Navigating information, facilitating knowledge: the library, the academy, and student learning

Understanding the nature and complementarity of the phenomena of information and knowledge lend not only epistemological clarity to their relationship, but also reaffirms the place of the library in the academic mission of knowledge transfer, acquisition, interpretation, and creation. These in turn reassert the legitimacy of the academic library as necessary participant in the teaching enterprise of colleges and universities. Such legitimacy induces an obligation to teach, and that obligation needs to be explored and implemented with adequate vigor and reach. Librarians and the academy must, however, concede that the scope of the task calls for a solution that goes beyond shared responsibilities. Academic libraries should assume a full teaching function even as they continue their exploration and design of activities and programs aimed at reinforcing information literacy in the various disciplines on campus. All must concede that need for collaboration cannot provide grounds for questioning the desirability of autonomous teaching status for the academic library in information literacy educatio

2013 REU Poster: Development of SERS-Based Metabolic Profiling Method for Leukemia Cells

Poster presentation at REU Summer's End Research Symposium, 2013, by REU participant Maureen Ansah, Sergeant Reynolds Community College - Larry Ziegler group, Melissa Chen lab mentorMetabolic profiling, or the study of low molecular weight intermediates, as a result of activation of tu-morigenesis pathways; has been found to be an important and successful measurement for the pathological state of cells, i.e. leukemia cell. SERS-based method provides us an alternative, ultra-sensitive label-free method to study the cancer cells metabolites. Abnormal metabolite molecules can be identified with comparison to the spectra of non-cancerous cells. The identity of these molecules can be confirmed by comparison with modeling compounds.NSF-RE

How can malaria rapid diagnostic tests achieve their potential? A qualitative study of a trial at health facilities in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria are at the early stages of introduction across malaria endemic countries. This is central to efforts to decrease malaria overdiagnosis and the consequent overuse of valuable anti-malarials and underdiagnosis of alternative causes of fever. Evidence of the effect of introducing RDTs on the overprescription of anti-malarials is mixed. A recent trial in rural health facilities in Ghana reduced overprescription of anti-malarials, but found that 45.5% patients who tested negative with RDTs were still prescribed an anti-malarial. METHODS: A qualitative study of this trial was conducted, using in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of health workers involved in the trial, ranging from those who continued to prescribe anti-malarials to most patients with negative RDT results to those who largely restricted anti-malarials to patients with positive RDT results. Interviews explored the experiences of using RDTs and their results amongst trial participants. RESULTS: Meanings of RDTs were constructed by health workers through participation with the tests themselves as well as through interactions with colleagues, patients and the research team. These different modes of participation with the tests and their results led to a change in practice for some health workers, and reinforced existing practice for others. Many of the characteristics of RDTs were found to be inherently conducive to change, but the limited support from purveyors, lack of system antecedents for change and limited system readiness for change were apparent in the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: When introduced with a limited supporting package, RDTs were variously interpreted and used, reflecting how health workers had learnt how to use RDT results through participation. To build confidence of health workers in the face of negative RDT results, a supporting package should include local preparation for the innovation; unambiguous guidelines; training in alternative causes of disease; regular support for health workers to meet as communities of practice; interventions that address negotiation of health worker-patient relationships and encourage self-reflection of practice; feedback systems for results of quality control of RDTs; feedback systems of the results of their practice with RDTs; and RDT augmentation such as a technical and/or clinical troubleshooting resource

Conceptualizing African migration to South-East Asia: student, trader, businessman & future of policy in Malaysia

This article is based on the results of a two-year research project on African migration to Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia and Singapore, at the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), the National University of Malaysia. It was conducted from 2011-2013 and followed-up with online interviews of respondents from 2014 till the end of 2015. The purpose of the research project entitled, “African Migration to Southeast Asia: Characteristics, Impact and Future of Policy”, was to highlight the character, specificities, policy contexts and outcomes of African migration to Southeast Asia. African migration to both East and Southeast Asia is relatively new and unknown compared to the older and more established Eurocentric migration of Africans to Europe and West. As the African presence continues to grow while the inner dynamics of this new migration appear hidden, it has puzzled policy-makers and bureaucrats alike, caused consternation, outrage and is experienced as a sceptre of invasion among the local populations. It is argued that the new African migration is to be understood as constituted by a self-regulatory process of African migrants comprised of relations among logics of migration, socio-economic networks, institutions and a set of State policies across domains. While transnational institutional change, including ‘look East’ policies of African States, the changing climate for migration in Europe and Malaysia’s vision to become a high-income country by 2020, are among the permissive causes, it is the actual social relations of African migrants in a particular location which shape migration outcomes. As can be observed empirically and argued, African migration to Southeast is increasingly similar to Chinese migrations in the global context. Hence African migration to Malaysia may be seen in terms of the dynamics, social relations, institutions and transactions of overseas Chinese and transnational Chinese studies. The future of policy in Malaysia, as across Southeast Asia may be understood as the relationship of developmental States to the self-regulatory process of African migrants and emergence of Africa-town, with Chinese characteristics

Morphohistological Studies of Two Plant Species Used in Ethnomedicine

Morphohistological studies of two forest species of Annonaceae have been reported; the species covered are Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich and X. quintassii Engl. And Diels. Wood fibres range in length from 965 ± 4 µm in X. aethiopica to 853 ± 3 µm X. quintassii. Leaves are hypostomatic with paracytic stomata found only in the lower epidermis. The epidermal cell walls are straight. Epidermal crystals are cluster crystals, which are present in all the species. Communities bordering the Pre-Suhien Forest Reserve notably, Abrafo-Odumase, Mfuom and Ankaako use these plant species for the treatment of stomach and bronchial troubles as well as rheumatism

Rapid testing for malaria in settings where microscopy is available and peripheral clinics where only presumptive treatment is available: a randomised controlled trial in Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To test in West Africa the impact of rapid diagnostic tests on the prescription of antimalarials and antibiotics both where microscopy is used for the diagnosis of malaria and in clinical (peripheral) settings that rely on clinical diagnosis. DESIGN: Randomised, controlled, open label clinical trial. SETTING: Four clinics in the rural Dangme West district of southern Ghana, one in which microscopy is used for diagnosis of malaria ("microscopy setting") and three where microscopy is not available and diagnosis of malaria is made on the basis of clinical symptoms ("clinical setting"). PARTICIPANTS: Patients with suspected malaria. Interventions Patients were randomly assigned to either a rapid diagnostic test or the current diagnostic method at the clinic (microscopy or clinical diagnosis). A blood sample for a research microscopy slide was taken for all patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the prescription of antimalarials to patients of any age whose double read research slide was negative for malaria. The major secondary outcomes were the correct prescription of antimalarials, the impact of test results on antibiotic prescription, and the correct prescription of antimalarials in children under 5 years. RESULTS: Of the 9236 patients screened, 3452 were randomised in the clinical setting and 3811 in the microscopy setting. Follow-up to 28 days was 97.6% (7088/7263). In the microscopy setting, 722 (51.6%) of the 1400 patients with negative research slides in the rapid diagnostic test arm were treated for malaria compared with 764 (55.0%) of the 1389 patients in the microscopy arm (adjusted odds ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.1; P=0.16). In the clinical setting, 578 (53.9%) of the 1072 patients in the rapid diagnostic test arm with negative research slides were treated for malaria compared with 982 (90.1%) of the 1090 patients with negative slides in the clinical diagnosis arm (odds ratio 0.12, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.38; P=0.001). The use of rapid diagnostic tests led to better targeting of antimalarials and antibiotics in the clinical but not the microscopy setting, in both children and adults. There were no deaths in children under 5 years at 28 days follow-up in either arm. CONCLUSION: Where microscopy already exists, introducing rapid diagnostic tests had limited impact on prescriber behaviour. In settings where microscopy was not available, however, using rapid diagnostic tests led to a significant reduction in the overprescription of antimalarials, without any evidence of clinical harm, and to better targeting of antibiotics. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00493922