Understanding clouds to anticipate future climate

Humanity has a primordial fascination with clouds. The meteorological and hydrological communities have come to understand through decades of observation and research that cloud processes – from the microphysics of initial nucleation to superstorms viewed from satellites – provide vital information for weather prediction, and for precipitation in particular. Looking at clouds from a climate perspective introduces new and difficult questions that challenge our overall assumptions about how our moist, cloudy atmosphere actually works. Clouds are one of the main modulators of heating in the atmosphere, controlling many other aspects of the climate system. Thus, “Clouds, Circulation and Climate Sensitivity” is one of the World Climate Research Programmes (WCRP) seven Grand Challenges. These Grand Challenges represent areas of emphasis in scientific research, modelling, analysis and observations for WCRP and its affiliate projects in the coming decade

The radiative impact of clouds on the shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone

Whereas it is well established that clouds are important to changes in Earth's surface temperature, their impact on changes of the large-scale atmospheric circulation is less well understood. Here we study the radiative impact of clouds on the shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in response to hemispheric surface albedo forcings. The problem is approached using aquaplanet simulations with four comprehensive atmosphere models. The radiative impact of clouds on the ITCZ shift differs in sign and magnitude across models and is responsible for half of the model spread in the ITCZ shift. The model spread is dominated by tropical clouds whose radiative impact is linked to the dependence of their cloud radiative properties on the circulation. The simulations not only demonstrate the importance of clouds for circulation changes but also propose a way to reduce the model uncertainty in ITCZ shifts. © 2014 American Geophysical Union

KNMI EUCLIPSE Policy Brief

Policy brief on implications of the project results on the climate decision making process. 54 month

Material Apotheosis: The Editions of the Divine Pivot Ready to Hand and the Ritual Underpinnings of Zhu Quan's Divine Authorship

This contribution argues that Zhu Quan's (1378-1448) apotheosis must be interpreted as a paratextual discourse on authorship. Substantiating this claim, this article discusses how the extant editions of the Divine Pivot Ready to Hand construct the king's divine authorship. In its three sections, the article examines the physical, paratextual and ritual dimensions of his apotheosis. Focusing on the last chapter of the Pivot, it demonstrates that calendars serve as a material cum textual media through which to posit Zhu Quan's divine status. In a dialogue with the field of ritual studies, the article explains to what degree Zhu Quan's calendars may be interpreted as an act of ritual textualisation

The Effect of Structured Counseling Towards Knowledge, Attitude, and Participation of Modern Contraceptive Among Unmet Need Couples

The number of unmet need for family planning remains high in developing countries, including in Indonesia. Structured contraceptive counseling potentially increases contraceptive use effectively maintain its continuity and enhances client's satisfaction. Contraceptive counseling had not been properly performed, therefore this study aimed to analyze structured counseling influence toward knowledge improvement, attitude and participation at modern contraceptive among unmet need reproductive-aged couples. This study was conducted on March - June 2015 by using a randomized pretestposttest measurement with control group design. The subjects were recruited through stratified random sampling method. Inclusion subjects were further classified into 48 persons for the intervention group and other 48 persons for the control group. The increase of knowledge and attitude between intervention and control group was then compared by using Mann-Whitney U test, and the effect of structured counseling toward participation of modern contraceptive was analyzed by using multiple logistic regression. Results showed that there was a significant difference of test score for knowledge and attitude between the intervention and the control group (p value < 0.05). Reproductive-aged women are more likely to participate at modern contraceptive with odds ratio = 6.167 (95% CI= 2,427 - 15,67). Inconclusion, structured counseling can increase knowledge, attitude, and participation at modern contraceptive among reproductive-aged couples

Gambaran Hasil Terapi TB Paru pada Pasien TB-HIV di RSUP Dr.Hasan Sadikin Bandung Tahun 2012-2014

Tuberkulosis (TB) merupakan penyakit infeksi oportunistik yang sering dijumpai pada pasien Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Berkaitan dengan tingginya kejadian TB pada penderita HIV World HealthOrganization (WHO) mencanangkan program penanggulangan TB-HIV. Penelitian ini bertujuan untukmengetahui hasil terapi TB Paru pada pasien TB-HIV yang dirawat inap dan rawat jalan di RSUP dr.HasanSadikin. Penelitian deskriptif kuantitatif ini menggunakan sumber data dari rekam medis pasien TB-HIV diinstalasi rawat inap dan rawat jalan RSUP dr.Hasan Sadikin Bandung Tahun 2012-2014. Karakteristik sosiodemografi meliputi usia, jenis kelamin, pendidikan, pekerjaan, status pernikahan, dan tempat tinggal.&nbsp; Terdapat60 (84,5%) subjek yang berusia 20-40 tahun, laki-laki 50 (70,4%) subjek, lebih banyak dari perempuan.Subjek dengan pendidikan SMA sebanyak 33 (46,4%) orang dan subjek yang tidak bekerja 20 (71,8%) orang,47 (66,2%) subjek sudah menikah dan subjek yang berdomisili di Bandung 56 (78,9%) orang. Luaran terapipada pasien ko-infeksi TB-HIV yang sembuh berjumlah 17 (23,9%) subjek, sembuh lengkap 14 (19,7%)subjek, putus pengobatan 24 (33,8%) subjek, pindah sebanyak 8 (11,3%) subjek, dan meninggal 8 (11,3%)subjek dan tidak terdapat luaran terapi gagal. Hasil luaran terapi TB paru pada pasien ko-infeksi TB-HIVdi instalasi rawat inap dan rawat jalan di RSUP dr.Hasan Sadikin yang banyak adalah putus pengobatandibandingkan dengan luaran terapi sembuh

Conormal distributions in the Shubin calculus of pseudodifferential operators

We characterize the Schwartz kernels of pseudodifferential operators of Shubin type by means of an FBI transform. Based on this we introduce as a generalization a new class of tempered distributions called Shubin conormal distributions. We study their transformation behavior, normal forms and microlocal properties.Comment: 23 page

Should We Assess Pituitary Function in Children After a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury? A Prospective Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of hypopituitarism following TBI in a cohort of children who had been hospitalized for mild TBI and to identify the predictive factors for this deficiency. A prospective study was conducted on children between 2 and 16 years of age who had been hospitalized for mild TBI according to the Glasgow Coma Scale between September 2009 and June 2013. Clinical parameters, basal pituitary hormone assessment at 0, 6, and 12 months, as well as a dynamic testing (insulin tolerance test) 12 months after TBI were performed. The study included 109 children, the median age was 8.5 years. Patients were examined 6 months ( = 99) and 12 months ( = 96) after TBI. Somatotropic deficiency (defined by a GH peak &lt;20 mUI/l in two tests, an IGF-1 &lt;-1SDS and a delta height &lt;0SDS) were confirmed in 2 cases. One case of gonadotrophic deficiency occurred 1 year after TBI among 13 pubertal children. No cases of precocious puberty, 5 cases of low prolactin level, no cases of corticotropic insufficiency (cortisol peak &lt;500 nmol/l) and no cases diabetes insipidus were recorded. Pituitary insufficiency was present 1year after mild TBI in about 7% of children. Based on our results, we suggest testing children after mild TBI in case of clinical abnormalities. i.e., for GH axis, IGF-1, which should be assessed in children with a delta height &lt;0 SDS, 6 to 12 months after TBI, and a dynamic GH testing (preferentially by an ITT) should be performed in case of IGF-1 &lt;-1SDS, with a GH threshold at 20 mUI/L. However, if a systematic pituitary assessment is not required for mild TBI, physicians should monitor children 1 year after mild TBI with particular attention to growth and weight gain

Strong cloud–circulation coupling explains weak trade cumulus feedback

Shallow cumulus clouds in the trade-wind regions cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation. The response of trade cumulus clouds to climate change is a key uncertainty in climate projections. Trade cumulus feedbacks in climate models are governed by changes in cloud fraction near cloud base with high-climate-sensitivity models suggesting a strong decrease in cloud-base cloudiness owing to increased lower-tropospheric mixing. Here we show that new observations from the EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of cloud-circulation coupling in climate) field campaign refute this mixing-desiccation hypothesis. We find the dynamical increase of cloudiness through mixing to overwhelm the thermodynamic control through humidity. Because mesoscale motions and the entrainment rate contribute equally to variability in mixing but have opposing effects on humidity, mixing does not desiccate clouds. The magnitude, variability and coupling of mixing and cloudiness differ markedly among climate models and with the EUREC4A observations. Models with large trade cumulus feedbacks tend to exaggerate the dependence of cloudiness on relative humidity as opposed to mixing and also exaggerate variability in cloudiness. Our observational analyses render models with large positive feedbacks implausible and both support and explain at the process scale a weak trade cumulus feedback. Our findings thus refute an important line of evidence for a high climate sensitivit