Doing More with Less: Exploring Batch Processing and Outsourcing in Academic Libraries

Doing more with less is a challenge facing all libraries. Staff sizes are trending down while technical services work load remains the same or is increasing; at the same time, there are new and emerging areas of focus for libraries. Grand Valley State University Libraries have made a commitment to exploring any opportunity to outsource or streamline workflows. Presenters will discuss specific examples that utilize outsourcing opportunities as well as batch processing to keep up with the work demand and benefit the library. Positives and negatives of these experiences will be explored. Factors to be discussed will include cost, staff time, quality of work, vendor, platform, and access issues. The audience can expect to learn what factors to consider in exploring outsourcing opportunities and how to identify the appropriate ways to streamline workflows through batch processing. The experience of the presenters will hopefully help others as they weigh these considerations

“Flip This House”: “Back of the House” Library Staff Engaging the Wider Campus Community

Procuring and describing content for discoverability are as important now as they ever have been, but we suggest that a successful organization should expect more from faculty and staff members. As technical skill sets become more in demand, “back of the house” staff need to step to the front. In this article we explore how two Grand Valley State University Libraries back of the house departments have partnered with other organizations on campus. Collaboration has reenergized the staff, raised the Libraries’s profile, and contributed to the Libraries’s overall success

Results of Web-Scale Discovery: Data, Discussions, and Decisions

A library with the best and most credible resources available is of little value if its patrons do not find the resources.Web-scale discovery products were created to provide a search mechanism that library patrons will actually use, and which will yield relevant results even for the most inexperienced of searchers. An overview of one such product, Summon, is presented by the company’s product manager and by a librarian who helped to implement the product for his library

The pulmonary surfactant system matures upon pipping in the freshwater turtle Chelydra serpentina

© The Company of BiologistsPulmonary surfactant (PS), a mixture of phospholipids (PL), neutral lipids and surfactant proteins (SP), lowers surface tension within the lung, which increases lung compliance and improves the removal of fluid at birth. Here, we have examined the expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and the surfactant protein SP-B, and also the composition of pulmonary surfactant lipids in the developing lung of the turtle Chelydra serpentina. Lavage and lung tissue were collected from late embryonic, pipped and hatchling turtles. TTF-1, a regulator of gene expression of surfactant proteins and cell differentiation in mammals, was detected using immunohistochemistry in epithelia of the gas-exchange area and conducting airways during late development. Expression declined in hatchlings. SP-B was detected in subsets of cells within the respiratory epithelium at all stages sampled. The same cell types also stained for TTF-1. Turtle surfactant lipids matured toward the end of incubation. Maximal secretion of both total phospholipids and disaturated phospholipid (DSP) occurred at the time of pipping, coincident with the onset of breathing. The DSP/PL ratio increased after pipping, whereas cholesterol levels (Chol) increased prior to pipping. This resulted in a decrease in the Chol/PL and Chol/DSP ratios after pipping. Thus, TTF-1 and SP-B appear to be highly conserved within the vertebrates. Maturation of surfactant phospholipid content occurred with the commencement of pulmonary ventilation.Sonya D. Johnston, Christopher B. Daniels, David Cenzato, Jeffrey A. Whitsett and Sandra Orgei

University Libraries Faculty Assembly Covid-19 Impact Statement

This University Libraries Faculty Assembly Covid-19 Impact Statement serves as documentation of changes that occurred across University Libraries and caused disparate, inequitable, impact to faculty throughout the pandemic, beginning in March 2020 and spanning into 2021. The document is necessarily limited in scope to assist faculty candidates in the tenure-track process and mitigate potential traumas as a result of the pandemic’s impact on that process. The structure of the tenure-track process is imperfect in nature, and this statement takes a trauma-informed, person-first, approach to investigating how to best support candidates in making their case for contract renewal, tenure, and/or promotion

Feasibility of using Grindr™ to distribute HIV self-test kits to men who have sex with men in Los Angeles, California

Background: Our study aimed to determine if Grindr™ is an effective means of reaching high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM) for HIV testing. In Los Angeles (LA), Black and Latino MSM have the highest rate of HIV infection, and Black MSM in LA are four-fold more likely than white MSM to not know they are infected with HIV. Those MSM are also major users of social networking apps. Grindr™ was used to provide access to free HIV self-testing. Methods: Free HIV self-test kits were advertised on Grindr™ from 13 October to 11 November 2014, consisting of 300 000 banner ads and three broadcast messages targeting a high-risk HIV population in LA. Eligible participants, Black or Latino, MSM and who were aged ≥18 years of age, were invited to take a survey 2 weeks after test delivery. Results: The website received 4389 unique visitors and 333 test requests, of which 247 (74%) were requests for mailed tests, 58 (17%) were for vouchers and 28 (8%) were for vending machines. Of the 125 participants, 74% reported at least one episode of condomless anal intercourse in the past 3 months, 29% last tested for HIV over 1 year ago and 9% had never been tested. Conclusions: It was feasible to use Grindr™ to distribute HIV self-test kits. Users are willing to provide personal information in exchange for a free self-test and found self-tests acceptable and easy to use. HIV self-testing promotion through apps has a high potential to reach untested high-risk populations

Health and Environmental Effects Document on Geothermal Energy -- 1982 update

We assess several of the important health and environmental risks associated with a reference geothermal industry that produces 21,000 MWe for 30 y (equivalent to 20 x 10{sup 18} J). The analyses of health effects focus on the risks associated with exposure to hydrogen sulfide, particulate sulfate, benzene, mercury, and radon in air and arsenic in food. Results indicate that emissions of hydrogen sulfide are likely to cause odor-related problems in 29 of 51 geothermal resources areas, assuming that no pollution controls are employed. Our best estimates and ranges of uncertainty for the health risks of chronic population exposures to atmospheric pollutants are as follows (risks expressed per 10{sup 18} J of electricity): particulate sulfate, 44 premature deaths (uncertainty range of 0 to 360); benzene, 0.15 leukemias (range of 0 to 0.51); elemental mercury, 14 muscle tremors (range of 0 to 39); and radon, 0.68 lung cancers (range of 0 to 1.8). The ultimate risk of fatal skin cancers as the result of the transfer of waste arsenic to the general population over geologic time ({approx} 100,000 y) was calculated as 41 per 10{sup 18} J. We based our estimates of occupational health effects on rates of accidental deaths together with data on occupational diseases and injuries in surrogate industries. According to our best estimates, there would be 8 accidental deaths per 10{sup 18} J of electricity, 300 cases of occupational diseases per 10{sup 18} J, and 3400 occupational injuries per 10{sup 18}J. The analysis of the effects of noncondensing gases on vegetation showed that ambient concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide are more likely to enhance rather than inhibit the growth of plants. We also studied the possible consequences of accidental releases of geothermal fluids and concluded that probably less than 5 ha of land would be affected by such releases during the production of 20 x 10{sup 18} J of electricity. Boron emitted from cooling towers in the Imperial Valley was identified as a potential source of crop damage. Our analyses, however, showed that such damage is unlikely. Finally, we examined the nonpollutant effects of land subsidence and induced seismicity. Land subsidence is possible around some facilities, but surface-related damage is not expected to be great. Induced seismic events that have occurred to date at geothermal resource areas have been nondestructive. It is not possible to predict accurately the risk of potentially destructive events, and more research is needed in this area

Iatrogenic Spinal Cord Injury Resulting From Cervical Spine Surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data. OBJECTIVE: To examine the incidence of iatrogenic spinal cord injury following elective cervical spine surgery. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter case series study involving 21 high-volume surgical centers from the AOSpine North America Clinical Research Network was conducted. Medical records for 17 625 patients who received cervical spine surgery (levels from C2 to C7) between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, were reviewed to identify occurrence of iatrogenic spinal cord injury. RESULTS: In total, 3 cases of iatrogenic spinal cord injury following cervical spine surgery were identified. Institutional incidence rates ranged from 0.0% to 0.24%. Of the 3 patients with quadriplegia, one underwent anterior-only surgery with 2-level cervical corpectomy, one underwent anterior surgery with corpectomy in addition to posterior surgery, and one underwent posterior decompression and fusion surgery alone. One patient had complete neurologic recovery, one partially recovered, and one did not recover motor function. CONCLUSION: Iatrogenic spinal cord injury following cervical spine surgery is a rare and devastating adverse event. No standard protocol exists that can guarantee prevention of this complication, and there is a lack of consensus regarding evaluation and treatment when it does occur. Emergent imaging with magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography myelography to evaluate for compressive etiology or malpositioned instrumentation and avoidance of hypotension should be performed in cases of intraoperative and postoperative spinal cord injury

Syracuse University, School of Architecture

The work presented here is the product of a year-long process that is the culminating experience of a professional education in architecture. It is a process that stresses inquiry and product, research and design, writing and visualization. It has been along-established goal at Syracuse that the final efforts of both the undergraduate and graduate prgrams be indistinguishable from ont another; thus the mixture of undergraduate and graduate award winners. Each student is advised by a committee of three and the final reviews are graded by a committee of five. Following the final reviews a panel of outside experts is invited to Superjury to see the best of the work. At the end of the day the entire faculty assembles to award the prizes that are recognized here. The James A. Britton prizes for best thesis are awarded annually. The runner-up Dean\u27s Citations and Thesis Citations are awarded to all students participating in the Superjury. -Bruce Abbey Students:Yanel De Angel, M. Arch, Palio Ritual and Market Siena, ItalyGonzalo Diez, M. Arch, Rural school EcuadorRyan Dillon, B. Arch, Ansel Adams Gallery CaliforniaChristian Daniels, B. Arch, Virtual Dwelling Los Angeles, CaliforniaAmador Pons, B. Arch, Housing the Homeless New York, New YorkH. Philipp Walter, B. Arch, A Studio Gallery Addition to the Everson Museum of Art Syracuse, New YorkMaria Agostini, M. Arch, Carmelite Monastery Puerto RicoHeidi Christianson, B. Arch, Community Church, Well, and Market HaitiD. Jason Olsen, B. Arch, Digital Library and Community Archive New York, New YorkMaricel Ramos, M. Arch, Registration Center and Public Entry San Juan, Puerto RicoRyan Samsa, B. Arch, Urban Housing Rochester, New YorkJeffrey Zynda, INS Border Station Alexandria Bay, New Yor