Some observations on the Sources Used in Martin Del Rio’s Disquisitionum Magicarum Libri Sex ( Six Books on Magical Investigations )

This paper is an analysis of the sources used in Del Rio\u27s Disquisitionum Magicarum Libri Sex ( Six Books on Magical Investigations ). Providing a brief overview of the scholarly sources available for study as well as a general introduction to the period this paper focuses on the type of sources Del Rio quotes in order to prove his points

To Look Into the Abyss Unafraid: Being a tale of a newly hired Systems Librarian teaming up with a Library Director to purge the demons hiding in a very old web server

Upon being hired in May 2022 as a Systems and Technology librarian presenter Iglesias had the unenviable task of taking over management of Salve University Library\u27s web server. Although the Internet Archive lists its first snapshot of this url as being in 2000, there is evidence of an older, more chaotic past. From a Unix server of some sort to a Microsoft box that just had all of the files loaded on with no thought to directory structure leaving tantalizing clues everywhere from old directories to flash files now deprecated. Obviously there was a need to get rid of the old stuff and keep the new stuff but how exactly to do that. A compromise was reached and the co-presenters spent many weeks going one file at a time to determine what could be safely deleted and what might still be in use. From subject guides that had become libguides to maps that could no longer be displayed to announcements of events 10 years in the past there was much work to do. This presentation will present a synopsis of the efforts undertaken as well as some hints for others who may be in a similar position. Best tools will be covered but also best techniques for communicating with affected stakeholders in order to achieve progress

AI-powered research tools and applications

A presentation of various tools that may be used by faculty and librarians to aid their research using Artificial Intelligence

Ralph W. Steen Library 2015 – 2016 Quantitative Comparative Statistical Analysis

For academic libraries at public state universities, the challenge continues on how to evaluate performance, measure progress, and find meaningful ways to demonstrate their worth. The challenge is to find meaningful ways to demonstrate how library programs and services contribute to learning outcomes and student success. This report presents a comparative analysis of Ralph W. Steen Library and ten peer institutions to highlight areas of excellence and under-performance that may warrant further attention

Morphological Variation in Three-Dimensional Printed Replicas

Employed primarily for outreach and education, the three-dimensional (3D) printer used in this analysis provides a means of producing tangible models of fragile and restricted-use specimens for students from a wide variety of disciplines, and is used here to produce prints associated with historic and prehistoric cultural objects. Recognizing that inconsistencies occur in 3D prints due to environmental variables, this exploratory effort was aimed at identifying the geometry that deviates most from the original scan data. A total of five replicas were printed then compared by calculating the gap distance between the nominal (original scan data) and measured data (scan of 3D printed replica) in Geomagic Control X. Results indicate that computer-aided inspection may prove useful in the refinement of 3D printing work flows, finishing, and the iterative refinement of 3D printer settings for specific real-world education- and outreach-based endeavors

Update on hepatitis C virus resistance to direct-acting antiviral agents

Review[Abstract] Resistance to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is driven by the selection of mutations at different positions in the NS3 protease, NS5B polymerase and NS5A proteins. With the exception of NS5B nucleos(t)ide inhibitors, most DAAs possess a low genetic barrier to resistance, with significant cross-resistance between compounds belonging to the same family. However, a specific mutation profile is associated with each agent or drug class and varies depending on the genotype/subtype (e.g., genotype 1b showed higher rates of sustained virological response (SVR) and a higher genetic barrier for resistance than genotype 1a). Moreover, some resistance mutations exist as natural polymorphisms in certain genotypes/subtypes at frequencies that require baseline drug resistance testing before recommending certain antivirals. For example, the polymorphism Q80K is frequently found among genotype 1a (19–48%) and is associated with resistance to simeprevir. Similarly, L31M and Y93H, key resistance mutations to NS5A inhibitors, are frequently found (6–12%) among NS5A genotype 1 sequences. In particular, the presence of these polymorphisms may be of relevance in poorly interferon-responsive patients (i.e., null responders and non-CC IL28B) under DAA-based therapies in combination with pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin. The relevance of pre-existing resistance mutations for responses to interferon-free DAA therapies is unclear for most regimens and requires further study.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CP08/00214Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI10/0216

Knockout of Targeted Plasmid-Borne β-Lactamase Genes in an Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Strain: Impact on Resistance and Proteomic Profile

Resistance to β-lactams is known to be multifactorial, although the underlying mechanisms are not well established. The aim of our study was to develop a system for assessing the phenotypic and proteomic responses of bacteria to antibiotic stress as a result of the loss of selected antimicrobial resistance genes. We applied homologous recombination to knock out plasmid-borne β-lactamase genes (blaOXA-1, blaTEM-1, and blaCTX-M15) in Escherichia coli CCUG 73778, generating knockout clone variants lacking the respective deleted β-lactamases. Quantitative proteomic analyses were performed on the knockout variants and the wild-type strain, using bottom-up liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), after exposure to different concentrations of cefadroxil. Loss of the blaCTX-M-15 gene had the greatest impact on the resulting protein expression dynamics, while losses of blaOXA-1 and blaTEM-1 affected fewer proteins’ expression levels. Proteins involved in antibiotic resistance, cell membrane integrity, stress, and gene expression and unknown function proteins exhibited differential expression. The present study provides a framework for studying protein expression in response to antibiotic exposure and identifying the genomic, proteomic, and phenotypic impacts of resistance gene loss.publishedVersio

Chaotic exchange of solid material between planetary systems: implications for lithopanspermia

We examine a low energy mechanism for the transfer of meteoroids between two planetary systems embedded in a star cluster using quasi-parabolic orbits of minimal energy. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the exchange of meteoroids could have been significantly more efficient than previously estimated. Our study is relevant to astrobiology as it addresses whether life on Earth could have been transferred to other planetary systems in the solar system's birth cluster and whether life on Earth could have been transferred here from beyond the solar system. In the solar system, the timescale over which solid material was delivered to the region from where it could be transferred via this mechanism likely extended to several hundred million years (as indicated by the 3.8-4.0 Ga epoch of the Late Heavy Bombardment). This timescale could have overlapped with the lifetime of the Solar birth cluster (~100-500 Myr). Therefore, we conclude that lithopanspermia is an open possibility if life had an early start. Adopting parameters from the minimum mass solar nebula, considering a range of planetesimal size distributions derived from observations of asteroids and Kuiper Belt Objects and theoretical coagulation models, and taking into account Oort Cloud formation models, the expected number of bodies with mass > 10 kg that could have been transferred between the Sun and its nearest cluster neighbor could be of the order of 1E14-3E16, with transfer timescales of 10s Myr. We estimate that of the order of 3E8 x l(km) could potentially be life-bearing, where l(km) is the depth of the Earth crust in km that was ejected as the result of the early bombardment.Comment: Accepted by Astrobiology. Submitted: Sep. 21, 2011. Accepted: May 2, 2012. 39 pages. 21 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:0808.326