Decoding the Scholarly Resources Marketplace

Developed with input from a variety of library workers and industry representatives, this session will provide a current and concise introduction to the scholarly resource marketplace for academic libraries, highlighting the financial and functional connections between major market actors providing services and content to libraries. Discussions of vendor relations in libraries have often focused on the interpersonal collaboration of library workers and vendor representatives. In the process, they have overlooked or neglected the connections between publishers and vendors, their parent corporations and subsidiary companies. Decoding requires a focus on vocabulary and building shared understanding of the marketplace for scholarly resources. In libraries, we may use vendor names as shorthand, creating a jargon barrier which can impede understanding and efforts. To this purpose, the speakers will provide succinct and clarifying descriptions and overviews of the market actors, their market shares, and their subsidiary and parent business relationships. In this introductory session, the speakers will seek to decode and communicate the current scholarly resource marketplace, providing a practical overview to the market forces at play that should inform collection strategies and decision making

Body Mass Index and Cognitive Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment

This is the author's accepted manuscript.Objective To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive decline in subjects diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Neuropsychologic and clinical evaluations were conducted at baseline, 6-months, and 1-year on 286 MCI subjects enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. A global cognitive composite score was derived (mean Z-score) from performance on 9 neuropsychologic subtests. Height and weight were assessed at baseline and used to calculate BMI. Generalized estimating equations (linear and logistic) assessed the relationships of baseline BMI with cognitive outcomes, clinician judgment of “clinically significant decline” over 1-year, and diagnostic progression from MCI to Alzheimer disease. Results Lower baseline BMI was associated with significant declines in cognitive performance in individuals with MCI over 1 year (Mini-Mental State Examination, Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale, and a global cognitive composite; all P<0.05). We observed a significant protective effect of baseline BMI in reducing the risk of a clinically significant decline in Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale and mini-mental state examination (P<0.05). No association was found between BMI and changes in the clinical dementia rating sum of boxes or conversion to Alzheimer disease. Conclusions Lower baseline BMI is associated with more rapid cognitive decline in MCI. This relationship suggests either body composition may influence the rate of cognitive decline in MCI or factors related to MCI influence body composition

A Cladistic Analysis of \u3cem\u3endh\u3c/em\u3eF Sequences from Representative Species of \u3cem\u3eSaintpaulia\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eStreptocarpus\u3c/em\u3e Subgenera and \u3cem\u3eStreptocarpella\u3c/em\u3e (Gesneriaceae)

Two African genera of the Gesneriaceae, Saintpaulia and Streptocarpus, are similar in many respects. Both genera have blue to purple flowers, pollen of similar shape and exine sculpting, embryos with one-celled uninucleate chalazal haustoria, shared vegetative structures among some species, and are among the few genera in the Gesneriaceae which include species with chromosome count of n=15. Similarity of these features has indicated that the two genera are likely to be closely related. This study examines the sequences of the chloroplast gene ndhF among several representative Saintpaulia and representatives of Streptocarpus subgenera Streptocarpella and Streptocarpus. The results of this analysis are congruent with those of previous analysis based on the nuclear ribosomal region, ITS. Saintpaulia was found to be nested within Streptocarpus and Streptocarpella. The results raise the possibility of the taxonomic revision of these genera, and this is discussed. Comparisons between the data sets are made regarding utility of the two regions, sample size and outgroup

Managing Vendor Relationships

Libraries and vendors are all too often trapped in the paradigm of swapping content and services for dollars. Pivoting from this transactional model, this preconference panel of one moderator and five speakers explored the following questions: How can librarians and vendors work together to develop better products and services? What can impede these relationships? What are best practices for collaborating effectively and ethically? How can everyone build, negotiate, and sustain these relationships for mutual benefit? And when conflict inevitably arises, how do we deal with it? This preconference featured perspectives from two vendors, three libraries, and one consortium, based in the United States. Each speaker shared stories illustrating principles and practices of good and bad relationship management. Subsequently the speakers facilitated group discussions and answered questions, including several questions that attendees shared in advance. Successfully managing relationships among libraries and vendors is vital because these relationships enable and sustain collaborations, aid negotiations, and mitigate discord

Budgeting for Environmental Health Services in Healthcare Facilities: A Ten-Step Model for Planning and Costing

Environmental health services (EHS) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) are critical for safe care provision, yet their availability in low- and middle-income countries is low. A poor understanding of costs hinders progress towards adequate provision. Methods are inconsistent and poorly documented in costing literature, suggesting opportunities to improve evidence. The goal of this research was to develop a model to guide budgeting for EHS in HCFs. Based on 47 studies selected through a systematic review, we identified discrete budgeting steps, developed codes to define each step, and ordered steps into a model. We identified good practices based on a review of additional selected guidelines for costing EHS and HCFs. Our model comprises ten steps in three phases: planning, data collection, and synthesis. Costing-stakeholders define the costing purpose, relevant EHS, and cost scope; assess the EHS delivery context; develop a costing plan; and identify data sources (planning). Stakeholders then execute their costing plan and evaluate the data quality (data collection). Finally, stakeholders calculate costs and disseminate findings (synthesis). We present three hypothetical costing examples and discuss good practices, including using costing frameworks, selecting appropriate indicators to measure the quantity and quality of EHS, and iterating planning and data collection to select appropriate costing approaches and identify data gaps

A Balint curriculum's effect on family medicine resident empathy and psychological skills

Balint groups are comprised of physicians who regularly gather to present and reflect on clinical cases with the goal of improving the physician-patient relationship by enhancing the physician's interpersonal and communication skills, patient care, and professionalism. The goal of this study was to assess the effect on empathy and psychological skills of a voluntary Balint curriculum in the University of Missouri Family Medicine Residency program since initiation in 2010

Strategies to Recruit and Retain College Smokers in Cessation Trials

Techniques to recruit and retain college fraternity and sorority members who reported past 30-day smoking into a cessation trial are described. Recruitment efforts included relationship-building, raffles, and screening survey administration during existing meetings. Surveys were administered to 76% (n = 3,276) of members in 30 chapters, 79% of eligible members agreed to participate, and 76% of those completed assessments and were enrolled in the trial (n = 452). The retention rate was 73%. Retention efforts included cash incentives, flexible scheduling, multiple reminders, chapter incentives, and use of chapter members as study personnel. Retention was not related to demographic, behavioral, or group characteristics. The strategies of partnership, convenience, and flexibility appear effective and may prove useful to investigators recruiting similar samples

Sanitary inspection, microbial water quality analysis, and water safety in handpumps in rural sub-Saharan Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, over half of the population is exposed to contaminated drinking water. The WHO recommends both sanitary inspection and water quality analysis to assess the risk of water source contamination, but the relationship between these tools is poorly understood. We explore the relationship between sanitary inspection and water quality analysis using data from 1028 boreholes with handpumps in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Sanitary inspection scores and E. coli occurrence were compared using the models described in published literature, and an alternative model that better reflects causal pathways of contamination. In the alternative model, sanitary risk factors were categorized as contamination sources, carriers, or barrier breakdowns, and the relationships between risk factor combinations and E. coli occurrence were assessed. We found no associations between sanitary risk score and E. coli occurrence using either the established or alternative model. These results confirm that sanitary inspections and microbial analyses convey distinct information, and perfect correlation is neither expected nor desired. The alternative model demonstrated a slightly better model fit than most established models, and the model fit further improved when the occurrence of rainfall in the past two days was added as a carrier. We recommend that: implementers train water system operators to conduct sanitary inspection; and researchers work to improve our understanding of the effect of individual sanitary risk factors, as well as incorporate contextual data into their assessments of sanitary inspection and water quality