Libraries And Institutional Research

The article explores best practices for establishing collaborations between small liberal arts university libraries and institutional research (IR) professionals. Topics discussed include national surveys commonly used by IR institutions in examining students\u27 attitudes, relevance of the surveys on university libraries and benefits that IR collaborations can bring to libraries. Also described is the collaborative effort between the library and IR departments of the University of Puget Sound

Animal health emergencies: a gender-based analysis for planning and policy

There has been increasing recognition of gender-based inequity as a barrier to successful policy implementation. This consensus, coupled with an increasing frequency of emergencies in human and animal populations, including infectious disease events, has prompted policy makers to re-evaluate gender-sensitivity in emergency management planning. Seeking to identify key publications relating to gendered impacts and considerations across diverse stakeholders in different types of animal health emergencies, we conducted a non-exhaustive, targeted scoping review. We developed a matrix for both academic and policy literature that separated animal health emergencies into two major categories: humanitarian crises and infectious disease events. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with key animal health experts. We found minimal evidence of explicit gender responsive planning in animal health emergencies, whether humanitarian or infectious disease events. This was particularly salient in Global North literature and policy planning documents. Although there are some references to gender in policy documents pertaining to endemic outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in Uganda, most research remains gender blind. Despite this, implicit gendered themes emerged from the literature review and interviews as being direct or indirect considerations of some research, policy, and implementation efforts: representation; gendered exposure risks; economic impact; and unpaid care. Absent from both the literature and our conversations with experts were considerations of mental health, gender-based violence, and intersectional impacts. To remedy the gaps in gender-based considerations, we argue that the intentional inclusion of a gender transformative lens in animal health emergency planning is essential. This can be done in the following ways: (1) collection of disaggregated data (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.); (2) inclusion of gender experts; and (3) inclusion of primary gendered impacts (minimal representation of women in policy positions, gender roles, economic and nutrition impacts) and secondary gendered impacts (gender-based violence, mental health, additional unpaid care responsibilities) in future planning

First Report of a Novel Hepatozoon sp. in Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

The first report of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) infected with a novel Hepatozoon species is presented. An intraleukocytic parasite was detected via routine blood smear from a zoo-housed giant panda at the National Zoological Park. Ribosomal DNA sequences indicated a previously undescribed Hepatozoon species. Phylogenetic and distance analyses of the sequences placed it within its own branch, clustered with Old World species with carnivore (primarily ursid and mustelid) hosts. Retrospective and opportunistic testing of other individuals produced additional positive detections (17/23, 73.9%), demonstrating 100% prevalence (14/14) across five institutions. All animals were asymptomatic at time of sampling, and health implications for giant pandas remain unknown

How can gender considerations be better integrated into animal health emergency preparedness and response?

Global and national authorities have not historically approached animal health emergencies through a gendered lens. Yet these events almost certainly have gendered dimensions, such as differential engagement of women or men depending on their culturally accepted or assigned roles for animal care; risk of exposure to zoonoses; and access to emergency resources during response and recovery. Despite the role that gender seems to play with respect to animal health emergencies, little research has been conducted to better understand such dynamics, and little policy has been promulgated to address it in a way that optimizes response while ensuring equitable outcomes. This piece summarizes 3 key themes that emerged from a panel discussion on gender and animal health emergencies at the World Organisation for Animal Health Global Conference on Emergency Management in April 2023. These themes were differential gendered exposure to pathogens; a lack of equitable gender representation in animal health decision-making; and enhancement of pathways for recognizing gender in national and international actions in preparing for, detecting, and responding to animal health emergencies. Beyond increasing opportunities for women to engage in leadership, the animal health and veterinary communities will benefit from connecting practitioners with gender experts to develop more integrative approaches to emergency preparedness and management. Animal health professionals should also advocate for further research to elucidate gender-specific dynamics in human populations in the context of animal emergencies and the promulgation of evidence-based policies. Such transformative efforts will lead to better outcomes for all people who depend on and provide care for animals

LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products

(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: probing dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. LSST will be a wide-field ground-based system sited at Cerro Pach\'{o}n in northern Chile. The telescope will have an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg$^2$ field of view, and a 3.2 Gigapixel camera. The standard observing sequence will consist of pairs of 15-second exposures in a given field, with two such visits in each pointing in a given night. With these repeats, the LSST system is capable of imaging about 10,000 square degrees of sky in a single filter in three nights. The typical 5$\sigma$ point-source depth in a single visit in $r$ will be $\sim 24.5$ (AB). The project is in the construction phase and will begin regular survey operations by 2022. The survey area will be contained within 30,000 deg$^2$ with $\delta<+34.5^\circ$, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, $ugrizy$, covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will uniformly observe a 18,000 deg$^2$ region about 800 times (summed over all six bands) during the anticipated 10 years of operations, and yield a coadded map to $r\sim27.5$. The remaining 10\% of the observing time will be allocated to projects such as a Very Deep and Fast time domain survey. The goal is to make LSST data products, including a relational database of about 32 trillion observations of 40 billion objects, available to the public and scientists around the world.Comment: 57 pages, 32 color figures, version with high-resolution figures available from https://www.lsst.org/overvie

Development of a glycoconjugate vaccine to prevent invasive Salmonella Typhimurium infections in sub-Saharan Africa

Invasive infections associated with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars Enteritidis (SE), Typhimurium (STm) and monophasic variant 1,4,[5],12:i:- are a major health problem in infants and young children in sub-Saharan Africa, and currently, there are no approved human NTS vaccines. NTS O-polysaccharides and flagellin proteins are protective antigens in animal models of invasive NTS infection. Conjugates of SE core and O-polysaccharide (COPS) chemically linked to SE flagellin have enhanced the anti-COPS immune response and protected mice against fatal challenge with a Malian SE blood isolate. We report herein the development of a STm glycoconjugate vaccine comprised of STm COPS conjugated to the homologous serovar phase 1 flagellin protein (FliC) with assessment of the role of COPS O-acetyls for functional immunity. Sun-type COPS conjugates linked through the polysaccharide reducing end to FliC were more immunogenic and protective in mice challenged with a Malian STm blood isolate than multipoint lattice conjugates (>95% vaccine efficacy [VE] versus 30-43% VE). Immunization with de-O-acetylated STm-COPS conjugated to CRM197 provided significant but reduced protection against STm challenge compared to mice immunized with native STm-COPS:CRM197 (63-74% VE versus 100% VE). Although OPS O-acetyls were highly immunogenic, post-vaccination sera that contained various O-acetyl epitope-specific antibody profiles displayed similar in vitro bactericidal activity when equivalent titers of anti-COPS IgG were assayed. In-silico molecular modeling further indicated that STm OPS forms a single dominant conformation, irrespective of O-acetylation, in which O-acetyls extend outward and are highly solvent exposed. These preclinical results establish important quality attributes for an STm vaccine that could be co-formulated with an SE-COPS:FliC glycoconjugate as a bivalent NTS vaccine for use in sub-Saharan Africa

The Captive Primate Safety Act : a case study in veterinary public policy

The historical relationship between veterinary medicine and the government regulation of its interests is extensive. The foremost example of this was the establishment of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1862, and the subsequent elevation of the agency to cabinet status in 1889. The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) was founded as an office within the USDA in 1884, and Daniel Salmon, a Cornell-trained veterinarian, was its first chief. The BAI eventually became what we know as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Research Service. These early examples of federal agencies geared toward animals and agriculture demonstrate the long-standing association between animals, their caretakers, and the federal government. As the nation grew, so, too, did the scope of veterinary medicine. In recent years, legislation regarding horse slaughter, animal ownership, veterinary debt foregiveness, and bioterror preparedness has been debated inside congressional walls. These issues have also been taken on by various lobbies, including the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, the Humane Society of the United States, and others. The interests of the government and these lobbies may, at various times, coincide or collide; either way, the issues raised present opportunities for professional groups to work with policy-makers for health and welfare reform. The paper examines the author's role in pursuing passage of the Captive Primate Safety Act, a federal measure with animal health, public health, and animal welfare implications. The author lobbied for the bill while externing at the AVMA's Governmental Relation's Division (AVMA-GRD), the advocacy arm of that association. The paper discusses why this bill is relevant to veterinary medicine, and how the author approached the Senate to help elevate the bill into law. It also broaches the broader issue of the nature of the profession's role in pursuing a policy agenda

Vitamin A deficiency and food habits in children of rural West Java, Indonesia

Recent studies of children\u27s vitamin A (VA) status have highlighted the importance of intra-household food allocation. Research into food habits and VA deficiency has suggested the potential importance of food taboos and other dietary beliefs for specific nutrient deficiencies. This biocultural study of VA deficiency in rural West Java examined children\u27s food consumption as a form of behavior subject to household customs, food beliefs, and also cultural rules for child-parent interaction. The study focused on preschool and school-age children in 40 families. Half of the sample exhibited clinical signs of VA deficiency (Bitot\u27s spots, nightblindness or both). The other half of the sample comprised age- and sex-matched non-VA deficient controls. The symptomatic children all showed response to treatment with one or two capsules of 200,000 IU retinol. The controls were selected for their above-average serum retinol levels (range = 0.77-2.24 mmol/L; median = 0.86 mmol/L). Food intake was recorded by local village women trained in observation and recording techniques, over four days for each focus child. Household socioeconomic status, mother\u27s knowledge and beliefs about children\u27s food, and ideas about the relationship between children\u27 s diet and health, were ascertained from interviews with caretakers. Participant-observation provided contextual data. Results show that while traditional food beliefs do tend to discriminate against the provision of VA-rich foods, adherence to traditionality does not differentiate mothers of VA deficient children from those of matched controls. Dietary profiles demonstrate reduced diversity of nutrient sources and lower frequency of snacking for cases as compared to the controls, which largely reflect differences in household wealth. Beyond the constraints of budget and beliefs lies the domain of rules for adult-child interaction, by which adults rarely attempt to exert direct control over children\u27s behavior, including their eating behavior. Consideration of these rules could productively influence the planning of information and education campaigns dedicated to increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, for example by targeting children themselves in addition to their parents

Vitamin A deficiency and food habits in children of rural West Java, Indonesia

Recent studies of children\u27s vitamin A (VA) status have highlighted the importance of intra-household food allocation. Research into food habits and VA deficiency has suggested the potential importance of food taboos and other dietary beliefs for specific nutrient deficiencies. This biocultural study of VA deficiency in rural West Java examined children\u27s food consumption as a form of behavior subject to household customs, food beliefs, and also cultural rules for child-parent interaction. The study focused on preschool and school-age children in 40 families. Half of the sample exhibited clinical signs of VA deficiency (Bitot\u27s spots, nightblindness or both). The other half of the sample comprised age- and sex-matched non-VA deficient controls. The symptomatic children all showed response to treatment with one or two capsules of 200,000 IU retinol. The controls were selected for their above-average serum retinol levels (range = 0.77-2.24 mmol/L; median = 0.86 mmol/L). Food intake was recorded by local village women trained in observation and recording techniques, over four days for each focus child. Household socioeconomic status, mother\u27s knowledge and beliefs about children\u27s food, and ideas about the relationship between children\u27 s diet and health, were ascertained from interviews with caretakers. Participant-observation provided contextual data. Results show that while traditional food beliefs do tend to discriminate against the provision of VA-rich foods, adherence to traditionality does not differentiate mothers of VA deficient children from those of matched controls. Dietary profiles demonstrate reduced diversity of nutrient sources and lower frequency of snacking for cases as compared to the controls, which largely reflect differences in household wealth. Beyond the constraints of budget and beliefs lies the domain of rules for adult-child interaction, by which adults rarely attempt to exert direct control over children\u27s behavior, including their eating behavior. Consideration of these rules could productively influence the planning of information and education campaigns dedicated to increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, for example by targeting children themselves in addition to their parents