cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
A framework for evaluating image segmentation algorithms
Creators: name: Udupa, Jayaram K.
name: LeBlanc, Vicki R.
name: Zhuge, Ying
name: Imielinska, Celina Z.
name: Schmidt, Hilary
name: Currie, Leanne M.
name: Hirsch, Bruce E.
name: Woodburn, James
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2006
Subjects: Diagnostic imaging

description: The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for evaluating image segmentation algorithms. Image segmentation consists of object recognition and delineation. For evaluating segmentation methods, three factors—precision (reliability), accuracy (validity), and efficiency (viability)—need to be considered for both recognition and delineation. To assess precision, we need to choose a figure of merit, repeat segmentation considering all sources of variation, and determine variations in figure of merit via statistical analysis. It is impossible usually to establish true segmentation. Hence, to assess accuracy, we need to choose a surrogate of true segmentation and proceed as for precision. In determining accuracy, it may be important to consider different 'landmark' areas of the structure to be segmented depending on the application. To assess efficiency, both the computational and the user time required for algorithm training and for algorithm execution should be measured and analyzed. Precision, accuracy, and efficiency factors have an influence on one another. It is difficult to improve one factor without affecting others. Segmentation methods must be compared based on all three factors, as illustrated in an example wherein two methods are compared in a particular application domain. The weight given to each factor depends on application.
Toward a New Welfare History
Creators: name: Pimpare, Stephen
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2007
Subjects: History
Labor economics
Public policy (Law)

description: Histories of American welfare have been stories about the state. Like Walter Trattner's widely read From Poor Law to Welfare State, now in its sixth edition, they have offered a narrative about the slow but steady expansion and elaboration of state and federal protections granted to poor and working people, and have usually done so by charting increases in government expenditures, by documenting the institutionalization of welfare bureaucracies, and by tracing rises or declines in poverty, unemployment, and other aggregate measures of well-being. This has been the case even in more critical accounts that emphasize that American social welfare history is not a story just of progress, such as Michael Katz's In the Shadow of the Poorhouse. These narratives have emphasized programs, not people (whether it is the poorhouse, the asylum, and mother's pensions, or the more recent innovations of national unemployment insurance, Social Security, AFDC and TANF, and Medicare and Medicaid). In the investigations of the welfare state that dominate academic research, the content and timing of government policy itself has served as the dependent variable, while the independent variables have been a congeries of interests, institutions, and policy entrepreneurs. Our attention has been focused upon what government has done, why it was done, and what the effects were as measured in official data.
Realisation d'un systeme de reconnaissance automatique de la parole arabe base sur CMU Sphinx
Creators: name: Sadiqui, Ali
name: Chenfour, Noureddine
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Computation and Language (cs.CL)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: This paper presents the continuation of the work completed by Satori and all. [SCH07] by the realization of an automatic speech recognition system (ASR) for Arabic language based SPHINX 4 system. The previous work was limited to the recognition of the first ten digits, whereas the present work is a remarkable projection consisting in continuous Arabic speech recognition with a rate of recognition of surroundings 96%.
Changes in soil properties along grazing gradients in the mountain and forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe zones of Mongolia
Creators: name: Baasandorj, Ya.
name: Khishigbayar, J.
name: Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E.
name: Tsogtbaatar, J.
name: Delgertsetseg, R.
name: Chantsallkham, J.
name: Action, Nutag
Publisher: name: Mountain Scholar
Year: 2015
Subjects: Mongolia
soil
nutrients
rangelands
degradation

description: Includes bibliographical references.
description: Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
description: Recent debates about the condition of Mongolia's rangelands and possible causes of rangeland change highlight the need for greater understanding of changes in grassland soil fertility and physical characteristics associated with grazing. As part of a large observational study of grazing effects on different Mongolian ecological zones and soil types (ecological sites), we studied soil characteristics along grazing gradients from winter shelters in the mountain and forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe ecozones of Mongolia. Our objective was to determine how grazing affects soil properties in winter pastures in different ecological zones and ecological sites within zones, based on grazing gradients. Our findings did not support our hypothesis that livestock grazing along a grazing gradient from winter shelters would lead to increased concentrations of nutrients (C, NO3-, P, K and humus) near the shelters. Instead, where soil chemical properties differed with distance, they were lowest close to winter shelters and higher with increasing distance. As hypothesized, we observed greater bulk densities nearer to winter shelters than farther away. Our hypothesis that grazing effects on soil properties would vary among ecological sites also was not supported. Further experimental and observational studies are needed to understand grazing effects on soil properties at different spatial scales and to examine feedbacks between livestock-induced changes in plant communities and soil quality.
The Role of Community Advisory Boards in Project Eban
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objective: To describe the theoretical principles that guided the establishment of Project Eban's Community Advisory Boards (CABs), their functions, and composition; the selection and recruitment processes; lessons learned; and recommendations on the use of CABs in multisite HIV clinical trial studies. Methods: In the first year of Project Eban's implementation, each of the 4 sites formed a local CAB. Member recruitment took place during the first 6 months of the study. On average, each site’s CAB consisted of 13–19 stakeholders, with a total of 62 members for the multisite study, including leaders of HIV/AIDS-related CBOs, hospital-based HIV/AIDS service providers, HIV/AIDS network leaders in minority communities, CBOs that serve predominantly black communities, and consumers. Results: Each of the CAB members has expressed a strong commitment to assisting in the conduct of the research. CABs are integral to the success of the study, and their input is highly respected and used to improve the quality of the research. Conclusions: This article highlights the importance of CABs in the conduct of HIV clinical trials and their roles in making the study culturally congruent to meet the needs of the black community in dealing with the HIV epidemic.
Prevalence of Child and Adult Sexual Abuse and Risk Taking Practices Among HIV Serodiscordant African-American Couples
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology

description: This study reports the prevalence of child (CSA) and adult (ASA) sexual abuse among 535 African American HIV serodiscordant couples from four major United State cities, and its relationship to personal and couple related vulnerabilities and HIV risk factors. As part of a randomized, clinical trial, CSA and ASA histories were obtained through face-to-face interviews. Results indicate that HIV positive women were significantly more likely to report one kind of abuse (32.32%), either before or since age 18 or both (32.6%). HIV-positive men (34.9%) were significantly more likely to report CSA than HIV-negative men (22.0%). Overall, 72% of couples reported that one or both had CSA histories. These findings underscore the heightened emotional vulnerability, and STI and HIV transmission risk taking practices, associated with sexual abuse. Sexual abuse histories among couples should be assessed to better understand how these histories may contribute to couples dynamics and risk-taking practices.
Project Eban: An HIV/STD Intervention for African American Couples
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objective: To describe the Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention being evaluated in the NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention trial for heterosexual African American couples, including the integrated theoretical framework, the structure, core elements and procedures of the intervention and how the content was shaped by culturally congruent concepts to address the needs of the study target population. Design: The Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention is designed to address multilevel individual, interpersonal and community level factors that contribute to HIV/STD transmission risk behaviors among heterosexual African American couples who are HIV serodiscordant. Methods: The Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention employs a mixed modality, couples-based approach that is based on an integrated ecological framework incorporating social cognitive theory and uses an Afro-centric paradigm that is informed by previous evidence-based couples HIV prevention interventions. For this randomized controlled trial, African American serodiscordant couples were recruited from four urban sites (Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia) and were randomized to either the Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention (treatment condition) or a Health Promotion Intervention that served as an attentional control condition. Both interventions had 4 individual couple sessions and 4 group sessions, but only the treatment condition was focused on reducing HIV/STD risk behaviors. Behavioral and biological data were collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 6 and 12 months. The theoretical framework, core elements and content of each session are described and lessons learned from this intervention trial are discussed. Results: An HIV prevention intervention combining couple and group sessions can be feasibly implemented with African American HIV serodiscordant couples who remain at high risk of HIV/STD transmission. The lessons learned from the trial suggest that the participants responded very well to both the couple and group sessions. Participant feedback suggests that the cultural congruence of the intervention and use of African American co-facilitators made them feel comfortable disclosing risky behaviors. Participant feedback also suggests that the intervention’s couples-based focus on enhancing dyadic communication and decision-making skills were key to helping the couples work together to overcome barriers to using condoms. Conclusion: Participant and facilitator evaluations of the Eban Risk Reduction Intervention suggest that couples responded well to the Afro-centric content and mixed modalities of the intervention sessions. Couple sessions were optimal for enhancing interpersonal and microlevel factors, including communication, problem solving, and decision making.
On Kahan's Rules for Determining Branch Cuts
Creators: name: Chyzak, Frédéric
name: Davenport, James
name: Koutschan, Christoph
name: Salvy, Bruno
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Symbolic Computation (cs.SC)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: In computer algebra there are different ways of approaching the mathematical concept of functions, one of which is by defining them as solutions of differential equations. We compare different such approaches and discuss the occurring problems. The main focus is on the question of determining possible branch cuts. We explore the extent to which the treatment of branch cuts can be rendered (more) algorithmic, by adapting Kahan's rules to the differential equation setting.
description: SYNASC 2011. 13th International Symposium on Symbolic and Numeric Algorithms for Scientific Computing. (2011)
title: Cholangiopathies: a MRI approach to diagnosis
Creators: name: SOUMAH, Mariam
Publisher: name: European Congress of Radiology
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Not applicable
subject: Not applicable
subject: Ischaemia / Infarction
subject: Inflammation
subject: Infection
subject: Outcomes analysis
subject: Diagnostic procedure
subject: Cholangiography
subject: MR-Cholangiography
subject: Biliary Tract / Gallbladder
subject: Abdominal Viscera

description: Learning objectives Background Findings and procedure details Conclusion Personal information and conflict of interest References
description: Learning objectives: - To understand the contribution of an appropriate MRI protocol to explore the biliary duct system for diagnosis and the role of three-dimensional (3D) sequences. - To learn how to read MRI images and how to report by using adequate terms. - To sum...
D2.1-Demonstrator baseline and market characteristics report
Creators: name: Klapalová, Alena
name: Škapa, Radoslav
name: De Sousa, Cristina
name: Vaceková, Gabriela
name: Švecová, Jana
name: Štangová, Radmila
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: circular business models, tools, demonstrators, pay per wash, reverse logistics, cloud

description: Deliverable for the Horizon2020 project: Resource-efficient Circular Product-Service Systems — ReCiPSS
Seamless Warping of Diffusion Tensor Fields
Creators: name: Xu, Dongrong
name: Hao, Xuejun
name: Bansal, Ravi
name: Plessen, Kerstin J.
name: Peterson, Bradley S.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: Diagnostic imaging

description: To warp diffusion tensor fields accurately, tensors must be reoriented in the space to which the tensors are warped based on both the local deformation field and the orientation of the underlying fibers in the original image. Existing algorithms for warping tensors typically use forward mapping deformations in an attempt to ensure that the local deformations in the warped image remains true to the orientation of the underlying fibers; forward mapping, however, can also create seams or gaps and consequently artifacts in the warped image by failing to define accurately the voxels in the template space where the magnitude of the deformation is large (e.g., |Jacobian| > 1). Backward mapping, in contrast, defines voxels in the template space by mapping them back to locations in the original imaging space. Backward mapping allows every voxel in the template space to be defined without the creation of seams, including voxels in which the deformation is extensive. Backward mapping, however, cannot reorient tensors in the template space because information about the directional orientation of fiber tracts is contained in the original, unwarped imaging space only, and backward mapping alone cannot transfer that information to the template space. To combine the advantages of forward and backward mapping, we propose a novel method for the spatial normalization of diffusion tensor (DT) fields that uses a bijection (a bidirectional mapping with one-to-one correspondences between image spaces) to warp DT datasets seamlessly from one imaging space to another. Once the bijection has been achieved and tensors have been correctly relocated to the template space, we can appropriately reorient tensors in the template space using a warping method based on Procrustean estimation.
Resonance Region Structure Functions and Parity Violating Deep Inelastic Scattering
Creators: name: Carlson, Carl E.
name: Rislow, Benjamin C.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The primary motive of parity violating deep inelastic scattering experiments has been to test the standard model, particularly the axial couplings to the quarks, in the scaling region. The measurements can also test for the validity of models for the off-diagonal structure functions $F_{1,2,3}^{γZ}(x,Q^2)$ in the resonance region. The off-diagonal structure functions are important for the accurate calculation of the $γZ$-box correction to the weak charge of the proton. Currently, with no data to determine $F_{1,2,3}^{γZ}(x,Q^2)$ directly, models are constructed by modifying existing fits to electromagnetic data. We present the asymmetry value for deuteron and proton target predicted by several different $F_{1,2,3}^{γZ}(x,Q^2)$ models, and demonstrate that there are notable disagreements.
description: 6 pages, 3 figures. New version contains additional descriptions of competing structure function models
When a desired home death does not occur : family caregiver experiences
Creators: name: Topf, Lorrianne
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2012

description: Despite a preference among Canadians to die at home, the majority of expected deaths in British Columbia occur away from home. This qualitative research based on interpretive description (Thorne, 2008) examined the experiences of bereaved family caregivers (FCGs) when a desired home death did not occur and happened in either the hospital or in a hospice. The purpose of the study was to enhance the understanding of FCGs experiences in managing end-of-life care at home to guide the development of more effective approaches to hospice palliative care. Eighteen bereaved family members of persons who died of cancer were recruited. Data collection involved semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews that were transcribed. Analysis occurred concurrently with data collection. Field notes and reflective journaling guided and documented the interpretive process and aided in the analytical process. Unwavering commitment to the promise FCGs made to care for their family member at home until death underpinned FCG experiences. These promises, however, were challenged by a lack of preparedness for caregiving, difficulty with accessing professional support and information, and frustration with the inadequate help they received. The physical, emotional and relational toll FCGs experienced and the impact of unexpected events prevented desired home deaths, and resulted in significant distress and guilt. FCGs were still struggling to live with their deep regret several months to 17 years after their promises were broken. Although the death of their family member was described as peaceful; the death could not be described as a good death. The study findings provide direction for the provision of care as hospice palliative care is increasingly shifted into homes and caregiving responsibilities handed over to family members. Adequate resources and supports must be in place and accessible at the time they are needed by FCGs to enhance quality of life for dying family members and ameliorate negative effects on FCG health.
Satellite-based assessments on regional summer and winter conditions triggering massive livestock loss (Dzud) in Mongolia
Creators: name: Kang, Sinkyu
name: Jang, Keunchang
name: Lkhamsuren, Bolorerdene
name: Action, Nutag
Publisher: name: Mountain Scholar
Year: 2015
Subjects: livestock loss
satellite
precipitation
temperature
aridity
time-integrated NDVI

description: Includes bibliographical references.
description: Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
description: Dzud is a term referring either to conditions when melting snow refreezes to form an icy layer covering the grass, or to unusually heavy snow falls in Eurasian arid and semi-arid regions. Under dzud condition, animals cannot obtain food under snow or ice layer, which sometimes results in a dzud disaster, i.e. massive livestock kills. It has been recognized that the dzud disaster is directly induced by the harsh winter conditions but often influenced by drought in the previous summer. In this study, a data-intensive reanalysis on regional determinants of dzud disaster was conducted for more than 300 soums (an administrative unit equivalent with county in US) in Mongolia. Various climatic, hydrological, and vegetation variables were developed from satellite remote sensing (RS) data, which includes daily mean air temperature, dew-point temperature, and evapotranspiration, monthly precipitation, and 16-day NDVI from 2003 to 2010. Annual livestock census data were collected for every soum in Mongolia. Each variable was standardized to z-score and utilized for stepwise multiple regression analysis to identify factors statistically significant for explaining soum-level livestock mortality. The regression models were successfully constructed for two-third of total soums. Considerable spatial variability in the determinants of livestock mortality were found across soums in Mongolia. As the primary determinants, summer NDVI and dryness equally explained 22% of the soum mortality, while 33% and 16% of the mortality were explained with winter temperature and precipitation, respectively. Spatial patterns were also identified with winter precipitation and temperature being primary determinants in mountain regions and northern cool and semi-arid regions, while summer NDVI and dryness were important in southern hot and arid regions. Our results indicate combined efforts of monitoring RS-based summer NDVI and dryness and forecasting winter temperature and precipitation can provide useful tools for dzud disaster early warning.
HIV/Sexually Transmitted Disease Risk Reduction: Strategies for Enhancing the Utility of Behavioral and Biological Outcome Measures for African American Couples
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objective: Numerous studies have discussed the value of including biological outcome measures as a complement to behavioral outcome measures to assess the efficacy of HIV risk-reduction interventions. This article highlights strategies used to minimize the limitations of including both self-reported sexual behaviors and biologically confirmed sexually transmitted diseases as primary outcome measures in an HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention program for African American serodiscordant couples (EBAN). Design: Couples receiving an HIV intervention condition (EBAN) were compared with couples receiving a time-equivalent General Health Promotion condition on behavioral and biological outcomes. Both behavioral and biological data were collected at baseline, immediately postintervention, and at 6 and 12 months postintervention. Methods: Literature reviews, consulting other researchers who conducted couples studies, our investigative team’s experience in previous HIV interventions, and formative work were used to develop procedures to minimize potential limitations associated with the inclusion of behavioral and biological outcome measures for EBAN. Results: Given the strengths of including behavioral and biological outcome measures, the EBAN study chose to have both measures serve as primary outcomes. The primary behavioral outcome for the trial is the proportion of protected vaginal and anal intercourse episodes that occurred within the index couple in 90 days before each follow-up assessment and over the 12-month postintervention follow-up period. The primary biological outcome is the proportion of participants (male or female study partners) with an incident STD (chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis) over the 12-month postintervention follow-up period. Conclusions: Employing procedures to minimize limitations of using self-reported sexual behaviors and STDs as complementary primary outcomes enhances their utility as measures of the efficacy of HIV/STD prevention interventions.
title: Persistent carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomoses and some complications associated with them
Creators: name: Martínez  Morillo-Velarde, Belén
Publisher: name: European Congress of Radiology
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Performed at one institution
subject: Observational
subject: Retrospective
subject: Dysplasias
subject: Connective tissue disorders
subject: Aneurysms
subject: Embolisation
subject: Contrast agent-intravenous
subject: Arterial access
subject: MR-Angiography
subject: CT-Angiography
subject: Catheter arteriography
subject: Vascular
subject: Arteries / Aorta
subject: Anatomy
subject: Vascular

description: Learning objectives Background Findings and procedure details Conclusion Personal information and conflict of interest References
description: Learning objectives: - To describe the different types of carotid-basilar communications that have been described and their radiological characteristics. - To describe some of the most frequent vascular anomalies associated with this entity, as well as the associated...
Adaptation of a Couple-Based HIV Intervention for Methamphetamine-Involved African American Men Who Have Sex with Men
Creators: name: Wu, Elwin
name: El-Bassel, Nabila
name: McVinney, L. Donald
name: Fontaine, Yves-Michel
name: Hess, Leona E.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: In the U.S., incidence of HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) has steadily increased since the 1990s. This points to a need for innovation to address both emerging trends as well as longer-standing disparities in HIV risk and transmission among MSM, such as the elevated rates of HIV/STIs among African American MSM and methamphetamine users. While couple-based sexual risk reduction interventions are a promising avenue to reduce HIV/STI transmission, prior research has been almost exclusively with heterosexual couples. We sought to adapt an existing, evidence-based intervention—originally developed and tested with heterosexual couples—for a new target population consisting of African American MSM in a longer-term same-sex relationship where at least one partner uses methamphetamine. The adaptation process primarily drew from data obtained from a series of focus groups with 8 couples from the target population. Attention is given to the methods used to overcome challenges faced in this adaptation process: limited time, a lead investigator who is phenotypically different from the target population, a dearth of descriptive information on the experiences and worldviews among the target population, and a concomitant lack of topical experts. We also describe a visualization tool used to ensure that the adaptation process promotes and maintains adherence to the theory that guides the intervention and behavior change. The process culminated with an intervention adapted for the new target population as well as preliminary indications that a couple-based sexual-risk reduction intervention for African American, methamphetamine-involved male couples is feasible and attractive.
WMAP 7 year constraints on CPT violation from large angle CMB anisotropies
Creators: name: Gruppuso, A.
name: Natoli, P.
name: Mandolesi, N.
name: De Rosa, A.
name: Finelli, F.
name: Paci, F.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We constrain the rotation angle $α$ of the linear polarization of CMB photons using the large angular scale (up to $\sim 4^\circ$) signal in WMAP 7 year data. At these scales, the CMB polarization pattern probes mostly the reionization era. A genuine rotation may be interpreted as cosmological birefringence, which is a well known tracer of new physics, through the breakdown of fundamental symmetries. Our analysis provides $α= -1.6^{\circ} \pm 1.7^{\circ} (3.4^{\circ})$ at 68% (95%) C.L. for the multipoles range $Δ\ell = 2-47$ not including an instrumental systematic uncertainty that the WMAP team estimates at $\pm 1.5^\circ$. This improves the bound obtained by WMAP team (Komatsu et al., 2010). Moreover we show, for the first time at low multipoles, the angular power spectrum $α_\ell$ in search of a possible scale dependence of the birefringence effect. Our findings are compatible with no detection at all angular scales probed here. We finally forecast the capabilities of Planck in tightening the present constraints.
description: 13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in JCAP
Application of GIS and crop growth models in estimating water productivity
Creators: name: Ines, Amor Valeriano M.
name: Das Gupta, Ashim
name: Loof, Rainer
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2002
Subjects: Water resources development--Management
Remote sensing

description: Tighter competition in water use is projected in the future. As water demand increases, water related problems could happen along the way. Accordingly, issues on water availability and use could be crucial to study to search for ways and means on how to cope up with the present trend. Sound water management practices could play a key role to the solution of problems relating to water availability and use. Water use in agriculture is considered the highest among other water users because of the water intensive processes involved in it. Aside from the crop water requirements, water loss, which are not beneficial to crop processes can add a huge volume to the total water usage in agriculture. Base from this argument, there could be greater possibility to save water from agriculture, which can be used for other purposes thereafter. To explore this option, analysis at the crop level could be beneficial. However, the issue of scaling should be also considered because the knowledge on the field scale could not be generally true in the basin scale. The objective of the study was to apply crop growth simulation models coupled with geographic information system (GIS) to analyze water productivity, which is an indicator of water use efficiency, at the basin scale. The methodology was applied to Laoag River Basin in Ilocos Norte, Philippines to study water productivity in spatial and temporal dimensions. Three crops were considered in the analysis: rice, maize and peanut. Simulations were done for both existing and potential agricultural areas. The potential productions of the selected crops from October 1996–September 1997 were used as bases in determining water productivity for the three cropping seasons (CS) being considered in the study. Water-limited productions were simulated for each of the crops, for each of the CS in the basin. Moreover, a marginal productivity analysis was done to determine the potential of water for crop production in the basin. Subsequently, the significance of irrigation was emphasized in the analysis when availability of water, and the combination of water and nitrogen (N) are limiting, respectively. The results showed that the spatio-temporal analysis of water productivity could provide substantial information for water saving opportunities and, hence, strategies in irrigated agriculture.
Eban Health Promotion Intervention: Conceptual Basis and Procedures
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: This article concerns the health promotion intervention that served as the comparison condition in Project Eban, the NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African American Couples. Considerable research has documented the high rates of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes, among African Americans. Many of these diseases are tied to behavioral risk factors—the things that people do or do not do, their diet, the amount of exercise they get, and their substance use practices. The Eban Health Promotion Intervention was designed to increase healthful behaviors, including physical activity, healthful dietary practices, ceasing cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse, practicing early detection and screening behaviors, and improving medication adherence. As a comparison condition, the Eban Health Promotion Intervention was designed to be structurally similar to the Eban HIV/STD Risk Reduction Intervention. This article describes the intervention and how it was developed, integrating social cognitive theory with information collected in formative research to ensure that the intervention was appropriate for African Americans affected by HIV. Besides testing the efficacy of an HIV/STD risk reduction intervention for African American serodiscordant couples, then, Project Eban also tests the efficacy of an intervention addressing many of the other health problems common in this population.
title: Cryoablation of bone metastases from endocrine tumors
Creators: name: Freitas, Ricardo Miguel Costa de
Publisher: name: European Congress of Radiology
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Interventional Radiology
subject: Bones
subject: Interventional non-vascular
subject: Musculoskeletal system
subject: CT
subject: MR
subject: PET-CT
subject: Ablation procedures
subject: Radiation therapy / Oncology
subject: Vertebroplasty
subject: Cancer
subject: Multidisciplinary cancer care
subject: Outcomes
subject: Retrospective
subject: Not applicable
subject: Performed at one institution

description: Learning objectives Background Findings and procedure details Conclusion Personal information and conflict of interest References
description: Learning objectives: To describe the indications for percutaneous cryoablation of bone metastases from endocrine tumours To report the technical aspects of percutaneous cryoablation related to bone metastases from endocrine tumours To highlight the results of the...
Designing an Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview System in a Multisite Trial: A Brief Report
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objective: To describe the advantages and limitations of an ACASI system in a multisite trial with African American couples and to present the steps in designing, testing, and implementing a system. Methods: The ACASI system evolved from a paper and pencil interview (PAPI) that was pilot tested. Based on this initial work, the PAPI was translated into story boards that were the basis of the development of ACASI system. Story Boards consisted of one page per question and provided the programmers with the test of the question, valid responses, and any instructions that were to be read to the participants. Story boards were further translated into flow diagrams representing each module of the survey and illustrating the skip patterns used to navigate a participant through the survey. Provisions were also made to insert a face-to-face interview, into the ACASI assessment process, to elicit sexual abuse history data which typically requires specially trained data collectors with active listening skills in order to help participants reframe and coordinate times, places and emotionally difficult memories. Results: The ACASI was successfully developed and implemented in the main trial. During an exit interview, respondents indicated that they liked using the ACASI and indicating that they favored it as the method to answer questions. Conclusions: It is feasible to implement an ACASI system in a multisite study in a timely and efficient way.
Predictions for the CO emission of galaxies from a coupled simulation of galaxy formation and photon dominated regions
Creators: name: Lagos, Claudia del P.
name: Bayet, Estelle
name: Baugh, Carlton M.
name: Lacey, Cedric G.
name: Bell, Tom
name: Fanidakis, Nikolaos
name: Geach, James
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We combine the galaxy formation model GALFORM with the Photon Dominated Region code UCL_PDR to study the emission from the rotational transitions of 12CO (CO) in galaxies from z=0 to z=6 in the Lambda CDM framework. GALFORM is used to predict the molecular (H2) and atomic hydrogen (HI) gas contents of galaxies using the pressure-based empirical star formation relation of Blitz & Rosolowsky. From the predicted H2 mass and the conditions in the interstellar medium, we estimate the CO emission in the rotational transitions 1-0 to 10-9 by applying the UCL_PDR model to each galaxy. We find that deviations from the Milky-Way CO-H2 conversion factor come mainly from variations in metallicity, and in the average gas and star formation rate surface densities. In the local universe, the model predicts a CO(1-0) luminosity function (LF), CO-to-total infrared (IR) luminosity ratios for multiple CO lines and a CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED) which are in good agreement with observations of luminous and ultra-luminous IR galaxies. At high redshifts, the predicted CO SLED of the brightest IR galaxies reproduces the shape and normalization of the observed CO SLED. The model predicts little evolution in the CO-to-IR luminosity ratio for different CO transitions, in good agreement with observations up to z~5. We use this new hybrid model to explore the potential of using colour selected samples of high-redshift star-forming galaxies to characterise the evolution of the cold gas mass in galaxies through observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array.
description: 25 pages, 15 figures. Accepted in MNRAS after adding a short section discussing the robustness of the CO predictions
Two oleaginous eustigmatophyte microalgae, Vischeria cf. polyphem (Eustigmatos cf. polyphem) and Vischeria stellata
Creators: name: 黛, 山
Publisher: name: CNGB
Year: 2023
Subjects: Genome sequencing and assembly
Raw sequence reads
Monoisolate
Model organism

description: Many problems and challenges in the modern world, such as the rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere resulting in climate change. Photosynthetic microalgae have been considered as a green cell factory for carbon dioxide sequestration and potential commercial production of bioenergy. However, there is an inverse relationship between lipid content and biomass productivity in microalgae, that is the favorable conditions (mostly nitrogen deprivation) for high lipid accumulation limit cell growth and result in low biomass production. Vischeria cf. polyphem (Eustigmatos cf. polyphem) and Vischeria stellate are two oleaginous eustigmatophyte microalgae, which show excellent biomass yield in nitrogen-limiting culture (especially for E. cf. polyphem), and their lipid contents can reach 71.45% and 66.79% of dry weight, respectively. Here, we sequenced the genome of two microalgae and the transcriptomes of E. cf. polyphem to investigate the genomic evolution and molecular mechanisms related to the high innate lipid accumulation rates and biomass production performance of two microalgae, especially for E. cf. polyphem.
Is overgrazing a pervasive problem across Mongolia? An examination of livestock forage demand and forage availability from 2000 to 2014
Creators: name: Gao, W.
name: Angerer, J. P.
name: Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E.
name: Reid, R. S.
name: Action, Nutag
Publisher: name: Mountain Scholar
Year: 2015
Subjects: overgrazing
forage demand
forage availability
Mongolia

description: Includes bibliographical references.
description: Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
description: Pastoral livestock production is considered a pillar of the Mongolian economy. Since the early 1990's, Mongolia has transitioned to a market economy, and livestock numbers have trended upward. Recent remote sensing studies have indicated widespread overgrazing; however, to date, no studies have examined grazing pressure on a national scale to assess the pervasiveness of overgrazing. We conducted a spatial and temporal analysis of grazing pressure by analyzing the relationship between livestock forage availability and forage demand across soums during 2000 to 2014. To estimate livestock forage demand (kg/ha/yr), we converted soum livestock densities to sheep forage units and calculated forage intake on an area basis. Forage availability was estimated using a regression relationship between herbaceous biomass and 250-m resolution MODIS NDVI (r2 = 0.70). The regression was applied to yearly maximum NDVI images to create surfaces of available forage (kg/ha/yr). Percent use (PU) of forage, which is the ratio of forage demand to forage available, was used as an indicator of grazing pressure. 50% use is generally recommended on rangelands for promoting forage regrowth and soil protection. Thirteen percent of the rangeland across Mongolia had PU that exceeded 50% during the entire time series, while 37% had 10 or more years with >50% use. Grazing pressure was higher in the central and western aimags, and lowest in the eastern aimags. Dzuds (winter disasters) in 1999-2002 and 2010 resulted in 35% and 22% reductions in livestock numbers nationwide. Grazing pressure exceeded 50% in over half of the country prior to and during dzuds due to the effect of summer drought on forage availability and high animal numbers. Grazing pressure was lowest after dzuds due to lower livestock numbers and forage response to higher rainfall. Our results indicate that heavy stocking (>50 PU) appears to be pervasive in about 32% of the country and consistent overgrazing (>=10 years with PU>=70) occurs on approximately 11% of the land area. During individual years, land areas having overgrazing are variable due to extreme climate events and linear increases in livestock numbers, regardless of forage availability, during periods between dzuds. The spatially explicit and temporal nature of these results will aid in disentangling effects of changing climate and management, and assessing the resilience of these rangeland systems in Mongolia.
Supervision of Facilitators in a Multisite Study: Goals, Process, and Outcomes
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial For African American Couples Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objective: To describe the aims, implementation, and desired outcomes of facilitator supervision for both interventions (treatment and control) in Project Eban and to present the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision that guided the facilitators’ supervision. The qualifications and training of supervisors and facilitators are also described. Design: This article provides a detailed description of supervision in a multisite behavioral intervention trial. The Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision is guided by 3 theories: cognitive behavior therapy, the Life-long Model of Supervision, and "Empowering supervisees to empower others: a culturally responsive supervision model." Methods: Supervision is based on the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision, which provides guidelines for implementing both interventions using goals, process, and outcomes. Results: Because of effective supervision, the interventions were implemented with fidelity to the protocol and were standard across the multiple sites. Conclusions: Supervision of facilitators is a crucial aspect of multisite intervention research quality assurance. It provides them with expert advice, optimizes the effectiveness of facilitators, and increases adherence to the protocol across multiple sites. Based on the experience in this trial, some of the challenges that arise when conducting a multisite randomized control trial and how they can be handled by implementing the Eban Theoretical Framework for Supervision are described.
title: Congenital absence of IVC and other caval variations: what radiologists should know.
Creators: name: Tamburrano, Chiara
Publisher: name: European Congress of Radiology
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Haemodynamics / Flow dynamics
subject: Congenital
subject: Diagnostic procedure
subject: CT
subject: Emergency
subject: Cardiovascular system
subject: Anatomy
subject: Vascular
subject: Not applicable

description: Learning objectives Background Findings and procedure details Conclusion Personal information and conflict of interest References
description: Learning objectives: To achieve familiarity with IVC anatomical variations, essential for the correct interpretation of cross-sectional images especially in an emergency setting. To avoid wrong diagnosis of retroperitoneal and mediastinal masses since venous...
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Risk Behaviors Among Men at High Risk for HIV Infection
Creators: name: NIMH Multisite HIV Prevention Trial Group
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: Public health

description: Objectives: This study examined the association between unwanted sexual activity during childhood and risky behaviors among a sample of predominantly African American and Hispanic men. Methods: Data were obtained from baseline interviews completed by 2676 men enrolled in a multisite HIV prevention trial. Results: Approximately 25% of the men reported unwanted or uninvited sexual activity before 13 years of age, with Hispanic men more likely than African American men to report unwanted sexual activity during childhood. Men with a history of unwanted sexual activity during childhood were more likely to report unwanted sexual activity since age 13, the buying and selling of sex, problems with alcohol, and drug use. Men who reported unwanted sexual activity during childhood also reported a significantly greater frequency of unprotected sexual acts and more partners. Conclusions: Among men at high risk for HIV infection, unwanted sexual activity during childhood is more widespread than previously described and can increase the risk of participating in harmful health practices during adulthood, including risky sexual behaviors.