On the plausible reasons for the formation of onset vortex in the presence of Arabian Sea mini warm pool

It has been established through a numerical model that the onset vortex (OV) was formed dramatically in the shear line on the northern flank of a low level jet (LLJ) at 850 hPa over the mini warm pool (MWP) in the East Central Arabian Sea with the aid of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies using MONEX-79 data. This study has led to serious investigation of MWP over the ECAS, but little attention has been given to its counterpart, i.e. the atmospheric pattern at 850 hPa, the level at which OV generally forms and extends on either side during the course of development. The present study examines the SST distribution over the Arabian Sea and circulation at 850 hPa to identify the MWP and the LLJ positions for five consecutive days with onset day as its centre and for six consecutive years 2000-05. The study has revealed that OV had formed only in 2001 under the influence of MWP on the northern flank of LLJ. During other years it seldom formed due to (i) absence of MWP, (ii) lack of sufficient strength of LLJ, and (iii) absence of the location of shear line (over the northern flank of LLJ) over MWP. The air-sea flux transfer processes for the OV year 2001 and a non-OV year 2002 are studied and compared for better understanding of the above process in relation to the OV and non-OV weather conditions over the study area

Effect of remedial teaching on academic performance of poorly performing students in pharmacology: a Quasi experimental study

Background: Significant learning difficulties requiring remediation has been observed to be experienced by many medical trainees. Research with regard to individualized remedial teaching based on pedagogical diagnosis is a strong need of the time. The objectives of this study were to assess the effect of remedial teaching in improving academic performance among poorly performing students in pharmacology and to assess factors that could affect academic performance.Methods: The study was conducted in 2019. Academically poor performing students (<50 % marks in pharmacology first sessional exam) were selected after getting informed consent. After obtaining baseline information and study skills self-assessment inventory information from all students, academically poor performing students (53 students) were identified and they were randomized into two groups. One group (26 students) received academic support alone. The second group (27 students) received academic support, sessions on study skills, stress-coping strategies and counselling regarding their academic and non-academic problems.Results: The improvement in test scores among all participants of remedial sessions was statistically significant. Mean pre-test mark was 5.27±3.6, post-test was 14.63±1.24 and the difference is statistically significant. Though apparently high 10.02±3.25 versus 8.59±3.55, the post intervention gain in scores is not statistically significant between academic support+special package group versus academic support alone group (p value 0.16).Conclusions: Tailored or individualized remediation measures can greatly enhance the academic performance of undergraduate medical students and help them make satisfactory progress on the course

Role of ocean initial conditions to diminish dry bias in the seasonal prediction of Indian summer monsoon rainfall: A case study using climate forecast system

Coupled models tend to underestimate Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall over most of the Indian subcontinent. Present study demonstrates that a part of dry bias is arising from the discrepancies in Oceanic Initial Conditions (OICs). Two hindcast experiments are carried out using Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) for summer monsoons of 2012-2014 in which two different OICs are utilized. With respect to first experiment (CTRL), second experiment (AcSAL) differs by two aspects: usage of high-resolution atmospheric forcing and assimilation of only ARGO observed temperature and salinity profiles for OICs. Assessment of OICs indicates that the quality of OICs is enhanced due to assimilation of actual salinity profiles. Analysis reveals that AcSAL experiment showed 10 reduction in the dry bias over the Indian land region during the ISM compared to CTRL. This improvement is consistently apparent in each month and is highest for June. The better representation of upper ocean thermal structure of tropical oceans at initial stage supports realistic upper ocean stability and mixing. Which in fact reduced the dominant cold bias over the ocean, feedback to air-sea interactions and land sea thermal contrast resulting better representation of monsoon circulation and moisture transport. This reduced bias of tropospheric moisture and temperature over the Indian land mass and also produced better tropospheric temperature gradient over land as well as ocean. These feedback processes reduced the dry bias in the ISM rainfall. Study concludes that initializing the coupled models with realistic OICs can reduce the underestimation of ISM rainfall prediction. © 2018. The Authors

Hydrography and water masses in the southeastern Arabian Sea during March-June 2003

This paper describes the hydrographic observations in the southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) during two cruises carried out in March-June 2003 as part of the Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment. The surface hydrography during March-April was dominated by the intrusion of low-salinity waters from the south; during May-June, the low-salinity waters were beginning to be replaced by the high-salinity waters from the north. There was considerable mixing at the bottom of the surface mixed layer, leading to interleaving of low-salinity and high-salinity layers. The flow paths constructed following the spatial patterns of salinity along the sections mimic those inferred from numerical models. Time-series measurements showed the presence of Persian Gulf and Red Sea Waters in the SEAS to be intermittent during both cruises: they appeared and disappeared during both the fortnight-long time series

Gaze-grasp coordination in obstacle avoidance: differences between binocular and monocular viewing

Most adults can skillfully avoid potential obstacles when acting in everyday cluttered scenes. We examined how gaze and hand movements are normally coordinated for obstacle avoidance and whether these are altered when binocular depth information is unavailable. Visual fixations and hand movement kinematics were simultaneously recorded, while 13 right-handed subjects reached-to-precision grasp a cylindrical household object presented alone or with a potential obstacle (wine glass) located to its left (thumb's grasp side), right or just behind it (both closer to the finger's grasp side) using binocular or monocular vision. Gaze and hand movement strategies differed significantly by view and obstacle location. With binocular vision, initial fixations were near the target's centre of mass (COM) around the time of hand movement onset, but usually shifted to end just above the thumb's grasp site at initial object contact, this mainly being made by the thumb, consistent with selecting this digit for guiding the grasp. This strategy was associated with faster binocular hand movements and improved end-point grip precision across all trials than with monocular viewing, during which subjects usually continued to fixate the target closer to its COM despite a similar prevalence of thumb-first contacts. While subjects looked directly at the obstacle at each location on a minority of trials and their overall fixations on the target were somewhat biased towards the grasp side nearest to it, these gaze behaviours were particularly marked on monocular vision-obstacle behind trials which also commonly ended in finger-first contact. Subjects avoided colliding with the wine glass under both views when on the right (finger side) of the workspace by producing slower and straighter reaches, with this and the behind obstacle location also resulting in 'safer' (i.e. narrower) peak grip apertures and longer deceleration times than when the goal object was alone or the obstacle was on its thumb side. But monocular reach paths were more variable and deceleration times were selectively prolonged on finger-side and behind obstacle trials, with this latter condition further resulting in selectively increased grip closure times and corrections. Binocular vision thus provided added advantages for collision avoidance, known to require intact dorsal cortical stream processing mechanisms, particularly when the target of the grasp and potential obstacle to it were fairly closely separated in depth. Different accounts of the altered monocular gaze behaviour converged on the conclusion that additional perceptual and/or attentional resources are likely engaged compared to when continuous binocular depth information is available. Implications for people lacking binocular stereopsis are briefly considered

A Model Study on Understanding the Influence of Arabian Sea Mini Warm Pool on Monsoon Onset Vortex Formation

The Arabian Sea Mini Warm Pool (MWP) is a zone of anomalously high Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the Arabian Sea over which the monsoon onset vortex (OV) is believed to form. In the present study it is shown that this MWP is a key parameter in the development of the onset vortex. Atmospheric model experiments are carried out with and without MWP to understand the mechanisms for the formation of the OV. The model failed to simulate the OV with the cold SST advocating the importance of the MWP for the formation of the OV. The MWP is found to favor the formation of the onset vortex in the east central Arabian Sea by increasing the horizontal shear and decreasing the vertical wind shear