The impact of libraries as creative spaces

Ready access to information through digital media has challenged the perceived societal roles of public libraries. Since the mid 1990s, libraries have reoriented themselves towards public participation beyond lending and reading. Libraries now offer an increasing range of community-focused creative activities.Library spaces are transforming. In addition to housing archival and loan materials, desks and reading spaces, libraries are becoming even more exible and activity-oriented. Given these transformations, understanding and demonstrating the new contributions public libraries make to their communities is critical.In 2015, the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) commissioned researchers at the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to explore the impact of libraries as creative spaces.The objectives of the Libraries as Creative Spaces project were to:• Investigate the community impact of creative spaces in public libraries• Provide clear evidence of this impact• Articulate the opportunities to further embed creative spaces in public libraries or community spaces.The methods used included:• A contextual review of thinking regarding libraries as creative spaces• A literature review on the evaluation of creative activity in libraries and creative spaces more generally• Interviews and observational eld research at selected Queensland libraries• The development and refinement of an evidence-based Creative Spaces Impact Framework• The development of an associated rich media package (including videos, photos and digital stories) showcasing library-based creative activity across Queensland in 2015.The contextual review highlights the attention being paid to makerspaces as a site of creative activity in public libraries. However, the review also points to the many other ways public libraries are facilitating creative activity. It also demonstrates that while libraries have been formally evaluated for more than a hundred years, only recently has there been a concerted e ort to develop frameworks that can qualitatively assess the social impact on individuals and their communities. Moreover, few of these frameworks directly assess libraries as creative spaces.Following the contextual review, an extended literature review was undertaken for two reasons. Firstly, to develop our understanding of how creative spaces are evaluated (outside the library context). And secondly, to develop our understanding of how libraries are evaluated in more general terms. From this initial evidence base, a preliminary Creative Spaces Impact Framework was developed.The framework was used to interrogate creative activity at ve public library sites across Queensland – Ayr, Cleveland, Helensvale, Roma, and Victoria Point. The framework was revised in conjunction with the eldwork and further feedback from a range of stakeholders. The Creative Spaces Impact Framework allows for the evaluation of libraries as creative spaces through the creative activities they enable. These activities may be formally organised by the library, informally enacted by library clients, or involve a combination of both approaches. The contents of the framework represent a range of impact potentials, some of which will be relevant to certain library creative space activities more than others, if at all

Prevalence of distressing symptoms in hospitalised patients on medical wards: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many patients with advanced, serious, non-malignant disease belong to the population generally seen on medical wards. However, little research has been carried out on palliative care needs in this group. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of distressing symptoms in patients hospitalised in a Department of Internal Medicine, estimate how many of these patients might be regarded as palliative, and describe their main symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional (point prevalence) study. All patients hospitalised in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Cardiology were asked to do a symptom assessment by use of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). Patients were defined as "palliative" if they had an advanced, serious, chronic disease with limited life expectancy and symptom relief as the main goal of treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>222 patients were registered in all. ESAS was completed for 160 patients. 79 (35.6%) were defined as palliative and 43 of them completed ESAS. The patients in the palliative group were older than the rest, and reported more dyspnea (70%) and a greater lack of wellbeing (70%). Other symptoms reported by this group were dry mouth (58%), fatigue (56%), depression (41%), anxiety (37%), pain at rest (30%), and pain on movement (42%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>More than one third of the patients in a Department of Internal Medicine were defined as palliative, and the majority of the patients in this palliative group reported severe symptoms. There is a need for skills in symptom control on medical wards.</p

A Pair of Dopamine Neurons Target the D1-Like Dopamine Receptor DopR in the Central Complex to Promote Ethanol-Stimulated Locomotion in Drosophila

Dopamine is a mediator of the stimulant properties of drugs of abuse, including ethanol, in mammals and in the fruit fly Drosophila. The neural substrates for the stimulant actions of ethanol in flies are not known. We show that a subset of dopamine neurons and their targets, through the action of the D1-like dopamine receptor DopR, promote locomotor activation in response to acute ethanol exposure. A bilateral pair of dopaminergic neurons in the fly brain mediates the enhanced locomotor activity induced by ethanol exposure, and promotes locomotion when directly activated. These neurons project to the central complex ellipsoid body, a structure implicated in regulating motor behaviors. Ellipsoid body neurons are required for ethanol-induced locomotor activity and they express DopR. Elimination of DopR blunts the locomotor activating effects of ethanol, and this behavior can be restored by selective expression of DopR in the ellipsoid body. These data tie the activity of defined dopamine neurons to D1-like DopR-expressing neurons to form a neural circuit that governs acute responding to ethanol

The management of women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast in Australia and New Zealand between 2007 and 2016

Background: The incidence of detected ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) continues to increase and now accounts for 14% of all breast cancer, and 20%–25% of screen-detected cases. Treatment trends of DCIS are important in order to inform the ongoing debate about possible overdiagnosis and overtreatment, but have not been investigated for over a decade in Australia and New Zealand. Against this background, we aimed to describe the temporal trends in management of DCIS in Australian and New Zealander women. Methods: Using the BreastSurgANZ Quality Audit (BQA) database, we conducted a descriptive study of the trends of management of DCIS in Australia and New Zealand from 2007 to 2016. We assessed the frequency of surgical treatments, adjuvant therapies, and axillary surgery conducted in women with pure DCIS. Results: There were 17 883 cases of pure DCIS in 2007–2016 in Australia and New Zealand recorded in the BQA database. The treatment patterns were consistent with no changes over time. The most common surgical treatment was breast-conserving surgery (66%), followed by mastectomy (37%), and 36% of women with DCIS received sentinel node biopsy (SNB). Conclusion: The clinical management of women diagnosed with DCIS in Australia and New Zealand, appears stable over time. A substantial proportion of women with DCIS receive SNB and this aspect of surgical care warrants further exploration to determine whether it represents appropriate care. These results, alongside the outcomes of the ongoing clinical trials on the management of DCIS, will help inform if any changes to best practice treatment are required.Sofia Omling, Nehmat Houssami, Kevin McGeechan, Sophia Zackrisson, Gemma Jacklyn, David Walters, Alexandra Barratt, and Rachel Farbe

Aβ42 Mutants with Different Aggregation Profiles Induce Distinct Pathologies in Drosophila

Aggregation of the amyloid-β-42 (Aβ42) peptide in the brain parenchyma is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the prevention of Aβ aggregation has been proposed as a therapeutic intervention in AD. However, recent reports indicate that Aβ can form several different prefibrillar and fibrillar aggregates and that each aggregate may confer different pathogenic effects, suggesting that manipulation of Aβ42 aggregation may not only quantitatively but also qualitatively modify brain pathology. Here, we compare the pathogenicity of human Aβ42 mutants with differing tendencies to aggregate. We examined the aggregation-prone, EOFAD-related Arctic mutation (Aβ42Arc) and an artificial mutation (Aβ42art) that is known to suppress aggregation and toxicity of Aβ42 in vitro. In the Drosophila brain, Aβ42Arc formed more oligomers and deposits than did wild type Aβ42, while Aβ42art formed fewer oligomers and deposits. The severity of locomotor dysfunction and premature death positively correlated with the aggregation tendencies of Aβ peptides. Surprisingly, however, Aβ42art caused earlier onset of memory defects than Aβ42. More remarkably, each Aβ induced qualitatively different pathologies. Aβ42Arc caused greater neuron loss than did Aβ42, while Aβ42art flies showed the strongest neurite degeneration. This pattern of degeneration coincides with the distribution of Thioflavin S-stained Aβ aggregates: Aβ42Arc formed large deposits in the cell body, Aβ42art accumulated preferentially in the neurites, while Aβ42 accumulated in both locations. Our results demonstrate that manipulation of the aggregation propensity of Aβ42 does not simply change the level of toxicity, but can also result in qualitative shifts in the pathology induced in vivo

Effects of alcohol preload on attentional bias towards cocaine-related cues

Background Drug and alcohol users have an ‘attentional bias’ for substance-related cues, which is likely to reflect the incentive-motivational properties of those cues. Furthermore, administration of an alcohol preload increases attentional bias for alcohol and tobacco-related cues in heavy drinkers and tobacco smokers, respectively. The present study investigated attentional bias for cocaine cues in cocaine users and non-users following administration of either alcohol or placebo. Method Thirty-two regular cocaine users and 40 non-users took part. Participants were administered alcohol or placebo, and administration was double blind. After drink administration, a Visual Probe task and Modified Stroop task were used to assess attentional bias. Subjective craving and alcohol outcome expectancies were also measured. Results There was a significant interaction between group and drink type on the visual probe task indicating that cocaine users who had received alcohol had increased attentional bias for cocaine pictures compared to non-users and cocaine users who received placebo. The cocaine Stroop revealed no differences between cocaine users and non-users, and no effects of alcohol in either group. Conclusions Alcohol preload in regular cocaine users increases attentional bias for cocaine cues. However, cocaine users who received placebo did not show attentional bias for cocaine stimuli. Future research should investigate the effects of alcohol preload on attentional bias in cocaine-dependent individuals

The dynamic cilium in human diseases

Cilia are specialized organelles protruding from the cell surface of almost all mammalian cells. They consist of a basal body, composed of two centrioles, and a protruding body, named the axoneme. Although the basic structure of all cilia is the same, numerous differences emerge in different cell types, suggesting diverse functions. In recent years many studies have elucidated the function of 9+0 primary cilia. The primary cilium acts as an antenna for the cell, and several important pathways such as Hedgehog, Wnt and planar cell polarity (PCP) are transduced through it. Many studies on animal models have revealed that during embryogenesis the primary cilium has an essential role in defining the correct patterning of the body. Cilia are composed of hundreds of proteins and the impairment or dysfunction of one protein alone can cause complete loss of cilia or the formation of abnormal cilia. Mutations in ciliary proteins cause ciliopathies which can affect many organs at different levels of severity and are characterized by a wide spectrum of phenotypes. Ciliary proteins can be mutated in more than one ciliopathy, suggesting an interaction between proteins. To date, little is known about the role of primary cilia in adult life and it is tempting to speculate about their role in the maintenance of adult organs. The state of the art in primary cilia studies reveals a very intricate role. Analysis of cilia-related pathways and of the different clinical phenotypes of ciliopathies helps to shed light on the function of these sophisticated organelles. The aim of this review is to evaluate the recent advances in cilia function and the molecular mechanisms at the basis of their activity

A proposed systems approach to the evaluation of integrated palliative care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is increasing global interest in regional palliative care networks (PCN) to integrate care, creating systems that are more cost-effective and responsive in multi-agency settings. Networks are particularly relevant where different professional skill sets are required to serve the broad spectrum of end-of-life needs. We propose a comprehensive framework for evaluating PCNs, focusing on the nature and extent of inter-professional collaboration, community readiness, and client-centred care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the absence of an overarching structure for examining PCNs, a framework was developed based on previous models of health system evaluation, explicit theory, and the research literature relevant to PCN functioning. This research evidence was used to substantiate the choice of model factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proposed framework takes a systems approach with system structure, process of care, and patient outcomes levels of consideration. Each factor represented makes an independent contribution to the description and assessment of the network.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Realizing palliative patients' needs for complex packages of treatment and social support, in a seamless, cost-effective manner, are major drivers of the impetus for network-integrated care. The framework proposed is a first step to guide evaluation to inform the development of appropriate strategies to further promote collaboration within the PCN and, ultimately, optimal palliative care that meets patients' needs and expectations.</p

A Synthesis of Tagging Studies Examining the Behaviour and Survival of Anadromous Salmonids in Marine Environments

This paper synthesizes tagging studies to highlight the current state of knowledge concerning the behaviour and survival of anadromous salmonids in the marine environment. Scientific literature was reviewed to quantify the number and type of studies that have investigated behaviour and survival of anadromous forms of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), brown trout (Salmo trutta), steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). We examined three categories of tags including electronic (e.g. acoustic, radio, archival), passive (e.g. external marks, Carlin, coded wire, passive integrated transponder [PIT]), and biological (e.g. otolith, genetic, scale, parasites). Based on 207 papers, survival rates and behaviour in marine environments were found to be extremely variable spatially and temporally, with some of the most influential factors being temperature, population, physiological state, and fish size. Salmonids at all life stages were consistently found to swim at an average speed of approximately one body length per second, which likely corresponds with the speed at which transport costs are minimal. We found that there is relatively little research conducted on open-ocean migrating salmonids, and some species (e.g. masu [O. masou] and amago [O. rhodurus]) are underrepresented in the literature. The most common forms of tagging used across life stages were various forms of external tags, coded wire tags, and acoustic tags, however, the majority of studies did not measure tagging/handling effects on the fish, tag loss/failure, or tag detection probabilities when estimating survival. Through the interdisciplinary application of existing and novel technologies, future research examining the behaviour and survival of anadromous salmonids could incorporate important drivers such as oceanography, tagging/handling effects, predation, and physiology