Decrease in Free Computer Science Papers Found through Google Scholar

Purpose - Google Scholar was used to locate free full-text versions of computer science research papers to determine what proportion could be freely accessed.Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 1967 conference papers and periodical articles from 2003-2010, indexed in the ACM Guide to Computing Literature, was searched for manually in Google Scholar, using the paper or article title and the first author’s surname and supplementary searches as needed. Findings - Free full-text versions were found for 52% of the conference papers and 55% of the periodical articles. Documents with older publication dates were more likely to be freely accessible than newer documents, with free full-text versions found for 71% of items published in 2003 and 43% of items published 2010. Many documents did not indicate what version of the document was presented. Research limitations/implications - Results were limited to the retrieval of known computer science publications via Google Scholar. The results may be different for other computer science publications, subject areas, types of searches, or search engines. Practical implications - Users of Google Scholar for finding free full-text computer science research papers may be hindered by the lower access to recent publications. Because many papers are freely available, libraries and scholarly publishers may be better served by promoting services they provide beyond simple access to papers. Originality/value – Previous research showed lower levels of free access than we found for computer science, but the decline found in this study runs contrary to increases found in previous research

Providing Support for an Interdisciplinary Research Group with a Multidisciplinary Informationist Team: Is It Effective?

Background Three subject librarians and a data librarian, representing three departments and two libraries at a university, were awarded an NLM Informationist Supplement to support an interdisciplinary Research Group with an NIH grant. The Informationist Team developed a model to utilize the skills of multiple librarians to support the increasing number of interdisciplinary and interprofessional research groups at the university. Librarians routinely attended lab meetings and shared notes with each other to monitor researcher needs. Methods The Informationist Team regularly provided support for literature searches, creating search alerts, bibliographic citation management and sharing, and data management to an interdisciplinary Research Group over a two year period. Two new library workshops were also developed after observing researcher needs. Surveys were administered to the Research Group prior to, during, and after a two-year period to assess the effectiveness of an Informationist Team model that employs the skills of multiple librarians. Results Surveys administered to the Research Group showed that the group increased their use of appropriate resources to find scientific and technical information over a two-year period. Additionally, by the final survey, all members of the Research Group had worked with a librarian and all felt it had saved them time. The data librarian also facilitated the creation of a form to collect data for a lab protocol that helped the group avoid significant errors. Conclusions The relationship between the multidisciplinary Informationist Team and the Research Group was mutually beneficial. The Research Group was able to improve its knowledge and efficiency with the Informationist Team’s assistance, and regular librarian attendance at lab meetings enabled librarians to enhance their understanding of basic science research. Having a multidisciplinary team of librarians allowed for sharing the workload and for deeper assistance to the Research Group in specialized areas such as data management

Providing Hands-on Training with Bioinformatics Databases: A Collaboration Between VCU Libraries & Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

BackgroundWith the goal of increasing specialized services for researchers, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Libraries sent its basic science librarians to an intensive training on bioinformatics databases, “A Librarian’s Guide to NCBI.” VCU’s Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research (Wright CCTR) was expanding the educational component of its bioinformatics support around the same time. This year, the librarians partnered with the Wright CCTR to offer an introductory bioinformatics database workshop introducing researchers to genetic/genomic databases. MethodsFor one week in June, sessions were conducted introducing up to 30 faculty and staff to The Cancer Genome Atlas and NCBI’s Gene, BLAST, Variation Viewer and Gene Expression Omnibus. Librarians taught resources they learned in the NCBI training, and Wright CCTR staff taught resources they use often. Each day’s 1.5 hour session included presentations, demonstrations, and hands-on assignment time. Certificates were awarded to participants who completed 4 out of 5 assignments. ResultsRegistration for the workshop was full in under a week with a waiting list. All survey respondents (n=27) evaluated the overall quality of the workshop as good or excellent and indicated that they would recommend the workshop to a colleague or student. ConclusionsThis successful partnership between VCU Libraries and the Wright CCTR allowed for a broader range of bioinformatics topics to be covered, in addition to easing the planning and teaching workload for each group. The strong interest in this series across a variety of disciplines from both VCU and VCU Health indicates a need for staff and faculty-oriented bioinformatics training within the university

LibQual+ Morris Library Presentation

Results from a survey of the SIUC campus community about their satisfaction with Morris Library

Case Reports1. A Late Presentation of Loeys-Dietz Syndrome: Beware of TGFβ Receptor Mutations in Benign Joint Hypermobility

Background: Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissections are not uncommon causes of sudden death in young adults. Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a rare, recently described, autosomal dominant, connective tissue disease characterized by aggressive arterial aneurysms, resulting from mutations in the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) receptor genes TGFBR1 and TGFBR2. Mean age at death is 26.1 years, most often due to aortic dissection. We report an unusually late presentation of LDS, diagnosed following elective surgery in a female with a long history of joint hypermobility. Methods: A 51-year-old Caucasian lady complained of chest pain and headache following a dural leak from spinal anaesthesia for an elective ankle arthroscopy. CT scan and echocardiography demonstrated a dilated aortic root and significant aortic regurgitation. MRA demonstrated aortic tortuosity, an infrarenal aortic aneurysm and aneurysms in the left renal and right internal mammary arteries. She underwent aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. She had a background of long-standing joint pains secondary to hypermobility, easy bruising, unusual fracture susceptibility and mild bronchiectasis. She had one healthy child age 32, after which she suffered a uterine prolapse. Examination revealed mild Marfanoid features. Uvula, skin and ophthalmological examination was normal. Results: Fibrillin-1 testing for Marfan syndrome (MFS) was negative. Detection of a c.1270G > C (p.Gly424Arg) TGFBR2 mutation confirmed the diagnosis of LDS. Losartan was started for vascular protection. Conclusions: LDS is a severe inherited vasculopathy that usually presents in childhood. It is characterized by aortic root dilatation and ascending aneurysms. There is a higher risk of aortic dissection compared with MFS. Clinical features overlap with MFS and Ehlers Danlos syndrome Type IV, but differentiating dysmorphogenic features include ocular hypertelorism, bifid uvula and cleft palate. Echocardiography and MRA or CT scanning from head to pelvis is recommended to establish the extent of vascular involvement. Management involves early surgical intervention, including early valve-sparing aortic root replacement, genetic counselling and close monitoring in pregnancy. Despite being caused by loss of function mutations in either TGFβ receptor, paradoxical activation of TGFβ signalling is seen, suggesting that TGFβ antagonism may confer disease modifying effects similar to those observed in MFS. TGFβ antagonism can be achieved with angiotensin antagonists, such as Losartan, which is able to delay aortic aneurysm development in preclinical models and in patients with MFS. Our case emphasizes the importance of timely recognition of vasculopathy syndromes in patients with hypermobility and the need for early surgical intervention. It also highlights their heterogeneity and the potential for late presentation. Disclosures: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Atrial fibrillation genetic risk differentiates cardioembolic stroke from other stroke subtypes

AbstractObjectiveWe sought to assess whether genetic risk factors for atrial fibrillation can explain cardioembolic stroke risk.MethodsWe evaluated genetic correlations between a prior genetic study of AF and AF in the presence of cardioembolic stroke using genome-wide genotypes from the Stroke Genetics Network (N = 3,190 AF cases, 3,000 cardioembolic stroke cases, and 28,026 referents). We tested whether a previously-validated AF polygenic risk score (PRS) associated with cardioembolic and other stroke subtypes after accounting for AF clinical risk factors.ResultsWe observed strong correlation between previously reported genetic risk for AF, AF in the presence of stroke, and cardioembolic stroke (Pearson’s r=0.77 and 0.76, respectively, across SNPs with p &lt; 4.4 × 10−4 in the prior AF meta-analysis). An AF PRS, adjusted for clinical AF risk factors, was associated with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (sd) = 1.40, p = 1.45×10−48), explaining ∼20% of the heritable component of cardioembolic stroke risk. The AF PRS was also associated with stroke of undetermined cause (OR per sd = 1.07, p = 0.004), but no other primary stroke subtypes (all p &gt; 0.1).ConclusionsGenetic risk for AF is associated with cardioembolic stroke, independent of clinical risk factors. Studies are warranted to determine whether AF genetic risk can serve as a biomarker for strokes caused by AF.</jats:sec