bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Triglycerides and total serum cholesterol in rotator cuff tears: do they matter?
Authors: Longo U G , Franceschi F , Spiezia F , Forriol F , Maffulli N , Denaro V 
Published: April 2009

ObjectiveIn this study, the serum triglycerides and total serum cholesterol levels in patients with rotator cuff tear were determined.DesignFrequency-matched case-control study.SettingUniversity teaching hospital.Participants240 individuals who were operated on at our institution were included in the study. 120 patients (45 men and 75 women; mean age 64.86 years, range 40 to 83 years) who underwent arthroscopic repair of a rotator cuff tear were included in group 1. 120 patients (45 men and 75 women; mean age 63.91 years, range 38 to 78 years) who underwent arthroscopic meniscectomy for a meniscal tear and had no evidence of shoulder pathology were included in group 2 (control group). These patients were frequency-matched by age (within 3 years) and sex with patients of group 1.Main outcome measuresMeasurement of serum triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations.ResultsWhen comparing the two groups, there was no difference either in serum triglyceride concentration or total serum cholesterol concentration.ConclusionsThere appears to be no association between serum triglyceride concentration and total serum cholesterol concentration in rotator cuff tears.
Contemplative Practice and Textual Agency in Advaita Vedānta
Authors: Dalal Neil 
Published: April 2009

AbstractAdvaita Vedāntins consider contemplative practice (nididhyāsana) as one of the primary practices for gaining self-knowledge and liberation. However, the nature of contemplative practice is both ambiguous and contested. How do Advaita Vedānta practitioners actually engage this contemplative process? What are the relationships between contemplative practice, scriptural study, and liberating experience? This paper explores the nature of contemplative practice based on fieldwork with contemporary Advaita Vedānta monks from the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.
How Does One Study a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”? Ethnographic Reflections on Kerala's Kūtiyāttam
Authors: Sullivan Bruce 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThis article presents issues encountered in ethnographic fieldwork in Kerala, south India, on a tradition of Sanskrit theatre called Kūtiyāttam. Key issues include recent changes in both the audience and performing troupes as Kerala's society has become more egalitarian, and reduced ritual activity by priests. Kūtiyāttam has been transformed from a devotional offering in temples to a cultural performance viewed as an art form. Ethnographic research on this tradition has contributed to international recognition and patronage. In this case, ethnographic fieldwork affects both the researchers and the subjects of their research.
On the Algorithms Used to Compute the Standard Deviation of Wind Direction
Authors: Farrugia Pierre S. , Borg James L. , Micallef Alfred 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The standard deviation of wind direction is a very important quantity in meteorology because in addition to being used to determine the dry deposition rate and the atmospheric stability class, it is also employed in the determination of the rate of horizontal diffusion, which in turn determines transport and dispersion of air pollutants. However, the computation of this quantity is rendered difficult by the fact that the horizontal wind direction is a circular variable having a discontinuity at 2π radians, beyond which the wind direction starts again from zero, thus preventing angular subtraction from being a straightforward procedure. In view of such a limitation, this work is meant to provide new mathematical expressions that simplify both the computational and analytical work involved in handling the standard deviation of wind direction. This is achieved by deriving a number of Fourier series and Taylor expansions that can represent the minimum angular distance and its powers. Using these expressions, the relation between two algorithms commonly used to determine the standard deviation of wind direction is analyzed. Furthermore, given that these trigonometric expansions effectively reduce the mathematical complexity involved when dealing with circular statistics, their potential application to solve other problems is discussed.
A Combination of Cluster Analysis and Kappa Statistic for the Evaluation of Climate Model Results
Authors: Kücken Martin , Gerstengarbe Friedrich-Wilhelm , Orlowsky Boris 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe authors present a combination of different statistical methods for the validation of climate simulation data with respect to observational data of the same spatial and temporal coverage. It is assumed that simulated data and observed data are both given as time series at locations such as grid cells or station locations. The aim of this approach is to quantify the agreement between the two spatial structures of observed and simulated data. These spatial structures consist of the spatial distributions of clusters (obtained from a cluster analysis) that contain climatologically similar locations. If the spatial distribution of clusters were identical for the observed and the simulated data, the simulation would describe the spatial structure of the observations perfectly. Differences from this ideal situation can be objectively quantified using the κ statistic. If the simulation data have shortcomings, the different κ variants can be used to diagnose where these are located. The method is demonstrated using simulation data from the Statistical Regional Model (STAR) for Germany. The combination of cluster analysis and κ statistic proves to be an excellent tool for quantifying the spatial correctness of climate models that can be extended to multimodel comparisons. It can thereby serve as a standard measure for climate model evaluation.
The Mesoscale Dynamics of Thin Tropical Tropopause Cirrus
Authors: Durran Dale R. , Dinh Tra , Ammerman Marie , Ackerman Thomas 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Thin cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) are warmed through the absorption of infrared radiation. The response of the cloud and the surrounding atmosphere to this thermal forcing is investigated through linear theory and nonlinear numerical simulation. Linear solutions for the circulations forced by a fixed heat source representative of TTL cirrus clouds show ascent in the region of the heating, accompanied by horizontal flow toward the heat source at the base of the heated layer and horizontal outflow at the top of the layer. Gravity waves propagate positive temperature perturbations well beyond the lateral edges of the heated region. Cool layers that also spread horizontally are produced immediately above and below the heated region.
Numerical simulations with a cloud-resolving model allow the radiative heating to change in response to the redistribution of the cloud by the evolving velocity field. The basic atmospheric response in the numerical simulations is nevertheless similar to that generated by the fixed heat source. In the numerical simulations, the advection of ice crystals by the radiatively forced velocity field also lofts the cloud, while horizontally spreading its top and narrowing its base. Ice crystal sedimentation is neglected in these calculations, but it appears that the radiatively induced upward vertical velocities are likely strong enough to maintain clouds consisting of very small crystals (radii less than 4 μm) against sedimentation for many hours.
Relative Roles of Land–Sea Distribution and Orography in Asian Monsoon Intensity
Authors: Xu Zhongfeng , Fu Congbin , Qian Yongfu 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe relative impacts of various land–sea distributions (LSDs) and mountains on Asian monsoon extent and intensity are assessed using a series of AGCM simulations. The air–sea coupling effects are not considered in this study. All simulations were integrated with zonal mean SST, globally uniform vegetation, soil color, and, except several simulations, soil texture. The results show that the LSD plays a more fundamental role than orography in determining the extent of Asian and African monsoons. The tropical zonal LSD and Asian mountains both play a crucial role for establishing summer monsoon convection over the South Asian region. The monsoon circulation index (MCI1) defined by the difference of zonal wind between 850 and 200 hPa is used to measure the intensity of the South Asian summer monsoon. The large-scale meridional land–sea thermal contrast between the Eurasian continent and the Indian Ocean only induces a 1.8 m s−1 increase of MCI1. The presence of the Indian subcontinent and Indochina peninsula (Asian mountains), however, induces a 6.6 (7.4) m s−1 increase of MCI1 associated with the release of latent heat of condensation. Clearly, the tropical subcontinental-scale zonal LSD and the Asian mountains almost equally contribute to the increase of MCI1 and play a more important role than the large-scale meridional LSD between the Eurasian continent and the Indian Ocean. Possible mechanisms of how the tropical subcontinental-scale zonal LSD and Asian mountains impact the Asian summer monsoon circulation and precipitation are also discussed.
Cross-Frequency Coupling, Skewness, and Blocking in the Northern Hemisphere Winter Circulation
Authors: Rennert Kevin J. , Wallace John M. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Variability in daily wintertime [December–February (DJF)] 500-hPa heights on low [L: &lt;(30 day)−1], intermediate [M: (6–30 day)−1], and high [H: &gt;(6 day)−1] frequencies is examined using 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data. Leading EOFs of L correspond to planetary-scale teleconnection patterns; those of M to retrograding, eastward-dispersing long waves oriented along great circle routes; and those of H to baroclinic waves in the climatological-mean storm tracks. In the Atlantic sector, EOF 1 of M appears to be embedded in EOF 1 of L.
Cross-frequency coupling between L and M exhibits distinctive patterns. In the Atlantic sector the negative polarity of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) with above-normal heights over Greenland is associated with enhanced M variability over Greenland. An analogous relationship is observed in the Pacific sector between an NAO-like pattern and the variance of M over Alaska. Cross-frequency coupling between L and H in both sectors is indicative of a reinforcement of the background flow by the baroclinic waves. Cross-frequency coupling between L and M is responsible for most of the skewness of the anomalies in the 500-hPa height field.
Linear wave dynamics evidently play an important role in M. Composites of high amplitude anomalies of contrasting signs over Baffin Bay exhibit similar spatial structures (apart from the sign reversal) and they exhibit a similar evolution, with westward phase propagation and downstream development characteristic of the behavior of Rossby waves. It is argued that teleconnection patterns exhibit memories much longer than the 7–10-day decorrelation time of daily indices formed by projecting unfiltered daily fields onto their spatial patterns.
Coupled Climate Simulation by Constraining Ocean Fields in a Coupled Model with Ocean Data
Authors: Fujii Yosuke , Nakaegawa Toshiyuki , Matsumoto Satoshi , Yasuda Tamaki , Yamanaka Goro , Kamachi Masafumi 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The authors developed a system for simulating climate variation by constraining the ocean component of a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (CGCM) through ocean data assimilation and conducted a climate simulation [Multivariate Ocean Variational Estimation System–Coupled Version Reanalysis (MOVE-C RA)]. The monthly variation of sea surface temperature (SST) is reasonably recovered in MOVE-C RA. Furthermore, MOVE-C RA has improved precipitation fields over the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) run (a simulation of the atmosphere model forced by observed daily SST) and the CGCM free simulation run. In particular, precipitation in the Philippine Sea in summer is improved over the AMIP run. This improvement is assumed to stem from the reproduction of the interaction between SST and precipitation, indicated by the lag of the precipitation change behind SST. Enhanced (suppressed) convection tends to induce an SST drop (rise) because of cloud cover and ocean mixing in the real world. A lack of this interaction in the AMIP run leads to overestimating the precipitation in the Bay of Bengal in summer. Because it is recovered in MOVE-C RA, the overestimate is suppressed. This intensifies the zonal Walker circulation and the monsoon trough, resulting in enhanced convection in the Philippine Sea. The spurious positive correlation between SST and precipitation around the Philippines in the AMIP run in summer is also removed in MOVE-C RA. These improvements demonstrate the effectiveness of simulating ocean interior processes with the ocean model and data assimilation for reproducing the climate variability.
Analysis of the Relationship of U.S. Droughts with SST and Soil Moisture: Distinguishing the Time Scale of Droughts
Authors: Wu Renguang , Kinter James L. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The impacts of droughts depend on how long droughts persist and the reasons why droughts extend to different time scales may be different. The present study distinguishes the time scale of droughts based on the standardized precipitation index and analyzes the relationship of boreal summer U.S. droughts with sea surface temperature (SST) and soil moisture. It is found that the roles of remote SST forcing and local soil moisture differ significantly for long-term and short-term droughts in the U.S. Great Plains and Southwest. For short-term droughts (≤3 months), simultaneous remote SST forcing plays an important role with an additional contribution from soil moisture. For medium-term and long-term droughts (≥6 months), both simultaneous and antecedent SST forcing contribute to droughts, and the soil moisture is important for the persistence of droughts through a positive feedback to precipitation. The antecedent remote SST forcing contributes to droughts through soil moisture and evaporation changes. The tropical Pacific SST is the dominant remote forcing for U.S. droughts. The most notable impacts of the tropical Pacific SST are found in the Southwest with extensions to the Great Plains. Tropical Indian Ocean SST forcing has a notable influence on medium-term and long-term U.S. droughts. The relationships between tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean SST and boreal summer U.S. droughts have undergone obvious long-term changes, especially for the Great Plains droughts.
Intraseasonal Latent Heat Flux Based on Satellite Observations
Authors: Grodsky Semyon A. , Bentamy Abderrahim , Carton James A. , Pinker Rachel T. 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
Weekly average satellite-based estimates of latent heat flux (LHTFL) are used to characterize spatial patterns and temporal variability in the intraseasonal band (periods shorter than 3 months). As expected, the major portion of intraseasonal variability of LHTFL is due to winds, but spatial variability of humidity and SST are also important. The strongest intraseasonal variability of LHTFL is observed at the midlatitudes. It weakens toward the equator, reflecting weak variance of intraseasonal winds at low latitudes. It also decreases at high latitudes, reflecting the effect of decreased SST and the related decrease of time-mean humidity difference between heights z = 10 m and z = 0 m. Within the midlatitude belts the intraseasonal variability of LHTFL is locally stronger (up to 50 W m−2) in regions of major SST fronts (like the Gulf Stream and Agulhas). Here it is forced by passing storms and is locally amplified by unstable air over warm SSTs. Although weaker in amplitude (but still significant), intraseasonal variability of LHTFL is observed in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans due to wind and humidity perturbations produced by the Madden–Julian oscillations. In this tropical region intraseasonal LHTFL and incoming solar radiation vary out of phase so that evaporation increases just below the convective clusters.
Over much of the interior ocean where the surface heat flux dominates the ocean mixed layer heat budget, intraseasonal SST cools in response to anomalously strong upward intraseasonal LHTFL. This response varies geographically, in part because of geographic variations of mixed layer depth and the resulting variations in thermal inertia. In contrast, in the eastern tropical Pacific and Atlantic cold tongue regions intraseasonal SST and LHTFL are positively correlated. This surprising result occurs because in these equatorial upwelling areas SST is controlled by advection rather than by surface fluxes. Here LHTFL responds to rather than drives SST.
Climate Response of the Equatorial Pacific to Global Warming
Authors: DiNezio Pedro N. , Clement Amy C. , Vecchi Gabriel A. , Soden Brian J. , Kirtman Benjamin P. , Lee Sang-Ki 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
The climate response of the equatorial Pacific to increased greenhouse gases is investigated using numerical experiments from 11 climate models participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report. Multimodel mean climate responses to CO2 doubling are identified and related to changes in the heat budget of the surface layer. Weaker ocean surface currents driven by a slowing down of the Walker circulation reduce ocean dynamical cooling throughout the equatorial Pacific. The combined anomalous ocean dynamical plus radiative heating from CO2 is balanced by different processes in the western and eastern basins: Cloud cover feedbacks and evaporation balance the heating over the warm pool, while increased cooling by ocean vertical heat transport balances the warming over the cold tongue. This increased cooling by vertical ocean heat transport arises from increased near-surface thermal stratification, despite a reduction in vertical velocity. The stratification response is found to be a permanent feature of the equilibrium climate potentially linked to both thermodynamical and dynamical changes within the equatorial Pacific. Briefly stated, ocean dynamical changes act to reduce (enhance) the net heating in the east (west). This explains why the models simulate enhanced equatorial warming, rather than El Niño–like warming, in response to a weaker Walker circulation. To conclude, the implications for detecting these signals in the modern observational record are discussed.
A Statistical Methodology to Discover Precipitation Microclimates in Southeast Louisiana: Implications for Coastal Watersheds*
Authors: Van Cooten Suzanne , Elmore Kimberly L. , Barbé Donald E. , McCorquodale J. Alex , Reed Denise J. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThis study quantifies the spatial distribution of precipitation patterns on an annual basis for southeast Louisiana. To compile a long-term record of 24-h rainfall, rainfall reports collected by National Weather Service (NWS) cooperative observers were gathered from National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) archives, private collections of observational data held at regional and local libraries, NWS offices, and local utility providers. The reports were placed into a digital database in which each station’s record was subjected to an extensive quality control process. This process produced a database of daily rainfall reports for 59 south Louisiana stations for the period 1836–2002, with extensive documentation for each site outlining the differences between the study’s data and the data available from the NCDC Web page. A statistical methodology was developed to determine if the four NCDC climate divisions for southeast Louisiana accurately depict average monthly rainfall for the area. This method employs cluster analysis, using Euclidean distance as the measure of dissimilarity for the clustering technique. To resolve missing rainfall observations, an imputation scheme was developed that uses the two most similar stations (based on Euclidean distance) to determine appropriate values for missing rainfall observations. Results from this testing structure show statistical evidence of precipitation microclimates across south Louisiana at higher spatial scales than those of the NCDC climate zones. Quantifying the spatial extent of daily precipitation and documenting historical trends of precipitation provides critical design information for regional infrastructure within this highly vulnerable area of the central Gulf Coast region.
Lagrangian Analysis of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in an Idealized Ocean Basin
Authors: Van Roekel Luke P. , Ito Taka , Haertel Patrick T. , Randall David A. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe Lagrangian ocean model is used as a tool to simulate the response of the basin-scale overturning circulation to spatially variable diapycnal mixing in an idealized ocean basin. The model explicitly calculates the positions, velocities, and tracer properties of water parcels. Owing to its Lagrangian formulation, numerical diffusion is completely eliminated and water parcel pathways and water mass ages can be quantified within the framework of the discrete, advective transit time distribution. To illustrate the ventilation pathways, simulated trajectories were tracked backward in time from the interior ocean to the surface mixed layer where the water parcel was last in contact with the atmosphere. This new diagnostic has been applied to examine the response of the meridional overturning circulation to highly localized diapycnal mixing through sensitivity experiments. In particular, the focus is on three simulations: the first holds vertical diffusivity uniform; in the second, the vertical diffusivity is confined within an equatorial box; and the third simulation has a diffusivity pattern based on idealized hurricane-induced mixing. Domain-integrated deep ventilation rates and heat transport are similar between the first two cases. However, locally enhanced mixing yields about 30% younger water mass age in the tropical thermocline due to intense localized upwelling. In the third simulation, a slower ventilation rate of deep waters is found to be due to the lack of abyssal mixing. These results are interpreted using the classical theories of abyssal circulation, highlighting the strong sensitivity of the ventilation pathways to the spatial distribution of diapycnal mixing.
Can a Unique Model Describe the Raindrop Shape–Size Relation? A Clue from Polarimetric Radar Measurements
Authors: Gorgucci Eugenio , Chandrasekar V. , Baldini Luca 
Published: April 2009

Abstract
A method is proposed to retrieve raindrop shape–size relations from the radar measurements of reflectivity factor Zh, differential reflectivity Zdr, and specific differential phase Kdp at S band. This procedure is obtained using a domain defined by the two variables Kdp/Zh and Zdr where the drop size distribution (DSD) variability is collapsed onto a line and any variation is essentially due to the drop shape variability. To obtain information on the raindrop shape–size relation underlying a set of radar observations, this domain is studied in conjunction with another domain describing the relation between the drop axial ratio (or shape) and its equivolumetric diameter. Using an initial drop shape and choosing a set of DSDs described by a normalized gamma model, polarimetric radar measurements are produced by simulation. An averaged curve of Kdp/Zh versus Zdr is obtained and compared with the same curve obtained from the radar data. By changing the initial axial ratio relation, a procedure of minimization between the two curves is developed to derive the underlying drop shape–size relation governing the radar measurements under consideration. Three sets of radar data collected in different climatic regions are analyzed to evaluate whether there is a unique shape–size relation.