities in Tunisia.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study, using the World Health Organization (WHO) quality-rights toolkit, assessed the human rights levels of achievement in Elrazi Hospital, the only psychiatric hospital in Tunisia, in comparison with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The framework was the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The assessment was carried through observation, documentation review, and interviews with service users, staff, and family members. The sample was composed of 113 interviewees.

Results:

In Elrazi Hospital, three out of the five evaluated rights were assessed as only initiated: the right to an adequate standard of living, to exercise legal capacity and to be free from inhuman treatment. By comparison, these rights were partially achieved in the NIN. The right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health was partially achieved and the right to live independently and to be included in the community was not even initiated. These last two rights were at the same level of achievement in the NIN.

Conclusion:

Significant improvements are needed to adapt the practice in Elrazi Hospital to comply with human rights, especially since the achievement level of these rights is lower than in a non-psychiatric hospital. Our study emphasizes the importance of spreading the CRPD as a standardized framework.
A continuum damage and discrete crack-based approach for fatigue response and residual strength prediction of notched laminated composites
Authors: Fang Eugene , Cui Xiaodong , Lua Jim
Published: June 2017

This paper presents a combined continuum damage and discrete crack (CDDC) modelling approach for fatigue damage characterization and post-fatigue residual strength prediction of laminated composite components with a hole. In order to capture both the fatigue cycle-driven material degradation and discrete damage-induced stress concentration and redistribution, an overlapped element approach is developed based on a combined user-defined material (UMAT) and user-defined element (UEL). An Abaqus element coupled with UMAT for fatigue damage characterization is used to detect the location of failure initiation, while the discrete crack network-based (DCN) UEL is applied to insert a crack without remeshing. The intensified stress field induced by the newly inserted matrix crack is used for the evaluation of failure initiation and stiffness degradation. The UMAT for the fatigue analysis has incorporated the stress-cycle ( S-N) curves for the damage evolution characterization associated with matrix and fiber based on the tested S-N curves for plies at their different orientations. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) approach is used for the fatigue-driven delamination initiation and propagation by insertion of a finite thickness interface layer at each ply interface. Both the blind and recalibrated predictions are performed for specimens of three different layups under the Air Force Tech Scout 1 program. The predicted fatigue failure progression and the stiffness against cycle curves are compared with the test data provided by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). In addition, post-fatigue residual strength predictions are performed for these notched specimens under tension and compression.
Biomimetic idealization of a mechanically coupled acoustic sound sensing mechanism
Authors: Lee Jin-Hyuk
Published: June 2017

This paper presents the idealization of a mechanically coupled acoustic sensor mechanism for directivity with the use of polysilicon, which has ideal mechanical and electrical material properties in terms of micro-fabrication. A mathematical model related to mechanical sensitivity is developed as a function of the material properties and geometry of the sensor, which evaluates the characteristics of a two-degree-of-freedom-based lumped parameter model. A challenge in such a study is that the model needs to be simple but sufficiently sophisticated to capture the characteristics of the sensor mechanism. Eigen modes and frequencies of the mechanically coupled acoustic sensor mechanism are determined by an energy method using mode functions applicable to the complete system that are from admissible the mode functions chosen for the component elements of the system. The synthesis is accomplished by using equations of constraint that follow conditions imposed by force equilibrium and deflection compatibility at the junctions. Finally, the results are compared with those obtained by a full-scale finite element model developed in a commercial software package. The predicted first and second natural frequencies differed by less than 10% and 3%, respectively, in all test cases.
Enzymatic coloration and finishing of wool with laccase and polyethylenimine
Authors: Yuan Mengli , Wang Qiang , Shen Jinsong , Smith Edward , Bai Rubing , Fan Xuerong
Published: June 2017

Enzymes have been widely used in textile wet processing. The precise reaction specificity of an enzyme has been utilized for specific or targeted textile finishing without causing undesirable fiber damage. Laccases are important enzymes for application in textile processing due to their great versatility and capability of catalyzing the oxidation of a broad range of substrates. The investigation of laccase-catalyzed coloration towards either wool or polyethylenimine was carried out. It is understood that amino groups from wool and polyethylenimine are involved in the formation of polymeric color during laccase catalyzation of catechin and gallic acid. The color depth and shrink-resistance of wool can be improved significantly by incorporating a multi-primary amine compound, such as polyethylenimine, and a crosslinking agent, such as glycerol diglycidyl ether, in the enzymatic coloration process of wool. This demonstrated the potential to achieve combined coloration and shrink-resistant finishing for wool fabrics.
Book Review: Arvind Narrain and Vinay Chandran, Nothing to Fix: Medicalisation of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Authors: Shah Svati P.
Published: June 2017

Arvind Narrain and Vinay Chandran, Nothing to Fix: Medicalisation of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. New Delhi: Yoda Press and SAGE Publications, 2015, 340 pp., ₹995, ISBN: 9351508900 (Hardcover).
Book Review: Indra Munshi (Ed.), The Adivasi Question: Issues of Land, Forest and Livelihood (Essays from Economic & Political Weekly)
Authors: Mohanty Bidyut
Published: June 2017

Indra Munshi (Ed.), The Adivasi Question: Issues of Land, Forest and Livelihood (Essays from Economic & Political Weekly). New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2012, reprinted in 2015, ix + 408 pp., ISBN: 9788125047162.
Book Review: Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, A Fly in the Curry: Independent Documentary Film in India
Authors: Gulati Shilpi
Published: June 2017

Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar, A Fly in the Curry: Independent Documentary Film in India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2016, xv + 276 pp., ₹795, ISBN: 9351505693.
Book Review: Meraj Ahmed Mubarki, Filming Horror: Hindi Cinema, Ghosts and Ideologies
Authors: Sinha Alia
Published: June 2017

Meraj Ahmed Mubarki, Filming Horror: Hindi Cinema, Ghosts and Ideologies. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2016, 216 pp., ₹521, ISBN: 9351508722.
Book Review: Mahuya Bandyopadhyay and Ritambhara Hebbar (Eds), Towards a New Sociology in India
Authors: Atal Yogesh
Published: June 2017

Mahuya Bandyopadhyay and Ritambhara Hebbar (Eds), Towards a New Sociology in India. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2016, 276 pp., ₹750, ISBN: 9788125062745 (Hardbound).