Education for library service to youth in five countries

Youth services instructors from five countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) were surveyed as to the content of youth-oriented courses they had taught between 2000 and 2003. A content analysis of those course descriptions revealed that youth-oriented library curriculum was heavily dominated by literature and materials, while management of the youth library and foundations of youth library services were less frequently emphasized. Course content is remarkably similar between regions, but looking at the content with regard to national differences suggests additions to curricula based on the needs of each country.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

A study of post-mortem degradation of teeth to advance forensic DNA analysis as a tool for human identification.

The post-mortem decomposition of human teeth is an area of forensic taphonomy that has received little attention. As they are a skeletal element, the diagenesis of teeth is often considered to occur in the same manner as bone. However, there are a number of morphological and chemical differences between these two mineralized tissues, making extrapolation of findings from bones to teeth difficult. With the advent of increasingly sensitive DNA recovery and analysis techniques, successful forensic identification using low levels of DNA present in highly degraded skeletal remains is now possible. As teeth are often the most reliable source of DNA in skeletal remains, an in depth understanding of their decomposition in the post-mortem environment should facilitate more successful identification outcomes. This research examined the individual tissues of human teeth to address two questions. Firstly, what are the ante-mortem factors that impact on intra- and inter-individual variation in the DNA content of teeth; and secondly, how does post-mortem degradation affect the availability and distribution of DNA in the various tissues of teeth. The overall aim was to provide information to inform sample selection and targeted sampling of teeth for genetic identification of human remains. The low levels of DNA preserved in skeletal remains are associated with compounds that, if co-extracted, complicate the DNA extraction process and can potentially inhibit down-stream analysis. The most problematic of these compounds, which occur naturally in teeth, are calcium and collagen. Targeted sub-sampling of teeth avoids the unnecessary addition of excess amounts of inhibitory compounds and enables extraction of the low levels of endogenous DNA, increasing the likelihood of successful identification of human remains. This research has confirmed that the roots of the teeth are a better source of DNA than the crown and has shown for the first time that the cementum, which is located on the external surfaces of the roots, is more valuable for nuclear DNA analysis than dentine. In both fresh and decomposed teeth cementum provides a rich source of nuclear DNA, which is easy to access and sample without the need for specialised equipment. Histologically the structure of cementum is maintained during decomposition, whereas pulp is degraded rapidly and dentine loses structural integrity starting at the pre-dentine layer.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 201

LIS Youth Services Education: An International Perspective

These presentation slides look at the provision of LIS youth services education in five different countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand

EDUCATION FOR LIBRARY SERVICE TO YOUTH IN FIVE COUNTRIES

In this study, youth services instructors from five countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) were surveyed as to the content of youth-oriented classes they had taught between 2000 and 2003. As anticipated, a content analysis of those descriptions revealed that the youth-oriented library curriculum was heavily dominated by childrenâ s and young adult materials. Management of the youth library and foundations of youth library services were less frequently emphasized. Descriptive content is remarkably similar between regions, but looking at an analysis of the content with regard to national differences suggests additions to curricula based on the needs of each country

LIS Youth-Oriented Education : An International Perspective

While there has been considerable study of LIS youth services (i.e. youth-oriented) faculty and some study of curriculum, few studies have focused on the curriculum actively given to students. Further, many studies of youth services curriculum have focused on one element and have not studied the array of youth services courses available. This paper looks at the provision of youth services education in five English-speaking countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Youth services courses, or youth-oriented courses, are defined as those courses dealing with children's or young adult literature, library services to youth, and school librarianship.PresentationIncludes bibliographical references

Singleplex quantitative real-time PCR for the assessment of human mitochondrial DNA quantity and quality

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can provide a means for forensic identity testing when genotyping of nuclear DNA (nuDNA) targets is not possible due to degradation or lack of template. For degraded samples, an indication of the quantity and quality of mtDNA is essential to allow selection of appropriately sized targets for hypervariable region (HVR) analysis, which may conserve sample and resources. Three human-specific mtDNA targets of increasing length (86, 190 and 452 base pairs) were amplified by singleplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), capable of providing an index of mtDNA degradation from fragment length information. Quantification was achieved by preparation of a standard curve for each target, using a purified mtDNA standard containing all three targets of interest, which produced a linear, accurate and precise result from 1×108 to 10 copies. These novel assays demonstrated excellent sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility in line with the minimum information for qPCR experiments (MIQE) guidelines. Further, a separate inhibition control reaction was included to guide sample clean-up and ensure the validity of degradation assays. This protocol assists the selection and analysis of appropriately sized targets to maximize the chance of obtaining an informative result in downstream assays like sequencing

Details of primers used for quantification of DNA.

<p>Details of primers used for quantification of DNA.</p

Predicted fragment yield for the mtDNA 77 bp fragment at varying PMI and soil temperature.

<p>PMI and soil temperature are held constant at sample median values where applicable.</p

Histological appearance of buried teeth at 40x (A, B) and 200x (C) magnification after A: one month—pulp tissue shows loss of structure and nuclear material; B:16 months—very little pulp tissue remains with much of the pulp chamber being empty.

<p>Dentine displayes almost complete loss of the predentine layer; and C: 16 months—cementum shows little structural change but loss of cells in soft tissue inclusions and on the external surfaces.</p