bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Metabolic markers or conditions preceding Parkinson's disease: A case‐control study
Authors: Savica Rodolfo , Grossardt Brandon R. , Ahlskog J. Eric , Rocca Walter A. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractSeveral metabolic markers or conditions have been explored as possible risk or protective factors for Parkinson's disease (PD); however, results remain conflicting. We further investigated these associations using a case–control study design. We used the medical records–linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify 196 subjects who developed PD in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1976 through 1995. Each incident case was matched by age (±1 year) and sex to a general population control. We reviewed the complete medical records of cases and controls in the medical records–linkage system to abstract information about body mass index (BMI), cholesterol level, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus preceding the onset of PD (or the index year). There were no significant differences between cases and controls for the metabolic markers or conditions investigated. No significant associations were found using 2 cutoffs for BMI level (BMI ≥ 25 or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and 3 cutoffs for cholesterol levels (>200, >250, or >300 mg/dL). Neither a diagnosis of hypertension or the documented use of antihypertensive medications was significantly associated with the subsequent risk of PD (odds ratio [OR], 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65–1.54; P = .99) nor was a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or the use of glucose‐lowering medications (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.37–1.57; P = .47). Our study, based on historical information from a records‐linkage system, does not support an association between BMI, cholesterol level, hypertension, or diabetes mellitus with later development of PD. © 2012 Movement Disorder Society
Clinical severity of Huntington's disease does not always correlate with neuropathologic stage
Authors: Pillai Jagan A. , Hansen Lawrence A. , Masliah Eliezer , Goldstein Jody L. , Edland Steven D. , Corey‐Bloom Jody 
Published: June 2012

AbstractHuntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by a triplet‐repeat, CAG expansion mutation. Although CAG repeat length is thought to correlate with pathologic burden and disease severity, considerable variability in clinical phenotype remains. This study examined whether neuropathologic burden at autopsy corresponded with severity of clinical phenotype in HD. The brains of 24 patients with a clinical and genetic diagnosis of HD were analyzed at autopsy. Subjects were stratified on the basis of Vonsattel staging as mild/moderate (stage 1–2; n = 7) or severe (stage 3–4; n = 17). Clinical severity was assessed on the basis of the Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE; 0–30) and two Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) functional components: the Independence Scale (10–100) and the Total Functional Capacity (0–13). Mild/moderate subjects were significantly older, had lower CAG repeat lengths, and greater fixed brain weights than those classified as severe. Patients who were pathologically classified as severe at autopsy were, on average, younger at age of onset and death and less well educated. Despite obvious clinical and pathological differences between mild‐moderate and severe HD subjects at autopsy, mean MMSE scores of the two groups before death were surprisingly similar. Correlations between Vonsattel stage and functional assessment scores before death were low and not statistically significant. Our results suggest that the extent of striatal changes in HD may not always correlate with clinical disease severity as measured by UHDRS functional scales. © 2012 Movement Disorder Society
The Asian summer monsoon response to the La Niña event of 2010
Authors: Mujumdar Milind , Preethi B. , Sabin T. P. , Ashok Karumuri , Saeed Sajjad , Pai D. S. , Krishnan R. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe 2010 summer monsoon was marked by a series of flood events over Pakistan and Northwest India and an intriguing aspect during this season was the strong westward shift of West Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) by nearly 15° longitude relative to the climatology. This period also witnessed the evolution of an intense La Niña in the Pacific Ocean. La Niña episodes are generally characterized by wetter‐than‐normal monsoons over South Asia, although the situation was rather different in 2010. Large areas covering east‐central India, the Bay of Bengal and extending eastward into the South China Sea and the Philippines received deficit monsoon rains during 2010, while rainfall activity was enhanced mostly over northern India and adjoining northwest Pakistan. By conducting a detailed diagnostic analysis of observed and reanalysis datasets, it is found that the anomalous westward shift of the WPSH and suppression of convection around the Bay of Bengal region were crucial in sustaining the rainfall activity over northwest India and Pakistan during 2010. The results suggest that the westward shift of the WPSH favoured the setting up of an anomalous trough extending over the sub‐tropical areas near India and Pakistan, so that the anomalous transport of moisture from the Arabian Sea sustained the local rainfall activity. An analysis of SST records during the last 60+ years, shows a long‐term background La Niña‐like warming trend in the tropical Pacific. Based on the present results, it is suggested that generation of La Niña events in the backdrop of the SST warming trend have significant potential in influencing the rainfall activity over the South Asian monsoon‐trough region. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Northeast monsoon over India: variability and prediction
Authors: Rajeevan M. , Unnikrishnan C. K. , Bhate Jyoti , Niranjan Kumar K. , Sreekala P. P. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractSouth peninsular India experiences a large portion of the annual rainfall during the northeast monsoon season (October to December). In this study, the facets of diurnal, intra‐seasonal and inter‐annual variability of the northeast monsoon rainfall (the NEMR) over India have been examined. The analysis of satellite derived hourly rainfall reveals that there are distinct features of diurnal variation over the land and oceans during the season. Over the land, rainfall peaks during the late afternoon/evening, while over the oceans an early morning peak is observed. The harmonic analysis of hourly data reveals that the amplitude and variance are the largest over south peninsular India. The NEMR also exhibits significant intra‐seasonal variability on a 20–40 day time scale. Analysis also shows significant northward propagation of the maximum cloud zone from south of equator to the south peninsula during the season. The NEMR exhibits large inter‐annual variability with the co‐efficient of variation (CV) of 25%. The positive phases of ENSO and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are conducive for normal to above normal rainfall activity during the northeast monsoon. There are multi‐decadal variations in the statistical relationship between ENSO and the NEMR. During the period 2001–2010 the statistical relationship between ENSO and the NEMR has significantly weakened. The analysis of seasonal rainfall hindcasts for the period 1960–2005 produced by the state‐of‐the‐art coupled climate models, ENSEMBLES, reveals that the coupled models have very poor skill in predicting the inter‐annual variability of the NEMR. This is mainly due to the inability of the ENSEMBLES models to simulate the positive relationship between ENSO and the NEMR correctly. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Climate diagnostics of three major drought events in the Amazon and illustrations of their seasonal precipitation predictions
Authors: Coelho Caio A. S. , Cavalcanti Iracema A. F. , Costa Simone M. S. , Freitas Saulo R. , Ito Ester R. , Luz Giovana , Santos Ariane F. , Nobre Carlos A. , Marengo José A. , Pezza Alexandre B. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe Amazon has a well‐defined wet austral summer monsoon and dry winter monsoon precipitation regime and experienced a sequence of drought events in the last 13 years. This study performs a comparative assessment of observed and predicted climate conditions during the three most recent drought events in the Amazon, in 1997–1998, 2004–2005 and 2009–2010, with emphasis on how these events affected the regional monsoon‐like precipitation regime. A century long Negro River level time series at Manaus is investigated, applying extreme values theory for estimating return periods of these major drought events. Possible teleconnections of river levels at Manaus and sea surface temperature at remote regions are explored. Large scale oceanic and atmospheric conditions are investigated to highlight the mechanisms associated with the observed drought conditions, particularly during the dry monsoon season. Satellite estimates are used for diagnosing biomass burning aerosol and discuss possible contributions to the observed precipitation deficits in the 2005 and 2010 drought events during the dry monsoon season. The study is concluded with an analysis of the performance of seasonal precipitation predictions for the dry monsoon seasons of July to September 1998, 2005 and 2010 produced with the operational seasonal prediction system used at the Center for Weather Forecasts and Climate Studies (CPTEC) of the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This system was capable of producing 1 month in advance drought warning for the three investigated events, relevant for helping the government and local population make decisions for reducing drought impacts in the Amazon region. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Application of wind profiler data to rainstorm analyses in Aksu, Xinjiang
Authors: Minzhong Wang , Wenshou Wei , Qing He , Lianmei Yang , He Qin , Yunhui Zhang 
Published: June 2012

ABSTRACTThe Urumqi Institute of Desert Meteorology of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) launched an atmospheric experiment on rainstorm weather with a wind profiler from 10 July to 10 August 2010 in Aksu, Xinjiang. This paper presents some outcomes of the analyses on the wind field characteristics of a rainstorm process that happened on 28–29 July 2010 in Aksu, using the wind profiler data collected from the experiment, and addresses some additional scientific issues. Findings show that because of their high temporal and vertical resolutions, the wind profiler data can be used to analyse the detailed vertical structure of rainstorm processes. In this case, before the occurrence of the rainstorm, a horizontal wind shear appeared in the lower atmosphere, which was the precursor of the weather system's arrival. When a southwesterly wind appeared in the 3000 m layer it presaged the invasion of an upper trough over Aksu. During the event, there were three airflows from different directions in the upper, mid and lower atmosphere, and a mesoscale wind shear line at the lower level, which apparently increased the atmospheric instability and updraft convergence. The temperature advections derived from the wind profiler data can represent the major characteristics of thermodynamic evolution in the lower atmosphere during a rainstorm process, based on which the variation of hydrostatic atmospheric instability can be judged. It was also found that during the rainstorm process the lower atmosphere was mostly subjected to warm advection which had accumulated enough energy to create atmospheric instability, a favourable condition for creating updrafts and rainfall. The ‘large‐value zone’ of the reflectivity factor Z was virtually consistent with the onset and end of the rainstorm, formation height of rain droplets, and rainfall intensity. The reflectivity factor varied in the 20–36 dBZ range. The cloud water content was approximately 0.5 g m−3 in the 3000–3450 m layer, and 0.1–0.4 g m−3 below 3000 m.
A European precipitation index for extreme rain‐storm and flash flood early warning
Authors: Alfieri L. , Thielen J. 
Published: June 2012

Extreme rain storms are known for triggering devastating flash floods in various regions of Europe and particularly along the Mediterranean coasts. Despite recent notable advances in weather forecasting, most operational early warning systems for extreme rainstorms and flash floods are still based on rainfall measurements from rain gauges and weather radars, rather than on forecasts. As a result, warning lead times are bounded to a few hours and warnings are usually issued when the event is already taking place.This work proposes a novel early warning system for heavy precipitation events in Europe, aimed at identifying forecasts of extreme rainfall accumulations over short durations and within small‐size catchments prone to flash flooding. The system is based on the recently developed European Precipitation Index based on simulated Climatology (EPIC), which is calculated using COSMO‐LEPS ensemble weather forecasts and subsequently fitted with gamma distributions at each time step of the forecast horizon. Probabilistic exceedence of warning thresholds is calculated and alert points are generated where potentially extreme events are detected. Comparison of daily runs over 22 months with observed rainstorm events and flash floods in Europe denotes a probability of detection up to 90%, corresponding to 45 events correctly predicted, with average lead time of 32 h. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Assessment of 1 month forecasts of weak Indian monsoons based on the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS)
Authors: Samala Basanta Kumar , Krishnan R. , Roxy Mathew 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis study focuses on analyses and validation of 1 month forecasts (OMFs) of weak Indian monsoons based on 10 member ensemble hindcasts (retrospective forecasts) of the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) model for the period 1981–2008. The weak monsoon episodes chosen for the analysis correspond to summer monsoon months which were characterized by significant deficits in the All‐India monthly rainfall of − 20% of the climatological normal. Examination of the CFS‐OMFs shows poor skill of the model in capturing the observed rainfall and circulation anomalies during weak monsoons. The present analysis suggests that deficiencies in realistically capturing the ocean‐atmosphere coupling in the tropical Indian Ocean (IO) introduces biases in simulating sea surface temperature and rainfall anomalies in the equatorial region, which in turn affects the monsoon precipitation forecasts over the sub‐continent. In particular, the mean thermocline in the near‐equatorial IO is found to be practically flat in the CFS model, so that the near‐equatorial anomalies in the model are not strong enough to weaken the summer monsoon circulation and reduce the monsoon precipitation over India. By examining a 100 year free run of the CFS model, it is seen that moderate monsoon‐droughts simulated by the model have weak teleconnections with the equatorial IO dynamics. On the other hand, intense monsoon‐droughts in the CFS‐model are found be remarkably linked with the equatorial IO anomalies. It is suggested that improving the slope of the equatorial IO thermocline and allowing for more realistic IO‐monsoon coupling in the CFS‐model would be an important step for improving the skill of extended‐range monsoon forecasts. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Evaluation of upper tropospheric humidity from NCEP analysis and WRF Model Forecast with Kalpana observation during Indian summer monsoon 2010
Authors: Kumar Prashant , Shukla Munn V. , Thapliyal Pradeep K. , Bisht Jagat H. , Pal P. K. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThis paper presents an evaluation of upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) fields from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) analysis and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale model forecast with satellite derived UTH. For this purpose, UTH (weighted average of relative humidity in 200–500 hPa layer) obtained from Indian geostationary satellite Kalpana is compared with the UTH computed from NCEP analysis and WRF model forecast during the summer monsoon, 2010. Kaplana‐derived products are not included in the NCEP analysis: therefore, a comparison of the two independent datasets is promising. This study indicates that UTH derived from different sources (Kalpana UTH, NCEP Analysed and subsequent model forecasted UTH) matches very well over the Indian region. However, there are region‐specific small departures in UTH which increases the model predicted UTH. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Prediction of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) using canonical correlation analysis of global circulation model products
Authors: Singh Ankita , Kulkarni Makarand A. , Mohanty U. C. , Kar S. C. , Robertson Andrew W. , Mishra G. 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) method has been used in this study for improving General Circulation Model (GCM) predicted rainfall over India during the southwest monsoon season. Hindcast runs for 27 years (1982–2008) from six GCM outputs are used. This statistical technique relates the pattern of multivariate predictor field (model rainfall) to the pattern of predictand fields (observed rainfall). It is found that the CCA method improves the skill of three of the GCMs at the all‐India level. A noticeable improvement is also observed in the composite prediction with CCA as compared to the simple mean of raw GCM products. The skill of the composite prediction after applying CCA is higher compared to the simple mean of raw model products in several homogeneous zones such as the hilly areas, west central area and over some parts of northwest India. The possible reason for the improvement in the skill of some of the GCMs may be the similarity between the loading patterns of model predictions and the observed rainfall. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society
Particle manifold method (PMM): A new continuum‐discontinuum numerical model for geomechanics
Authors: Sun L. , Zhao G.F. , Zhao J. 
Published: June 2012

SUMMARYParticle manifold method (PMM) is a new extension of the numerical manifold method (NMM). PMM uses a mathematical cover system to describe the motion and deformation of a particle‐based physical domain. By introducing the concept of particle into NMM, PMM takes the advantages of easy topological and contact operations with particles. In this article, the methodology, formulations and implementation of the method are presented, together with modelling examples for validation. It is found that good solutions for both continuous and discontinuous problems are obtained by the new developed PMM. Due to the underlying coupled continuum‐discontinuum property of PMM, it has great potential for modelling of geomechanical problems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Variable kinematic plate elements coupled via Arlequin method
Authors: Biscani F. , Giunta G. , Belouettar S. , Carrera E. , Hu H. 
Published: June 2012

SUMMARYIn this work, plate elements based on different kinematic assumptions and variational principles are combined through the Arlequin method. Computational costs are reduced assuming refined models only in those zones with a quasi‐three‐dimensional stress field, whereas computationally cheap, low‐order elements are used in the remaining parts of the plate. Plate elements are formulated on the basis of a unified formulation (UF). Via UF, higher‐order, layer‐wise and mixed theories can be easily formulated. Classical theories, such as Kirchhoff's and Reissner's models, can be obtained as particular cases. UF is extended to the Arlequin method to derive the matrices that account for the coupling between different theories. Multi‐layered composite plates are investigated. Variable kinematic multiple models solutions are assessed towards mono‐model results and three‐dimensional exact results. Numerical investigation has shown that Arlequin method in the context of UF effectively couples sub‐domains having finite elements based upon different theories, reducing the computational costs without loss of accuracy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analysis of photonic crystals using the hybrid finite‐element/finite‐difference time domain technique based on the discontinuous Galerkin method
Authors: Zhu Bao , Chen Jiefu , Zhong Wanxie , Liu Qing Huo 
Published: June 2012

SUMMARYTwo‐dimensional photonic crystal structures are analyzed by a recently developed hybrid technique combining the finite‐element time‐domain (FETD) method and the finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) method. This hybrid FETD/FDTD method uses the discontinuous Galerkin method as framework for domain decomposition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first hybrid FETD/FDTD method that allows non‐conformal meshes between different FETD and FDTD subdomains. It is also highly parallelizable. These properties are very suitable for the computation of periodic structures with curved surfaces. Numerical examples for the computation of the scattering parameters of two‐dimensional photonic bandgap structures are presented as applications of the hybrid FETD/FDTD method. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed hybrid method. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The “hot hand” revisited: A nonstationarity argument
Authors: Sun Yanlong , Wang Hongbin 
Published: June 2012

AbstractThe “hot hand belief,” that a basketball player would experience elevated performance for a certain period of time, during which consecutive shots are made in streaks, has been suggested to be a “cognitive illusion,” because, from the basketball‐shooting data, no significant evidence has been found to reject the simple binomial model. The present study raises concerns about the statistical methods used to support this claim. It is argued that nonstationarity may manifest as a residual effect when the changes in shooting accuracy are interrupted by activities such as shot selection and defense effort. Reanalyses of the field goal data from the earlier study showed that the serial correlation varied substantially between positive (“hot hand shooting”) and negative (“over‐alternation shooting”). In addition, a nested model comparison revealed that when a player's shooting accuracy fluctuated substantially in a short period of time, it was unlikely to be detected by the binomial model. Our results suggest that paying special attention to streak patterns in the hot hand belief may be an adaptive strategy in detecting changes in the environment.
Filial piety and traditional Chinese values: A study of high and mass cultures
Authors: Ho David Y. F. , Xie Weizhen , Liang Xin , Zeng Li 
Published: June 2012

Abstract:Two studies were conducted, using indigenous materials stemming from both high and mass culture to construct measures of filial piety and other traditional Chinese values. In Study 1, data were collected from a sample of 666 participants (334 men and 332 women) with a mean age of 31.2 years from Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Study 2, data were collected from university students at different times, based on two samples in Hong Kong and another two in mainland China. The major findings are: (a) Filial piety is rooted more firmly in the ideal values of high culture than in the folk values of mass culture; (b) traditional Chinese values tend to be negatively associated with socioeconomic status; (c) ideal values are held much more strongly than folk values; and (d) among university students, there has been a moderate decrease in folk values in Hong Kong; but a moderate increase in folk values and a fairly large increase in ideal values in mainland China.