bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Stereoscopic Viewing on Presence, Anxiety, and Cybersickness in a Virtual Reality Environment for Public Speaking
Authors: Ling Yun , Brinkman Willem-Paul , Nefs Harold T. , Qu Chao , Heynderickx Ingrid
Published: February 2014

In this study, we addressed the effect of stereoscopy on presence, anxiety, and cybersickness in a virtual public speaking world, and investigated the relationships between these three variables. Our results question the practical relevance of applying stereoscopy in head-mounted displays (HMDs) for virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) in a virtual public speaking world. In VRET, feelings of presence improve the efficacy (B. K. Wiederhold & M. D. Wiederhold, 2005). There are reports of a relatively large group of dropouts during VRET at low levels of presence in the virtual environment (Krijn, Emmelkamp, Olafsson, & Biemond, 2004). Therefore, generating an adequate level of presence is essential for the success of VRET. In this study, 86 participants were recruited and they were immersed in the virtual public speaking world twice: once with stereoscopic rendering and once without stereoscopic rendering. The results showed that spatial presence was significantly improved by adding stereoscopy, but no difference for reported involvement or realism was found. The heart rate measurements also showed no difference between stereoscopic and nonstereoscopic viewing. Participants reported similar anxiety feelings about their talk and similar level of cybersickness in both viewing modes. Even though spatial presence was significantly improved, the size of statistical effect was relatively small. Our results therefore suggest that stereoscopic rendering may not be of practical importance for VRET in public speaking settings.
Behavioral Presence Test in Threatening Virtual Environments
Authors: Malbos Eric , Rapee Ronald M. , Kavakli Manolya
Published: February 2014

Presence, the impression of being existent in artificially created places, is an important factor for achieving maximum experience in virtual environments (VEs) and hence in their use for experiments or therapy. To date, most clinical studies have used self-report questionnaires or physiological measures to appraise the degree of presence. Some studies that have tested behavioral scales have used a single VE, required additional equipment, or did not test psychometric properties during immersion in the VR. The current study described and tested an operationalized, easy-to-use scale of presence, the Behavior Presence Test in Threatening VEs (BPTT), through the observation of overt behavior exhibited by a sample of 40 participants during immersion in five different threatening virtual situations. The BPTT was compared with standard subjective and physiological measures of presence and anxiety. The VEs resulted in clear increases in anxiety and arousal. Most importantly, findings demonstrated the consistency, reliability and validity of the BPTT. Video game experience did not seem to have any impact on presence or on participants' behavior. The test is a step forward in creating an objective assessment of presence during the virtual reality experience and without the need for additional equipment. Future work should focus on developing broader tests suitable for use in any threatening or nonthreatening VEs.
The Influence of Visual Information on the Motor Control of Table Tennis Strokes
Authors: Streuber Stephan , Mohler Betty J. , Bülthoff Heinrich H. , de la Rosa Stephan
Published: February 2014

Theories of social interaction (i.e., common coding theory) suggest that visual information about the interaction partner is critical for successful interpersonal action coordination. Seeing the interaction partner allows an observer to understand and predict the interaction partner's behavior. However, it is unknown which of the many sources of visual information about an interaction partner (e.g., body, end effectors, and/or interaction objects) are used for action understanding and thus for the control of movements in response to observed actions. We used a novel immersive virtual environment to investigate this further. Specifically, we asked participants to perform table tennis strokes in response to table tennis balls stroked by a virtual table tennis player. We tested the effect of the visibility of the ball, the paddle, and the body of the virtual player on task performance and movement kinematics. Task performance was measured as the minimum distance between the center of the paddle and the center of the ball (radial error). Movement kinematics was measured as variability in the paddle speed of repeatedly executed table tennis strokes (stroke speed variability). We found that radial error was reduced when the ball was visible compared to invisible. However, seeing the body and/or the racket of the virtual players only reduced radial error when the ball was invisible. There was no influence of seeing the ball on stroke speed variability. However, we found that stroke speed variability was reduced when either the body or the paddle of the virtual player was visible. Importantly, the differences in stroke speed variability were largest in the moment when the virtual player hit the ball. This suggests that seeing the virtual player's body or paddle was important for preparing the stroke response. These results demonstrate for the first time that the online control of arm movements is coupled with visual body information about an opponent.
Effect of Visuomotor Colocation on 3D Fitts' Task Performance in Physical and Virtual Environments
Authors: Fu Michael J. , Hershberger Andrew D. , Sano Kumiko , Çavuşoğlu M. Cenk
Published: February 2014

Given the ease that humans have with using a keyboard and mouse in typical, non-colocated computer interaction, many studies have investigated the value of colocating the visual field and motor workspaces using immersive display modalities. Significant understanding has been gained by previous work comparing physical tasks against virtual tasks, visuomotor colocation versus non-colocation, and even visuomotor rotational misalignments in virtual environments (VEs). However, few studies have explored all of these paradigms in context with each other, and it is difficult to perform interstudy comparisons because of the variation in tested motor tasks. Therefore, using a stereoscopic fish tank display setup, the goal for the current study was to characterize human performance of a 3D Fitts' point-to-point reaching task using a stylus-based haptic interface in the physical, colocated/non-colocated, and rotated VE visualization conditions. Five performance measures—throughput, efficiency, initial movement error, corrective movements, and peak velocity—were measured and used to evaluate task performance. These measures were studied in 22 subjects (11 male, 11 female, ages 20–32) performing a 3D variant of Fitts' serial task under 10 task conditions: physical, colocated VE, non-colocated VE, and rotated VEs from 45—315° in 45° increments. Hypotheses: All performance measures in the colocated VE were expected to reflect significantly reduced task performance over the real condition, but also reflect increased performance over the non-colocated VE condition. For rotational misalignments, all performance measures were expected to reflect the highest performance at 0°, reduce to the lowest performance at 90°, and rise again to a local maximum at 180° (symmetric about 0°). Results: All performance measures showed that the colocated VE condition resulted in significantly lower task performance than the physical condition and higher mean performance than the non-colocated VE condition, but the difference was not statistically significant. Also, rotation misalignments showed that task performance was mostly reduced to a minimum at 90°, 135°, and 225°. We conclude that colocated VEs may not significantly improve point-to-point reaching performance over non-colocated VEs. Also, visual rotations of ±45° affected throughput, efficiency, peak velocity, and initial movement error, but the number of corrective movements were not affected until ± 90°.
Predictors of Smoking Craving During Virtual Reality Exposure
Authors: Ferrer-García Marta , García-Rodríguez Olaya , Pericot-Valverde Irene , Yoon Jin H. , Secades-Villa Roberto , Gutiérrez-Maldonado José
Published: February 2014

Cue exposure treatment (CET) consists of controlled and repeated exposure to drug-related stimuli in order to reduce cue-reactivity. Virtual reality (VR) has proved to be a promising tool for exposition. However, identifying the variables that can modulate the efficacy of this technique is essential for selecting the most appropriate exposure modality. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between several individual variables and self-reported craving in smokers exposed to VR environments. Forty-six smokers were exposed to seven complex virtual environments that reproduce typical situations in which people smoke. Self-reported craving was selected as the criterion variable and three types of variables were selected as the predictor variables: related to nicotine dependence, related to anxiety and impulsivity, and related to the sense of presence in the virtual environments. Sense of presence was the only predictor of self-reported craving in all the experimental virtual environments. Nicotine dependence variables added predictive power to the model only in the virtual breakfast at home. No relation was found between anxiety or impulsivity and self-reported craving. Virtual reality technology can be very helpful for improving CET for substance use disorders. However, the use of virtual environments would make sense only insofar as the sense of presence was high. Otherwise, the effectiveness of exposure might be affected.
Supporting Fine-Grained Concurrent Tasks and Personal Workspaces for a Hybrid Concurrency Control Mechanism in a Networked Virtual Environment
Authors: Lee Jun , Lim Mingyu , Kim HyungSeok , Kim Jee‐In
Published: February 2014

A concurrency control mechanism for a networked virtual environment is a key element in many collaborative computer-aided design applications. However, conventional object-based locking mechanisms restrict the behaviors of nonowners, and an attribute-based locking mechanism may produce another problem called task-surprise, which disturbs users' collaboration. In this paper, we propose a hybrid concurrency control mechanism that reduces restrictions of nonowners' behaviors and task-surprises in a networked virtual environment. The proposed method consists of two concurrency control approaches: task-based concurrency control and personal workspaces. The task-based concurrency control approach allows nonowners to do some tasks if they do not conflict with the tasks of the owner of the shared object. The personal workspaces approach provides an independent workspace where a user can manipulate copies of the shared objects. The proposed method was applied to a collaborative level design for a large-scale online game as a case study. We evaluated its performance by experiments and user studies to check acceptance and usability of the proposed method.
Haptic Communication to Support Biopsy Procedures Learning in Virtual Environments
Authors: Chellali Amine , Dumas Cedric , Milleville-Pennel Isabelle
Published: February 2014

In interventional radiology, physicians require high haptic sensitivity and fine motor skills development because of the limited real-time visual feedback of the surgical site. The transfer of this type of surgical skill to novices is a challenging issue. This paper presents a study on the design of a biopsy procedure learning system. Our methodology, based on a task-centered design approach, aims to bring out new design rules for virtual learning environments. A new collaborative haptic training paradigm is introduced to support human-haptic interaction in a virtual environment. The interaction paradigm supports haptic communication between two distant users to teach a surgical skill. In order to evaluate this paradigm, a user experiment was conducted. Sixty volunteer medical students participated in the study to assess the influence of the teaching method on their performance in a biopsy procedure task. The results show that to transfer the skills, the combination of haptic communication with verbal and visual communications improves the novices’ performance compared to conventional teaching methods. Furthermore, the results show that, depending on the teaching method, participants developed different needle insertion profiles. We conclude that our interaction paradigm facilitates expert-novice haptic communication and improves skills transfer; and new skills acquisition depends on the availability of different communication channels between experts and novices. Our findings indicate that the traditional fellowship methods in surgery should evolve to an off-patient collaborative environment that will continue to support visual and verbal communication, but also haptic communication, in order to achieve a better and more complete skills training.
Effect of Packet Loss on Collaborative Haptic Interactions in Networked Virtual Environments: An Experimental Study
Authors: Qin Jing , Choi Kup-Sze , Xu Renheng , Pang Wai-Man , Heng Pheng-Ann
Published: February 2014

It has been widely demonstrated that haptic interaction can enrich the sense of copresence of distributed users and improve their performance in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs). However, the influence of network traffic on haptic collaboration, particularly packet loss in haptic data streams, is still largely unknown. In order to investigate this effect, we designed and conducted a series of experiments on a simulated lossy network. First, a single-user interactive task was designed to estimate the just- noticeable packet loss threshold in terms of the length of burst loss (LBL). Second, a CVE was developed in which two users are required to work together on a goal-directed task through haptic collaboration. Experiments were performed to evaluate the users' task performance at different packet loss rates and their perception using subjective measurements. Finally, the effect of packet loss combined with network latency was investigated. The findings are: (1) the threshold LBL value for haptic discontinuity to become noticeable is 60.18 ms; (2) haptic collaboration performance is sensitive to packet loss rate; and (3) while the combined effect of packet loss and communication delay adversely affects collaborative haptic interactions, the influence due to packet loss rate is dominant when the delay is below a certain threshold. These results can serve as a guiding reference for the design and development of virtual telepresence systems with rich haptic collaborations.
Collaborative Networked Virtual Surgical Simulators (CNVSS): Factors Affecting Collaborative Performance
Authors: Diaz Christian , Trefftz Helmuth , Quintero Lucia , Acosta Diego A. , Srivastava Sakti
Published: February 2014

Stand-alone and networked surgical simulators based on virtual reality have been proposed as a means to train surgeons in specific surgical skills with or without expert guidance and supervision. However, a surgical operation usually involves a group of medical practitioners who cooperate as team members. To this end, CNVSS have been proposed for the collaborative training of surgical procedures in which users with different surgical roles can take part in the training session. To be successful, these simulators should guarantee synchronicity, which requires (1) consistent viewing of the surgical scene and (2) a quick response time. These two variables are affected by factors such as users' machine capabilities and network conditions. As far as we know, the impact of these factors on the performance of CNVSS has not been evaluated. In this paper, we describe the development of CNVSS and a statistical factorial design of experiments (DOE) to determine the most important factors affecting collaboration in CNVSS. From the results obtained, it was concluded that delay, jitter, packet loss percentage, and processor speed have a major impact on collaboration in CNVSS.
“All Beneficial Knowledge is Revealed”:
Authors: Stearns Justin
Published: February 2014

The intellectual history of the Muslim world during the post-formative period is poorly understood compared to the centuries in which the initial development of the principal Islamic intellectual traditions occurred. This article examines the legal status of the natural sciences in the thought of the Moroccan scholar al-Ḥasan al-Yūsī (d. 1102/1691) and his contemporaries, both in terms of the categorization of knowledge and in terms of developments in conceptions of causality in post-formative Ashʿarī theology. In the latter respect, al-Yūsī’s writings on causality are compared to those of his contemporary in Damascus, ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Nābulusī, with attention to the broader historiographic perils in comparing intellectual developments in the Early Modern period to those occurring in Europe. By placing al-Yūsī’s views in intellectual context, I seek to demonstrate how a more productive history of the natural sciences in the post-formative Muslim world might be written.
Xiongnu “Kings” and the Political Order of the Steppe Empire
Authors: Miller Bryan K.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Descriptions of the political order of the Xiongnu empire rely heavily upon Chinese historical narratives and, as a result, often simplify steppe politics and gloss over provincial political agents. This paper therefore discusses the entire spectrum of “kings” and regional elites in the steppes in order to elucidate shifting power politics over the course of the Xiongnu empire. Furthermore, a comparison of historical dynamics with the archaeological record suggests that competition from local leaders against the ruling factions spurred changes in material regimes of the imperial political culture, leading to a bifurcation of the steppe elite and pronounced expressions of authority.
Indian Ocean Trade and Sultanic Authority: The nāẓir of Jedda and the Mamluk Political Economy
Authors: Wing Patrick
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Faced with a mounting economic crisis, the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Barsbāy (r. 1422-1438) sought new sources of revenue from the commercial economy of the Red Sea port of Jedda, which was emerging in the 15th century as a hub for maritime trade between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean. This article examines the career of the firstnāẓir, or financial supervisor, of Jedda, a Coptic secretary appointed by Sultan Barsbāy. A glimpse at his career sheds light on strategies employed by the Mamluk sultan to align his household bureaucracy with the business of trade at Jedda and the interests of influential merchant networks, as well as the limitations of such strategies.
Fueling the Boom: Coal as the Primary Source of Energy for Processing Zinc in China and Comparison with Europe, ca. 1720-1820
Authors: Chen Hailian
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Stemming from an examination of the zinc industry in early modern China, this article centers on a detailed survey of coal, the primary source of energy for processing zinc. On the basis of Qing archival documents, this article investigates the previously unknown spatial relationship of zinc ore deposits, coal mines, and zinc smelters; provides quantitative evidence of coal use by estimating the annual consumption of coal in processing zinc; offers a new perspective on the general use of coal in Qing China; and compares the coal-fuel efficiency problem in early European and Chinese zinc production.
Travel, Liquidity and Order in Malaysian Modernity
Authors: Lee Raymond L. M.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

The transition from solid to liquid modernity has led Bauman to suggest that nowadays people have come to be like tourists living from one moment to another. Addressing this behavior as the tourist syndrome, he proposes to treat the contemporary meaning of social interaction as inseparable from the consumption of sensations and looseness of ties. This is most apparent in the case of leisure travel where the organization of escapism is premised on the excitement of rapidly changing scenery and absence of belonging. In these scenarios of impermanence, order and regularity are overshadowed by the impulse for disengagement, flexibility and transience. Yet the fluidity of travel is not simply a metaphor for the fading of structured expectations, ordered modalities and patterned perceptions. Many people exposed to the asperity of being on the road do not want to be alienated from the familiar and the predictable. A description of Malaysian travellers on packaged tours suggests that their attraction to the liquid sensationalism of distant travels does not necessarily rule out the predilection for order and habitual attachments. As an aspect of Malaysian modernity, the popularity of packaged tourism reflects the attraction of the affluent middle class to the promotion of liquid leisure in planned travels that do not deny them their sense of order.
Sailing-Trading Livelihoods in Southeastern Indonesia: Adapting to Change
Authors: Carnegie Michelle
Published: February 2014

Abstract

Sailing-trading livelihoods in southeastern Indonesia have undergone significant change during the later half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. This study identifies how geopolitical, economic, legal and technological drivers of change shape sailing-trading livelihoods. Using an integrated approach, it shows how these macro-level drivers articulate with sailor-traders’ individual and group-based responses at the local level. The findings highlight that over the study period, small-scale inter-island trading within Indonesia’s borders became increasingly competitive and monopolised. In response, sailor-traders strategically adopted new opportunities that involve international border crossings, including to Australia to harvest sea cucumber, transport asylum seekers and undertake work while serving prison terms. The concluding remarks are that while aspects of contemporary sailing-trading livelihoods are temporal and unsustainable, the overall ebb and flow of livelihoods reflects a broader pattern of adaptive responses amidst ongoing change.
Painting Naked Truth: The Colóquios of Garcia da Orta (1563)
Authors: Pimentel Juan , Soler Isabel
Published: February 2014

Abstract

This article aims to reassess the figure of Garcia da Orta and his work, Colóquios dos simples e drogas da Índia (Goa, 1563), a dialogue between Oriental and Western knowledge, by addressing aspects of the author’s origins and education in the Iberian Peninsula. As a member of the Jewish community and the son of refugees, Garcia da Orta was accustomed to frontiers. He was a traveling convert particularly well-prepared for cultural interchange and mediation. As a physician trained in the Humanist universities of Salamanca and Alcalá de Henares he was familiar with philological projects based on translation and transculturalism. We thus present the Colóquios as a polyglot materia medica (by analogy with the Polyglot Bible), and his motto painting naked truth as the vindication of an experience which can only be gained away from the center on the periphery.
Malebranche’s Neoplatonic Semantic Theory
Authors: Martin John N.
Published: February 2014

Abstract

This paper argues that Malebranche’s semantics sheds light on his metaphysics and epistemology, and is of interest in its own right. By recasting issues linguistically, it shows that Malebranche assumes a Neoplatonic semantic structure within Descartes’ dualism and Augustine’s theory of illumination, and employs linguistic devices from the Neoplatonic tradition. Viewed semantically, mental states of illumination stand to God and his ideas as predicates stand in Neoplatonic semantics to ideas ordered by a privative relation on “being.” The framework sheds light on interpretive puzzles in Malebranche studies such as the way ideas reside in God’s mind, the notion of resemblance by which bodies imitate their exemplar causes, and the issue of direct vs. indirect perception through a mechanism by which agents can see bodies by “seeing” ideas. Malebranche’s semantics is of interest in its own right because it gives a full (if implausible) account of the mediating relations that determine indirect reference; lays out a correspondence theory of truth for necessary judgments; defines contingent truth as based on an indirect reference relation that is both descriptive and causal but that does not appeal to body-mind causation; and within his theory of perception, works out an account of singular reference in which singular terms carry existential import, refer indirectly via causal relations, but describe their referents only in a general way.
An updated classification for Apocynaceae
Authors: Endress Mary E. , LIEDE-SCHUMANN SIGRID , MEVE ULRICH
Published: February 2014

An updated suprageneric classification is provided for Apocynaceae to bring the family into better agreement with recent morphological and molecular, mainly phylogenetic-based, results. A total of 366 genera are recognized and placed within five subfamilies, 25 tribes and 49 subtribes. In Apocynaceae s. str., one new tribe (Amsonieae) and two new subtribes (Tonduziinae and Vincinae) are described in Rauvolfioideae, and one new tribe (Rhabdadenieae) and nine new subtribes (Amphineuriinae, Beaumontiinae, Chonemorphinae, Galactophorinae, Papuechitinae, Peltastinae, Pentalinoninae, Prestoniinae and Urceolinae) are described or validated in Apocynoideae. Within Asclepiadoideae, one new tribe (Eustegieae) and three subtribes (Diplolepinae, Pentacyphinae and Tassadiinae) are described or validated.
Taxonomic revision of the Malagasy endemic and enigmatic Euphorbia section Pachysanthae (Euphorbiaceae)
Authors: Aubriot Xavier , Lowry II Porter P. , Haevermans Thomas
Published: February 2014

Among the more than 170 species of Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae, Malpighiales) that occur in Madagascar, some remain poorly known and dramatically under-collected, and are based on vague and incomplete descriptions. As part of an ongoing study of the genus in Madagascar, a revision is presented of E. section Pachysanthae, which comprises six species endemic to this island that show clear morphological affinities to one another. Expanded descriptions are provided for the four species already named, and the two others are described as new (Euphorbia haevermansii and Euphorbia nusbaumeri), both from the Daraina region in north-eastern Madagascar. An identification key is provided to the species, which are characterized by having developed leaves, unarmed twigs (unlike most of Malagasy Euphorbia), leafy deciduous cyathophylls, and ecarunculate seeds. Members of the section differ from one another in their geographical distribution, habit, and the shape and the size of their leaves, glands, cyathia and cyathophylls, as well as the size, surface and number of locules of the fruits. The morphological affinities of these six species are discussed and preliminary conservation assessments are provided.
Two new combinations in Brazilian Dendropanax (Araliaceae)
Authors: FIASCHI PEDRO , FRODIN DAVID G.
Published: February 2014

New combinations and lectotypes are here proposed for two Brazilian species of Dendropanax (Araliaceae): Dendropanax simplicifolius for Didymopanax simplicifolius from northern Mato Grosso Amazonian forests, and Dendropanax pruinosus for Gilibertia pruinosa, known only from gallery forests in the Chapada dos Veadeiros region. Both of these species are very poorly known and more collections will be required to achieve a better understanding of their morphological variability and circumscription.
A new felt scale genus Macroporicoccus gen. n. (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Eriococcidae) from China, with a redescription of Macroporicoccus ulmi (Tang & Hao) comb. n.
Authors: NAN NAN , DENG JUN , WU SAN’AN
Published: February 2014

The Chinese species Cryptococcus ulmi Tang & Hao is found to be distantly related to other sampled Cryptococcus species based on both molecular and morphological study. A new felt scale genus, Macroporicoccus Nan & Wu gen. n., is erected therefore for C. ulmi. The new genus differs from other eriococcid genera due to the presence of large simple pores, here referred to as macrodisc pores. The adult female of Macroporicoccus ulmi (Tang & Hao) comb. n. is redescribed and illustrated. Some important taxonomic characters are illustrated with SEM photographs.
An annotated checklist of centipedes (Chilopoda) of Vietnam
Authors: TRAN BINH T.T. , LE SON X. , NGUYEN ANH D.
Published: February 2014

The centipede fauna of Vietnam is reviewed from the literature. A total of 71 species in 26 genera, 13 families in four orders, Scolopendromorpha, Geophilomorpha, Lithobiomorpha and Scutigeromorpha, has been recorded from Vietnam. Four genera, Tonkinodentus, Alluropus, Anopsobiella and Megalacrus, are monotypic; and twenty-two species and subspecies are known only from Vietnam. Distribution data for each species is provided here to promote further studies on the centipede fauna of Vietnam.
A remarkable new crab-like hermit crab (Decapoda: Paguridae) from French Polynesia, with comments on carcinization in the Anomura
Authors: ANKER ARTHUR , PAULAY GUSTAV
Published: February 2014

Patagurus rex gen. et sp. nov., a deep-water pagurid hermit crab, is described and illustrated based on a single specimen dredged from 400 m off Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia. Patagurus is characterized by a subtriangular, vaulted, calcified carapace, with large, wing-like lateral processes, and is closely related to two other atypical pagurid genera, Porcellanopagurus Filhol, 1885 and Solitariopagurus Türkay, 1986. The broad, fully calcified carapace, calcified branchiostegites, as well as broad and rigidly articulated thoracic sternites make this remarkable animal one of the most crab-like hermit crabs. Patagurus rex carries small bivalve shells to protect its greatly reduced pleon. Carcinization pathways among asymmetrical hermit crabs and other anomurans are briefly reviewed and discussed.
A new species of Siphonoecetes Krøyer, 1845 Siphonoecetes (Centraloecetes) bulborostrum sp. nov. (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Ischyroceridae) from the western Mediterranean, coast of Iberian Peninsula
Authors: De-la-Ossa-Carretero Jose Antonio , Martí Amparo
Published: February 2014

An undescribed species of Siphonoecetes Krøyer, 1845 was found on Mediterranean coast of Iberian Peninsula. It was collected at the depth of 10 and 15 m near Alicante. Though it was previously found in Chafarinas Islands, this new species was not named and fully described. In the present paper, Siphonoecetes (Centraloecetes) bulborostrum sp. nov. is described. The species belongs to Centroloecetes subgenus, since it possesses bulbous ventroapical projection on peduncle of uropod 1 in males and a row of long pectinate setae on distal margin of peduncle of uropod 3. Siphonoecetes (Centraloecetes) bulborostrum sp. nov. (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Ischyroceridae) is easily distinguishable from the other Siphonoecetes reported in Iberian Mediterranean coast by presence of bulbous subrostral projection.
A new species of Sangeeta Viraktamath from China (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Megophthalminae)
Authors: ZHANG BIN
Published: February 2014

The Oriental leafhopper genus Sangeeta, which belongs to the tribe Agalliini, was erected by Viraktamath (2011) with eight new species from Southeast Asia, of which two are from Vietnam, two from Indonesia, three from Malaysia and one from Laos. Members of the genus can be recognized by the following combination of characters: vertex distinctly short medially in dorsal view, face long and narrow with fine transverse dorsal striations, ocelli closer to each other than to adjacent eyes or as close to each other as to adjacent eye, subgenital plates with large and stout setae on ventral surface, dorsal apodeme of aedeagus well developed, aedeagal shaft apically flattened, hoodlike, with or without laterally laminated processes, gonopore subapical.
Wave Forcing of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model
Authors: Krismer Thomas R. , Giorgetta Marco A.
Published: February 2014

This study investigates the resolved wave forcing of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model truncated at T63 with 95 vertical levels. The model, which parameterizes unresolved gravity waves, internally generates a QBO. The resolved waves contribute up to 50% and 30% to the total wave forcing (resolved plus parameterized) of the QBO westerly and easterly jet, respectively, mostly owing to waves with zonal wavenumbers lower than 20 and frequencies lower than 0.5 cpd. At higher frequencies and wavenumbers, the model underestimates the strength of the tropospheric wave sources when compared to Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations and applies strong horizontal diffusion, which explains the shortage of wave momentum at these scales (relative to recent studies based on high-resolution models). The study further relates the vertical structure of equatorial Kelvin waves, which contribute most to the transport and deposition of westerly wave momentum, to their radiative dissipation and compares the role of longwave radiation and horizontal diffusion in the dissipation of the resolved waves in general. The Kelvin waves adjust their vertical wavelength according to their intrinsic phase speed and are efficiently damped by longwave radiation within westerly flow, where the vertical wavelength strongly decreases. Waves with zonal wavenumbers larger than 10, however, are mostly damped by horizontal diffusion. The latitudinal distribution of the resolved wave forcing reflects the latitudinal structure of the waves and is asymmetric with respect to the equator.
Ensemble-Based Parameter Estimation in a Coupled GCM Using the Adaptive Spatial Average Method*
Authors: Liu Y. , Liu Z. , Zhang S. , Rong X. , Jacob R. , Wu S. , Lu F.
Published: February 2014

Ensemble-based parameter estimation for a climate model is emerging as an important topic in climate research. For a complex system such as a coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model, the sensitivity and response of a model variable to a model parameter could vary spatially and temporally. Here, an adaptive spatial average (ASA) algorithm is proposed to increase the efficiency of parameter estimation. Refined from a previous spatial average method, the ASA uses the ensemble spread as the criterion for selecting “good” values from the spatially varying posterior estimated parameter values; these good values are then averaged to give the final global uniform posterior parameter. In comparison with existing methods, the ASA parameter estimation has a superior performance: faster convergence and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio.
The Impact of Subtidal Circulation on Internal Tide Generation and Propagation in the Philippine Sea
Authors: Kerry Colette G. , Powell Brian S. , Carter Glenn S.
Published: February 2014

This study examines the effects of the subtidal circulation on the generation and propagation of the M2 internal tide in the Philippine Sea using a primitive equation model. Barotropic to baroclinic conversion at the Luzon Strait is found to vary due to the background circulation changes over the generation site and the changing influence of remotely generated internal tides from the Mariana Arc. The varying effect of remotely generated waves results from both changing generation energy levels at the Mariana Arc and variability in the propagation of the internal tides across the Philippine Sea. The magnitude and direction of the depth-integrated baroclinic energy fluxes vary temporally, due to a combination of changing generation, propagation, and dissipation. Spatial patterns of internal tide propagation near the Luzon Strait are influenced by the locations of mesoscale eddies to the east and west of the strait. The results provide insight into the mechanisms of variability of the baroclinic tides and highlight the importance of considering both the remotely generated internal tides and the subtidal dynamics to estimate internal tide energetics.
The Fate of North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water in the FLAME Model
Authors: Gary S. F. , Lozier M. S. , Kwon Y.-O. , Park J. J.
Published: February 2014

North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water, also known as Eighteen Degree Water (EDW), has the potential to store heat anomalies through its seasonal cycle: the water mass is in contact with the atmosphere in winter, isolated from the surface for the rest of the year, and reexposed the following winter. Though there has been recent progress in understanding EDW formation processes, an understanding of the fate of EDW following formation remains nascent. Here, particles are launched within the EDW of an eddy-resolving model, and their fate is tracked as they move away from the formation region. Particles in EDW have an average residence time of ~10 months, they follow the large-scale circulation around the subtropical gyre, and stratification is the dominant criteria governing the exit of particles from EDW. After sinking into the layers beneath EDW, particles are eventually exported to the subpolar gyre. The spreading of particles is consistent with the large-scale potential vorticity field, and there are signs of a possible eddy-driven mean flow in the southern portion of the EDW domain. The authors also show that property anomalies along particle trajectories have an average integral time scale of ~3 months for particles that are in EDW and ~2 months for particles out of EDW. Finally, it is shown that the EDW turnover time for the model in an Eulerian frame (~3 yr) is consistent with the turnover time computed from the Lagrangian particles provided that the effects of exchange between EDW and the surrounding waters are included.
Sensitivity Analysis of the VVP Wind Retrieval Method for Single-Doppler Weather Radars
Authors: Shenghui Zhou , Ming Wei , Lijun Wang , Chang Zhao , Mingxu Zhang
Published: February 2014

The sensitivity of the ill-conditioned coefficient matrix (CM) and the size of the analysis volume on the retrieval accuracy in the volume velocity processing (VVP) method are analyzed. By estimating the upper limit of the retrieval error and analyzing the effects of neglected parameters on retrieval accuracy, the simplified wind model is found to decrease the difficulty in solving and stabilizing the retrieval results, even though model errors would be induced by neglecting partial parameters. Strong linear correlation among CM vectors would cause an ill-conditioned matrix when more parameters are selected. By using exact coordinate data and changing the size of the analysis volume, the variation of the condition number indicates that a large volume size decreases the condition number, and the decrease caused by increasing the number of volume gates is larger than that caused by increasing the sector width. Using the spread of errors in the solution, a demonstration using mathematical deduction is provided to explain how a large analysis volume can improve retrieval accuracy. A test with a uniform wind field is used to demonstrate these conclusions.
Sensitivity of Tropical Cyclone Simulations to Parametric Uncertainties in Air–Sea Fluxes and Implications for Parameter Estimation
Authors: Green Benjamin W. , Zhang Fuqing
Published: February 2014

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are strongly influenced by fluxes of momentum and moist enthalpy across the air–sea interface. These fluxes cannot be resolved explicitly by current-generation numerical weather prediction models, and therefore must be accounted for via empirical parameterizations of surface exchange coefficients (CD for momentum and Ck for moist enthalpy). The resultant model uncertainty is examined through hundreds of convection-permitting Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulations of Hurricane Katrina (2005) by varying four key parameters found in commonly used parameterizations of the exchange coefficient formulas. Two of these parameters effectively act as multiplicative factors for the exchange coefficients over all wind speeds (one each for CD and Ck); the other two parameters control the behavior of CD at very high wind speeds (i.e., above 33 m s−1). It is found that both the intensity and the structure of TCs are highly dependent upon the two multiplicative parameters. The multiplicative parameter for CD has a considerably larger impact than the one for Ck on the relationship between maximum 10-m wind speed and minimum sea level pressure: CD alters TC structure, with higher values shifting the radius of maximum winds inward and strengthening the low-level inflow; Ck only affects structure by uniformly strengthening/weakening the primary and secondary circulations. The TC exhibits the greatest sensitivities to the two multiplicative parameters after a few hours of model integration, suggesting that these parameters could be estimated by assimilating near-surface observations. The other two parameters are likely more difficult to estimate because the TC is only marginally sensitive to them in small areas of high wind speed.
An Electrical and Polarimetric Analysis of the Overland Reintensification of Tropical Storm Erin (2007)
Authors: Griffin Erica M. , Schuur Terry J. , MacGorman Donald R. , Kumjian Matthew R. , Fierro Alexandre O.
Published: February 2014

While passing over central Oklahoma on 18–19 August 2007, the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin unexpectedly reintensified and developed an eyelike feature that was clearly discernable in Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) imagery. During this brief reintensification period, Erin traversed a region of dense surface and remote sensing observation networks that provided abundant data of high spatial and temporal resolution. This study analyzes data from the polarimetric KOUN S-band radar, total lightning data from the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array, and ground-flash lightning data from the National Lightning Detection Network.

Erin’s reintensification was atypical since it occurred well inland and was accompanied by stronger maximum sustained winds and gusts (25 and 37 m s−1, respectively) and lower minimum sea level pressure (1001.3 hPa) than while over water. Radar observations reveal several similarities to those documented in mature tropical cyclones over open water, including outward-sloping eyewall convection, near 0-dBZ reflectivities within the eye, and relatively large updraft velocities in the eyewall as inferred from single-Doppler winds and ZDR columns.

Deep, electrified convection near the center of circulation preceded the formation of Erin’s eye, with maximum lightning activity occurring prior to and during reintensification. The results show that inner-core convection may have played a role in the reinvigoration of the storm.
Gender Identification and Young Voters
Authors: Winfrey Kelly L. , Warner Benjamin R. , Banwart Mary C.
Published: February 2014

The 2012 election was marked by discussions of women’s issues from abortion to equal pay, and both presidential candidates employed strategies designed to win female voters. Since women vote in larger numbers than men and are more likely to be swing voters, it was imperative that the candidates win support among women. This study draws from group identification theories to better understand the process of gender socialization that influences young women’s perceptions of candidates and the effect of targeted advertising. The findings of this study build upon existing group identification theory and suggest the need for more nuanced theories of female voters that take into consideration identification with one’s gender group as well as beliefs about women’s roles in society. Specifically, this study found that strong gender group identification was associated with higher favorability ratings of Obama. Women holding more egalitarian gender role beliefs were also more likely to rate Obama favorably. Gender group identification did not influence ratings of Romney, but women with more traditional gender role beliefs rated Romney more favorably. No direct support was found for an effect of targeted political advertising in this study, however, we argue that additional research is needed in this area.
Using Developmental Science to Reorient Our Thinking About Criminal Offending in Adolescence
Authors: Mulvey Edward P.
Published: February 2014

The concept of adolescent development has become a relevant consideration for researchers interested in juvenile delinquency. However, the integration of constructs from developmental psychology into delinquency research is still in its early stages. This article argues that it is time to move beyond description of adolescent antisocial activities and to integrate developmental activities into delinquency research as mediators or moderators. Relevant examples of such an approach are presented.
Language Familiarity, Expectation, and Novice Musical Rhythm Production
Authors: Neuhoff John G , Lidji Pascale
Published: February 2014

The music of expert musicians reflects the speech rhythm of their native language. Here, we examine this effect in amateur and novice musicians. English- and French-speaking participants were both instructed to produce simple “English” and “French” tunes using only two keys on a keyboard. All participants later rated the rhythmic variability of English and French speech samples. The rhythmic variability of the “English” and “French” tunes that were produced reflected the perceived rhythmic variability in English and French speech samples. Yet, the pattern was different for English and French participants and did not correspond to the actual measured speech rhythm variability of the speech samples. Surprise recognition tests two weeks later confirmed that the music–speech relationship remained over time. The results show that the relationship between music and speech rhythm is more widespread than previously thought and that musical rhythm production by amateurs and novices is concordant with their rhythmic expectations in the perception of speech.
The criminal transmission of HIV: Issues with condom use and viral load
Authors: Hughes David
Published: February 2014

This article considers two issues in relation to the criminal transmission of HIV. Currently, the use of condoms, and a defendant’s viral load, has not been an issue that has been raised in the courts. The article considers how the defence, prosecution and judge may deal with such evidential issues. It will discuss how an expert opinion may be utilised or discredited by counsel for the defendant and counsel for the prosecution. The article will consider how the defence can demonstrate that the defendant was not reckless and how the prosecution can establish that the defendant was actually reckless. It will also assess how the judge, in trial, may address condom use and the level of the defendant’s viral load when directing the jury. Finally, it is argued that it is in the public interest to allow condom use and viral loads to be used to negate recklessness.