cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Speaker Adaptation With Limited Data Using Regression-Tree-Based Spectral Peak Alignment

Spectral mismatch between training and testing utterances can cause significant degradation in the performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Speaker adaptation and speaker normalization techniques are usually applied to address this issue. One way to reduce spectral mismatch is to reshape the spectrum by aligning corresponding formant peaks. There are various levels of mismatch in formant structures. In this paper, regression-tree-based phoneme- and state-level spectral peak alignment is proposed for rapid speaker adaptation using linearization of the vocal tract length normalization (VTLN) technique. This method is investigated in a maximum-likelihood linear regression (MLLR)-like framework, taking advantage of both the efficiency of frequency warping (VTLN) and the reliability of statistical estimations (MLLR). Two different regression classes are investigated: one based on phonetic classes (using combined knowledge and data-driven techniques) and the other based on Gaussian mixture classes. Compared to MLLR, VTLN, and global peak alignment, improved performance can be obtained for both supervised and unsupervised adaptations for both medium vocabulary (the RM1 database) and connected digits recognition (the TIDIGITS database) tasks. Performance improvements are largest with limited adaptation data which is often the case for ASR applications, and these improvements are shown to be statistically significant.
A mathematical model for heat transfer in a packed bed and a simplified solution thereof

Heat transfer in packed beds can be mathematically modeled to account for the heat transfer between the particles and the gas phase, the conduction through the solid phase of particles, and the mixing or dispersion within the gas phase in the void structure of the porous media. To solve the resulting differential equations numerically is not easy. The solution for sinusoidal gas temperature input assumes linearity of the logarithm of the temperature with time. If, in addition, linearity with distance can be assumed, then the solution can be vastly simplified to finding the real root of a fourth-order algebraic equation.
Effects of Transgenic Herbicide-Resistant Soybean Varieties and Systems on Surface-Active Springtails (Entognatha: Collembola)

The degree of abundance and diversity of springtails (order Collembola) often indicates the extent of disturbance by various agricultural practices. We examined how transgenic herbicide-tolerant soybean varieties and their associated weed management systems affect the abundance of 21 surface-active springtail species during three successive soybean growing seasons. With six soybean varieties (three transgenic, three nontransgenic), we tested three weed management systems: (1) targeted application of specific herbicides to the corresponding tolerant transgenic varieties; (2) conventional pre- and postemergence herbicide applications; and (3) mechanical cultivation. Each method posed its own potential costs and benefits to springtails. In targeted plots, springtail numbers were similar to or higher than those in conventional plots, suggesting that the later and repeated targeted applications to transgenic soybeans do not adversely affect springtail numbers in the short term. We attributed the observed treatment effect differences on springtail numbers to resultant differences in weed cover and degree of soil disturbance (indirect effects), rather than to any direct toxic effects of the herbicides. The treatments affected some species but not others; most of the affected species responded similarly to differences in weed treatment. Our results overall suggested no deleterious short-term effects of transgenic soybean targeted weed-management systems on abundance of the springtail species examined.
Changing spatial patterns of DNA replication in the noise-damaged chick cochlea

The purpose of the present study was to examine the spatio-temporal pattern of cell proliferation in the chick cochlea in response to the sensory hair cell loss induced by a 1.5 kHz pure tone at 120 dB SPL (1 dB = 20 muPa) for 48 h. DNA replication was evaluated with the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse-fix technique. One group of birds was given multiple injections of BrdU (50 mg/kg) over a period of 8 h at various starting times during or after the exposure. Afterwards, their cochleas were removed and processed as whole mounts for BrdU immunohistochemistry. The cochleas of a second group of acoustically traumatized chicks were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy in order to determine the spatio-temporal pattern of hair cell loss. Hair cell loss was first observed 12 h after the start of the exposure and DNA replication started near the inferior edge of the hair cell lesion 24–32 h after the start of the exposure, i.e. 12–20 h after the first sign of hair cell loss. The site of hair cell loss and DNA replication shifted toward the superior edge of the basilar papilla as the exposure continued. The rate of DNA replication accelerated and reached its peak near the end of the 48 h exposure. The estimated latency of cell proliferation after hair cell loss was faster and the duration of DNA replication shorter than that observed in other sensory systems. The spatio-temporal pattern of DNA replication follows the spatio-temporal gradient of hair cell loss, suggesting that cell proliferation is triggered by hair cell loss itself rather than by intrinsic positional cues or gradients.
Modeling the Impacts of Solar Distributed Generation on U. S. Water Resources

Distributed electric power generation technologies typically use little or no water per unit of electrical energy produced; in particular, renewable energy sources such as solar PV systems do not require cooling systems and present an opportunity to reduce water usage for power generation. Within the US, the fuel mix used for power generation varies regionally, and certain areas use more water for power generation than others. The need to reduce water usage for power generation is even more urgent in view of climate change uncertainties. In this paper, we present an example case within the state of Tennessee, one of the top four states in water consumption for power generation and one of the states with little or no potential for developing centralized renewable energy generations. The potential for developing PV generation within Knox County, Tennessee, is studied, along with the potential for reducing water withdrawal and consumption within the Tennessee Valley stream region. Electric power generation plants in the region are quantified for their electricity production and expected water withdrawal and consumption over one year, where electrical generation data is provided over one year and water usage is modeled based on the cooling system(s) in use. Potential solar PV electrical production is modeled based on LiDAR data and weather data for the same year. Our proposed methodology can be summarized as follows: First, the potential solar generation is compared against the local grid demand. Next, electrical generation reductions are specified that would result in a given reduction in water withdrawal and a given reduction in water consumption, and compared with the current water withdrawal and consumption rates for the existing fuel mix. The increase in solar PV development that would produce an equivalent amount of power, is determined. In this way, we consider how targeted local actions may affect the larger stream region through thoughtful energy development. This model can be applied to other regions, other types of distributed generation, and used as a framework for modeling alternative growth scenarios in power production capacity in addition to modeling adjustments to existing capacity.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Liquid-Metal-Bath Stress-Strain Apparatus

Abstract A simple, reliable apparatus for measuring stress-strain properties of vulcanizates at temperatures up to at least 800° F has been developed. The heating medium is a molten metal bath which provides uniform temperature distribution and rapid heat transfer while excluding atmospheric oxygen. Ultimate tensile strengths are in excellent agreement with those obtained in conventional air-oven tests. Stress relaxation tests show the effects of excluding atmospheric oxygen from the specimens. Somewhat higher ultimate elongations are obtained in the liquid-bath than in air-oven apparatus, for which possible reasons are suggested. Results on vulcanizates of heat-resistant polymers demonstrate that retention of physical properties at 500° F or 600° F cannot be safely predicted from data obtained at 400° F. The curing system, as well as the base polymer, is very important to high temperature resistance. In both Diene and butyl rubber compounds, for example, resin cures were superior in this respect to more ...
Assembly optimization for low power optical MCM link

Organic optical multi-chip modules for high bandwidth-density and low-power link in high-performance computing systems are developed. The light from polymer optical waveguide is coupled to a multimode fiber through a total internal reflection (TIR) mirror and a newly-developed compact fiber connector with lens arrays. For preventing a UV adhesive for connector assembly or an underfill resin for optoelectronic chip assembly goes into the TIR mirror cavity, the materials with proper viscosity and wettability are tested. As a result, 35 Gb/s operation is achieved for both transmitters and receivers after the connector assembly. The link budget analysis is also done. We report on the detail of the link budget analysis and the assembly optimization.
Integrative analysis identifies targetable CREB1/FoxA1 transcriptional co-regulation as a predictor of prostate cancer recurrence

Identifying prostate cancer-driving transcription factors (TFs) in addition to the androgen receptor promises to improve our ability to effectively diagnose and treat this disease. We employed an integrative genomics analysis of master TFs CREB1 and FoxA1 in androgen-dependent prostate cancer (ADPC) and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cell lines, primary prostate cancer tissues and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to investigate their role in defining prostate cancer gene expression profiles. Combining genome-wide binding site and gene expression profiles we define CREB1 as a critical driver of pro-survival, cell cycle and metabolic transcription programs. We show that CREB1 and FoxA1 co-localize and mutually influence each other's binding to define disease-driving transcription profiles associated with advanced prostate cancer. Gene expression analysis in human prostate cancer samples found that CREB1/FoxA1 target gene panels predict prostate cancer recurrence. Finally, we showed that this signaling pathway is sensitive to compounds that inhibit the transcription co-regulatory factor MED1. These findings not only reveal a novel, global transcriptional co-regulatory function of CREB1 and FoxA1, but also suggest CREB1/FoxA1 signaling is a targetable driver of prostate cancer progression and serves as a biomarker of poor clinical outcomes.
Conservative Management of Cesarean Scar Ectopic Pregnancy with Fetal Heart Activity and a Very High β-hCG

Cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy (CSP) is a rare type of ectopic pregnancy that is growing in incidence. The diagnosis of most CSP occurs when patients present in unstable conditions requiring surgical management and leading sometimes to hysterectomy. It has been shown that medical management is a safe option for early diagnosed hemodynamically stable CSP. However, no cases of CSP with β-hCG higher than 62,000 IU/L, conservatively treated, have been reported. We report the case of a 29-year-old patient who presented for her first prenatal visit at 13-week gestation and was diagnosed with CSP with present fetal heart tones and a quantitative β-hCG of 144,337 IU/L. She was treated with bilateral uterine artery embolization and systemic methotrexate. Her β-hCG significantly decreased and became undetectable within 10 weeks. We propose that patients with CSP with very high β-hCG and fetal heart activity can be offered conservative or fertility preserving management.
Raising Revenue: A Monetary Policymaker's Guide

In this paper, we consider a government that executes a permanent open market sale. The government is forced to eventually monetize the debt, choosing between changing either the money growth rate (the inflation-tax rate) or the reserve requirement ratio (the inflation-tax base). We first derive conditions in which each of the two second-best alternative policies are feasible in an economy with neoclassical production. Armed with these conditions, we ask the following question: which monetary policy action is better in a welfare sense? With neoclassical production, monetary policy potentially has long-run effects on the capital stock and the marginal product of capital. The curvature of the production function is crucial. The computational experiments show, somewhat surprisingly, that a permanent increase in government bonds is financed by either lower reserve requirements or faster money growth. Accordingly, steady-state welfare for all generations is higher under the reserve-requirement policy.
Management of Atypical and Anaplastic Meningiomas

Meningiomas are the most prevalent primary tumor of central nervous system origin and, although most neoplasms are benign, a small proportion exemplifies an aggressive profile characterized by high recurrence rates, pleomorphic histology, and overall resistance to standard treatment. Standard initial therapy for malignant meningiomas includes maximal safe surgical resection followed by focal radiation in certain cases. The role for chemotherapy during recurrence of these aggressive meningiomas is less clear. Prognosis is poor and recurrence of malignant meningiomas is high. This article provides an overview of atypical and anaplastic malignant meningiomas, their treatment, and ongoing research for more effective treatments.
False Negative Rate, Limit of Detection, and Recovery Efficiency Performance of a Validated Macrofoam‐Swab Sampling Method for Low Surface Concentrations of Bacillus anthracis Sterne and Bacillus atrophaeus Spores

Aims We sought to evaluate the effects of Bacillus species, low surface concentrations, and surface material on recovery efficiency (RE), false-negative rate (FNR) and limit of detection for recovering Bacillus spores using a validated macrofoam-swab sampling procedure. Methods and results The performance of a macrofoam-swab sampling method was evaluated using Bacillus anthracis Sterne (BAS) and Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura (BG) spores applied at nine low target surface concentrations (2 to 500 CFU per plate or coupon) to positive-control plates and test coupons (25·8064 cm(2) ) of four surface materials (glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile and plastic). The Bacillus species and surface material had statistically significant effects on RE, but surface concentration did not. Mean REs were the lowest for vinyl tile (50·8% with BAS and 40·2% with BG) and the highest for glass (92·8% with BAS and 71·4% with BG). FNR values (which ranged from 0 to 0·833 for BAS and from 0 to 0·806 for BG) increased as surface concentration decreased in the range tested. Surface material also had a statistically significant effect on FNR, with FNR the lowest for glass and highest for vinyl tile. Finally, FNR tended to be higher for BG than for BAS at lower surface concentrations, especially for glass. Conclusions Concentration and surface material had significant effects on FNR, with Bacillus species having a small effect. Species and surface material had significant effects on RE, with surface concentration having a nonsignificant effect. Significance and impact of the study The results provide valuable information on the performance of the macrofoam-swab method for low surface concentrations of Bacillus spores, which can be adapted to assess the likelihood that there is no contamination when all macrofoam-swab samples fail to detect B. anthracis.
EFFECTS OF GAME STRUCTURE ON BOYS' SATISFACTION AND PARTICIPATION

Summary.-inhabiting level is defined as the number of tasks to be performed in a setting in relation to the number of people who will perform those tasks and has been found to influence the behaviors and psychological experiences of participants. In this study, the structural organization of a children's game was manipulated to create three different levels of inhabiting. Boys (n= 108) were classified as having low, medium, or high throwing skills. Teams consisting ot one player from each skiU level were created using stratified random sampling. Teams then played an underinhabited game (two ongoing tasks per player), an adequately inhabited game (one ongoing task per player), and an overinhabited game (one task rotated among three players). Satisfaction with each game was measured by a questionnaire following play. Observational rating scales were used to assess players1 degree of involvement and affecrive expression during play. Boys reported significantly greater satisfaction and displayed significantly greater involvement and positive affect in the underinhabited game than in either one or both of the other games. The study of children's physical games and sport has been conducted almost exclusively from the perspective of individual differences. For example, researchers have investigated young athletes' motives for participation and attrition (Burton & Martens, 1986; Gould, Feltz, & Weiss, 1985; Klint & Weiss, 1986), competitive trait anxiety (Lewthwaite & Scanlan, 19891, selfefficacy (Weiss, Wiese, & Klint, 1989), self-esteem (Smith & Small, 1990), and enjoyment (Wankel & Sefton, 1989). The influence of the physical-social structure of game and sport settings on children's participation has received little attention, perhaps due to the lack of a theoretical framework from which to approach structural factors. The application of behavior-setting theory (Barker, 1968; Schoggen, 1989) may enhance our understanding of the effects of children's games and sport on participants by providmg such a framework. Behavior settings (Barker, 1968; Schoggen, 1989) are environmental entities which provide the many varied physical-social contexts for our lives. Being independent of our perceptions, behavioral settings coerce our behavior, encouraging some types of action and discouraging others within a particular setting. Children's games, and competitive and practice events in
Public versus Private Market Participants and the Prices Paid for Private Companies

This study examines the impact of the market participant on prices paid for private companies in the Pratt’s Stats database. We examine approximately 4,200 transactions over the period of 2000–2011 for companies with sales of $1 million or more. We find that public buyers pay more after controlling for the target’s size, industry, age, estimated growth rate, and profitability, as well as the time of the transaction. We also find that smaller companies and C-corporations sell at higher multiples. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the price paid for a company is related to whether the market participant is private or public. Further, our results provide additional insights to users of the Pratt’s Stats database regarding the characteristics of the transactions in this well-known and often-used database.
Parametric Studies on Suppression of Secondary Phases in LiNbO3 Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition

We performed a parametric study to suppress secondary phases in lithium niobate thin films by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). A KrF excimer laser (λ=248nm) was used as a PLD source and c-oriented sapphire was used as substrates, for waveguide applications. By reducing the growth rate and changing the ambient gas pressure respectively, we found that the main parameter suppressing a secondary phase is controlling the plume strength. To investigate the relation between film phases and the plume strength, extensive parametric studies were performed by changing the oxygen ambient pressure, the target to substrate distance, and also the Li content in the target. The surface morphologies of single phase films and Li-deficient phase mixed films are compared and related to the growth mechanism with a lattice misfit. Deposition parameters to achieve lower loss films are also discussed.
Ethical challenges in designing and implementing health systems research: Experiences from the field

ABSTRACTBackground: Health systems research (HSR) seeks to generate knowledge to improve the mechanisms for delivering quality health services and improving population health outcomes. HSR covers a wide range of research questions, including health financing, service delivery, human resources for health, and quality improvement. Because HSR has its own definitions, methods, and analytic approaches, there is an increasing realization that these studies may raise ethical concerns that differ from other types of research. Despite the increasing interest and investment in HSR over the past several years, there is little empirical research examining the kinds of ethical challenges that arise in the design and implementation of these studies. A deeper understanding of the kinds of ethical issues encountered in various types of HSR could help researchers prepare for these challenges and better inform ethical review processes. Methods: Using semistructured qualitative interviews with 16 researchers involved in th...
Diode-pumped, Q-switched, and frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser

Previously reported diode-laser end-pumped solid-state lasers emphasize either Q-switched or continuous-wave (cw) frequency-doubled operation.1,2 I report on the end-pumping of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser cavity to efficiently generate both cw and pulsed 532 nm laser radiation in an intracavity frequency-doubling scheme.
BIOMECHANICAL RESPONSES OF CHAMAEDOREA AND SPATHIPHYLLUM PETIOLES TO TISSUE DEHYDRATION

Data are presented for the mechanical response to dehydration of petioles from two monocotyledons (Chamedorea erumpens and Spathiphyllum Clevendii). These data were used to test the hypothesis that the mechanical properties (elastic modulus E and flexural stiffness EI) of petioles from C. erumpes are altered significantly less by dehydration than those of petioles from Spathiphyllum.
The policy implications of Post Keynesian monetary theory

Any theory in reasonable contact with reality carries with it a plan for action—a policy for changing the world along better lines in keeping with its vision. When a theory is devoid of any contact with reality, it has no policy implications (action in the real world not being possible), or, alternatively, if a theory has but a tenuous contact with reality, its policy implications may be irrelevant or politically impractical. Neoclassical Keynesian theory, by virtue of its reformulation of Keynes along general equilibrium lines, has been moving along the latter trajectory. Post Keynesian theory, on the other hand, represents an attempt, still in the process of being worked out, to restore reality to economic thinking in terms of the power relationships of contemporary society. Whether it has done so effectively, or any better than neoclassical Keynesianism along politically practical lines, is left to the concluding section of this chapter.
Childhood Epilepsy Treatment Strategies

Treatment strategies employed in 494 children with various seizure types and remission frequencies were studied prospectively at multiple hospital centers in the Netherlands.
Analysis of the design and performance characteristics of pumpable roof supports.

Pumpable roof supports are currently being used to provide a safe working environment for longwall mining. Because different pumpable supports are visually similar and installed fundamentally in the same manner as other supports, there is a tendency to believe they all perform the same way. However, there are several design parameters that can affect their performance, including the cementitious material properties and the bag construction practices that influence the degree of confinement provided. A full understanding of the impact of these design parameters is necessary to optimize the support application and to provide a foundation for making further improvements in the support performance. This paper evaluates the impact of various support design parameters by examining full-scale performance tests conducted using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Mine Roof Simulator (MRS) as part of manufacturers’ developmental and quality control testing. These tests were analyzed to identify correlations between the support design parameters and the resulting performance. Based on more than 160 tests over 7 years, quantifiable patterns were examined to assess the correlation between the support dimensions, cementitious material type, wire pitch, and single-wall vs. dual-walled bag designs to the support capacity, stiffness, load shedding events, and yield characteristics.
Perception, Interpretation, and Impact of Health Risk Appraisal Feedback: Pilot Studies of an Assessment Tool.

One mandate of the Affordable Care Act is continued support of workplace wellness programs. A tool used to encourage behavior change is a health risk appraisal (HRA). However, research indicates th...
Scattering and skin depth at the meso- and nanoscale

Observations of anomalous far-field scattering patterns from non-perfectly conducting cylindrical shells have lead to an analysis including surface currents and waves. The concept of skin depth is analyzed for wavelength-scale scattering structures when the permeability of the material is low in terms of the magnetic vector potential. Conditions under which interactions between the incident field and material properties below the skin depth affect the far field scattering pattern are illustrated and explained. The possibility of exploiting this to better characterize material properties of meso and nanoscale structures at optical frequencies is presented.
In older men with low testosterone levels and age-associated memory impairment, testosterone did not improve memory.

Source Citation Resnick SM, Matsumoto AM, Stephens-Shields AJ, et al. Testosterone treatment and cognitive function in older men with low testosterone and age-associated memory impairment. JAMA. 20...
Late-onset bipolar disorder

Much is still unknown about late-life bipolar disorder (BPD), especially late-onset BPD. Lateonset BPD may be etiologically different from early-onset BPD, and may be related to the medical and neurological problems that can occur with aging; alternately, it may be an underlying progression of neurological illness associated with certain cases of BPD early in life.
Increased MYC copy number is an independent prognostic factor in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Patients with double-hit or triple-hit lymphoma have a significantly worse prognosis compared to patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma without MYC rearrangement. However, the prognostic importance of extra copies of MYC, BCL2, or BCL6 has not been fully explored. We studied 663 patients with de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in whom the status of MYC/8q24, BCL2/18q21, and BCL6/3q27 were assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Cases of double or triple extra copy lymphoma were defined by the presence of increased MYC copies and increased BCL2 and/or BCL6 copies or rearrangement. In total, 76 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had MYC extra copies including 43 cases of double or triple extra copy lymphoma; 105 patients had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with MYC-R including 56 double- or triple-hit lymphoma; and 482 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients had no MYC abnormality (MYC normal). Patients with MYC extra copies, similar to MYC-R, had a worse overall survival compared with MYC normal patients (both P<0.01). The prognosis between patients with MYC extra copies and MYC-R was not statistically significantly different (P=0.086). Cell-of-origin classification failed to correlate with survival in the MYC extra copies group, similar to the MYC-R patient group. Compared with patients with double- or triple-hit lymphoma, patients with double or triple extra copy lymphoma had a higher complete remission rate (P=0.02), but there was no significant statistical difference in overall survival (P=0.089). Intensive induction chemotherapy regimens improved the overall survival of patients with double or triple extra copy lymphoma, but there was no significant improvement of overall survival in patients with MYC-R tumors. Multivariate analysis showed that MYC extra copy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is an independent poor prognostic factor, similar to MYC rearrangement.
Unexpected stasis in a changing world: Lake nutrient and chlorophyll trends since 1990.

The United States (U.S.) has faced major environmental changes in recent decades, including agricultural intensification and urban expansion, as well as changes in atmospheric deposition and climate—all of which may influence eutrophication of freshwaters. However, it is unclear whether or how water quality in lakes across diverse ecological settings has responded to environmental change. We quantified water quality trends in 2913 lakes using nutrient and chlorophyll (Chl) observations from the Lake Multi-Scaled Geospatial and Temporal Database of the Northeast U.S. (LAGOS-NE), a collection of preexisting lake data mostly from state agencies. LAGOS-NE was used to quantify whether lake water quality has changed from 1990 to 2013, and whether lake-specific or regional geophysical factors were related to the observed changes. We modeled change through time using hierarchical linear models for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), stoichiometry (TN:TP), and Chl. Both the slopes (percent change per year) and intercepts (value in 1990) were allowed to vary by lake and region. Across all lakes, TN declined at a rate of 1.1% year−1, while TP, TN:TP, and Chl did not change. A minority (7%–16%) of individual lakes had changing nutrients, stoichiometry, or Chl. Of those lakes that changed, we found differences in the geospatial variables that were most related to the observed change in the response variables. For example, TN and TN:TP trends were related to region-level drivers associated with atmospheric deposition of N; TP trends were related to both lake and region-level drivers associated with climate and land use; and Chl trends were found in regions with high air temperature at the beginning of the study period. We conclude that despite large environmental change and management efforts over recent decades, water quality of lakes in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. has not overwhelmingly degraded or improved.
Effects of blood flow restricted exercise training on muscular strength and blood flow in older adults

Abstract Background In young adults, blood flow restricted exercise (BFRE) at relatively low intensities can increase muscle strength as effectively as conventional high intensity training. Ischemic exercise can also increase collateral blood flow in skeletal muscle. However, the effects of chronic BFRE on muscle strength and blood flow in older adults remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 4 weeks of BFRE training on skeletal muscle strength and blood flow between young and older subjects and between older adults performing BFRE and conventional high intensity resistance exercise. Methods Maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), forearm girth, peak forearm blood flow (FBF) and forearm vascular conductance (FVC) were assessed before and after 4 weeks of forearm resistance training with BFRE in older adults (O-BFRE, 63 ± 1 y, n = 9) and younger adults (Y-BFRE, 22 ± 1 y, n = 8) and with high intensity training at 75% maximum voluntary contraction in older adults (O-HI, 63 ± 1 y, n = 10). Results MVC increased in all groups (O-BFRE, 33.4 ± 4.7 to 36.3 ± 4.7 kg; Y-BFRE, 37.2 ± 4.9 to 43.0 ± 5.0 kg; O-HI, 34.0 ± 4.4 to 39.8 ± 4.4 kg; all p Conclusion These data suggest that chronic BFRE training is effective in increasing muscular strength, muscle size and vascularity in young adults but, in older adults, increases only muscular strength and size. Longer training durations or higher volumes may be required to evoke similar vascular adaptations in older adults.
DESERTS: THE ENCROACHING WILDERNESS: A WORLD CONSERVATION ATLAS

Review by Sheri Kinney Library Specialist, Cline Library, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 6022, Flagstaff, AZ 86011. USA. DESERTS: THE ENCROACHING WILDERNESS: A WORLD CONSERVATION ATLAS. Edited by Tony Allan and Andrew Warren. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 176 pp. US$35.00 Hardback ISBN:0-19-520941- What does the average person imagine when asked to describe a desert? Intensely hot, unbearably dry, windswept expanses of shifting sand? DESERTS: THE ENCROACHING WILDERNESS: A WORLD CONSERVATION ATLAS will expand that vision to include the variety of plants, animals, and peoples which are an integral part of this ecosystem. The book begins with a discussion of what deserts are and why they exist. Factors which continuously affect the arid landscape are water availability, sand and wind erosion, soil type, and flood patterns. The dynamics of each of these factors are discussed and illustrated. Plant, animal, and human life in the harsh desert environment face the challenges of temperature extremes, lack of water, and shortages of food. Adaptability is the key to survival. Deserts cover approximately thirty percent of the land surfaces of the world and occupy significant portions of Africa, Australia, southwest and central Asia, western South America, and the southwestern United States. Fourteen major desert areas are described in detail with maps and text illustrating the extent of aridity, cities and settlements, transportation routes, international and disputed borders, and natural resources. Seasonal land features, such as rivers and lakes which appear only during the wet season, are shown in addition to permanent features. Although deserts do not receive the amount of public interest that rainforests have, this book certainly captures the reader immediately. Every page has usually more than one color photograph, illustration or map depicting the landscape, flora, fauna, peoples and resources of the desert. A glossary is included to promote understanding of terminology and the book is well indexed. DESERTS: THE ENCROACHING WILDERNESS: A WORLD CONSERVATION ATLAS is more than just a pretty picture book. It is a serious attempt to address issues related to the impact of human populations and the exploitation of resources in these regions. The harshness of the desert environment would seem to belie the fragility of this ecosystem. Yet experience has proven that deserts are extremely susceptible to the effects of mining, industry and development, overgrazing, and the demands of changes in water usage. DESERTS emphasizes that what little life there is in deserts can all too easily be destroyed, and desert margins will become increasingly desertified as human activity ruins productive land (p. 158). Strategies for conservation and sustainable development of the desert margins is essential if further degradation and desertification is to be minimized. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.
Improving the Quality of Pediatric Healthcare through Quality Improvement Collaboratives

Purpose of review This review summarizes the current need for Quality Improvement Collaboratives (QICs) and includes considerations specific to pediatric healthcare, such as low-frequency of outcomes and unique funding barriers. This review will consider nuances within measure formation and data collection within QICs, available models for structured formation of a QIC, components that are integral to a QICs success, as well as lessons learned and future directions.Recent findings The literature has demonstrated an increase in the number of pediatric QI collaboratives in recent years. These collaboratives have varied in size, duration, and composition of team members. While some QICs have included members at the organizational level, others have included more novel groups such as insurance companies. Novel methodologies have also been utilized such as N of 1 trials focused on continued interventions for one patient and provider dyad. Successful QICs include use of a steering committee or pre-planning group to guide measures development, use of robust QI methodology to implement small tests of change and continuous feedback of individual and aggregate data and transparency among benchmarking sites. Ideal QI methods for use within QICs have been vetted in prior collaboratives and include formal barriers assessments using driver diagrams, PDSA cycles and analyzing data and measures using run and statistical process control (SPC) charts to inform real-time change and interventions.Summary QICs are pivotal to closing the gap in delivery of evidence based practice while minimizing widespread unnecessary practice variation across multiple organizations using available QI methodologies and tools. Novel approaches to funding such as partnership with insurance companies and educational organizations can allow for more robust participation. Future research should broaden the scope of their measures to include patient centered outcomes.
Multinuclear NMR Imaging of Solids

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful analytical tool for the study of materials. The utility of NMR is derived from the unique information it provides on the physical and chemical structure of the material being studied. The ability to obtain such information as a function of spatial position within the sample makes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) potentially an important technique for the NDE of materials [1]. In general, current MRI instrumentation and techniques limit the study of materials to cases where the observed nuclei are in a liquidlike environment. Even so, reports of imaging liquids in solid materials [2,3] and the soft components of materials [4] have appeared. To date there are few examples of MRI applied to the imaging of the solid components of materials [5].
Grassroots Movements as Transnational Actors: Implications for Global Civil Society

The past two decades witnessed the emergence of a new range of transnational social movements, networks, and organizations seeking to promote a more just and equitable global order. With this broadening and deepening of cross-border citizen action, however, troubling questions have arisen about their rights of representation and accountability—the internal hierarchies of voice and access within transnational civil society are being highlighted. The rise of transnational grassroots movements, with strong constituency base and sophisticated advocacy capability at both local and global levels, is an important phenomenon in this context. These movements are formed and led by poor and marginalized groups, and defy the stereotype of grassroots movements being narrowly focused on local issues. They embody both a challenge and an opportunity for democratizing and strengthening the role of transnational civil society in global
A Modular Multi-Level Converter for Energy Management of Hybrid Storage System in Electric Vehicles

This paper presents a novel energy management system (EMS) that for hybrid energy storage devices in Electric Vehicles (EVs). The use of ultra-capacitors as the power pulsating storage device in EVs mitigates the inefficiencies associated with the slow power dynamics of battery cells. Thus, Li-ion batteries can only supply the EV average power due to their high energy density characteristics. Such a hybrid system leads to challenging tasks in managing the energy between the individual battery and UC cells. Additionally, accounting for the motor loading conditions and extending the maximum torque per ampere operation is desirable for an EV drive powertrain. Thus, a modular multi-converter is configured to manage the energy between the different storage cells for an EV application. Furthermore, the use of MMCs eliminates the need for a system-level drive inverter feeding the EV motor. The presented results verify the proposed configuration effectiveness.
The Influence of Avatar Representation and Behavior on Communication in Social Immersive Virtual Environments

Virtual reality applications have begun to offer great potential for communication in recent years. Creating an immersive virtual social environment that simulates a real social environment requires providing users with communication cues such as visual, verbal, and nonverbal cues to increase their sense of inhabiting the virtual world. In this work, we will investigate the influence of avatar representation and behavior on communication in an immersive, multiuser, same-place virtual environment by comparing three conditions of avatar representation: video see-through, scanned realistic avatar, and no-avatar representations. Subjective and objective measurements will be used to describe participants' observations and track their movement behavior to ascertain the effect of avatar representations on communication, based on personal presence, social presence, and trustworthiness.
Atomistic Modeling of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Under Polyethylene Glycol Crowding: Quantitative Comparison with Experimental Data and Implication of Protein-Crowder Attraction.

The malleability of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) has generated great interest in understanding how their conformations respond to crowded cellular environments. Experiments can report gross properties such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency but cannot resolve the conformational ensembles of IDPs and their interactions with macromolecular crowders. Computation can in principle provide the latter information but in practice has been hampered by the enormous expense for realistic modeling of IDPs and crowders and for sufficient conformational sampling. Here, taking advantage of a powerful method called FMAP (fast Fourier transform-based modeling of atomistic protein–crowder interactions), we computed how the conformational ensembles of three IDPs are modified in concentrated polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 solutions. We represented the IDPs at the all-atom level and the PEG molecules at a coarse-grained level and calculated the experimental observable, i.e., FRET efficienc...
Transapical percutaneous closure of rapidly expanding post‐surgical left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm

Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is an infrequent but potentially fatal complication following cardiac surgery, with spontaneous rupture being the most feared result. Moreover, surgical repair is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We present a successful transapical percutaneous closure of a post-surgical rapidly expanding left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) pseudoaneurysm utilizing Amplatz Vascular Plug-II (AVP-II) (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN) with the aid of 3D prototyping for pre-procedural planning.
James William Kimbrough, 1934-2017.

James William Kimbrough (FIG. 1) was born November 7, 1934, in Eupora, Webster County, Mississippi. He was the eldest son of Felix and Ethel Kimbrough. James, known as Buddy to his family in Missis...
Project design decisions of egalitarian and non-egalitarian international organizations: Evidence from the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank

Foreign aid flows result from agreements reached between states that need resources and other states or international organizations that can provide those resources. Recent literature has argued that different international development organizations bargain with aid-receiving states in particular ways. Specifically, some authors argue that non-egalitarian international development organizations seek to secure more gains when bargaining with economically weak states. Global Environment Facility projects are negotiated by the international agency that will implement the project, allowing us to examine this claim in the context of a set of similar development projects. Correcting and reanalyzing an existing dataset describing the composition of financing in GEF projects, we find no evidence that the financing terms provided by different GEF implementing agencies varies by the type of organization. Both egalitarian and non-egalitarian agencies provide more external funding to poorer countries. We replicate this result using data from development projects financed by the World Bank, the archetypal non-egalitarian international organization. We discuss how our results are consistent with organizational behavior that originates in the interests of an international bureaucracy oriented toward poverty alleviation.
Assessment of reperfusion after acute myocardial infarction: Is there a role for acute technetium 99m-teboroxime imaging?

Early coronary reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction, whether spontaneous or resulting from pharmacologic or mechanical intervention, generally results in optimal myocardial salvage. Early reperfusion of the infarct-related artery is associated with improved survival and recovery of left ventricular function. 1-3 The early assessment of coronary reperfusion after thrombolysis is critical after myocardial infarction, because when thrombolytic therapy is not efficacious, rescue coronary angioplasty can be used for immediate reperfusion. Preliminary data suggest that the early mortality rate after successful rescue angioplasty is similar to that of initially successful thrombolysis. 4 However, prompt referral of patients for rescue angioplasty is often hindered or delayed by difficulty in the early effective clinical recognition of failed thrombolysis. 5 In addition, establishing reperfusion may also be important in patients later after infarction, because patency of the infarct-related coronary artery may improve survival. 1-3 Maintenance of infarct vessel patency may also be important for optimal myocardial remodeling. 6,7 Thus the definition and maintenance of infarct-related artery vessel patency both immediately and late after myocardial infarction are important. 3 We are faced with the challenge of developing a diagnostic approach that rapidly identifies patients in whom reperfusion is not successful and accurately identifies reocclusion after successful reperfusion. To this end, routine cardiac catheterization is not recommended and may be associated with increased risk) Several noninvasive approaches for the assessment of early reperfusion after thrombolysis have been proposed; these include evaluation of clinical parameters, electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria, and enzymatic and imaging approaches. 9 Relief of chest pain, conventional analysis of ST segment changes, and sudden appearance of arrhythmias have been found to be unreliable indexes of reperfusion. 1° Echocardiographic approaches lack a precise quantitative analysis and therefore require highly skilled techni
Ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) for the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Objective: Review pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of ziv-aflibercept in combination with FOLFIRI for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) resistant to or progressed following oxaliplatin-containing regimens. Data Sources: Articles indexed in PubMed (1948-August 2013), TOXLINE (2001-August 2013), and Google Scholar as well as meeting abstracts were identified using the search terms ziv-aflibercept and colorectal cancer. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Available English-language articles Data Synthesis: Ziv-aflibercept, a selective vascular endothelial growth factor antagonist, was evaluated as monotherapy for treatment of mCRC in a phase 2 study and added to FOLFIRI in a phase 3 trial. Patient response to ziv-aflibercept as monotherapy did not reach statistical significance. Results suggest that response to ziv-aflibercept treatment is not influenced by prior bevacizumab therapy. A phase 3 trial compared the safety and efficacy of ziv-aflibercept plus FOLFIRI with plac...