Social Media Best Practices in Academic Libraries (2016)

In order to understand current trends and use of social media in libraries, VCU Libraries created and conducted an online survey using SurveyMonkey. Our approach was informed by the study of social media and public relations practice conducted by Wright and Hinson (Wright, Donald K. and Michelle Drifka Hinson. 2015. “Examining Social and Emerging Media Use in Public Relations Practice: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Analysis.” Public Relations Journal 9). The VCU Libraries survey consisted of 22 multiple-choice, multiple-answer, and open ended questions. The survey was distributed to email discussion lists frequented by library professionals involved in management or communications. The data presented here in summary form includes responses from all 198 respondent

The effects of peripheral and central high insulin on brain insulin signaling and amyloid-β in young and old APP/PS1 mice

Hyperinsulinemia is a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). In vitro experiments describe potential connections between insulin, insulin signaling, and amyloid-β (Aβ), but in vivo experiments are needed to validate these relationships under physiological conditions. First, we performed hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps with concurrent hippocampal microdialysis in young, awake, behaving APP(swe)/PS1(dE9) transgenic mice. Both a postprandial and supraphysiological insulin clamp significantly increased interstitial fluid (ISF) and plasma Aβ compared with controls. We could detect no increase in brain, ISF, or CSF insulin or brain insulin signaling in response to peripheral hyperinsulinemia, despite detecting increased signaling in the muscle. Next, we delivered insulin directly into the hippocampus of young APP/PS1 mice via reverse microdialysis. Brain tissue insulin and insulin signaling was dose-dependently increased, but ISF Aβ was unchanged by central insulin administration. Finally, to determine whether peripheral and central high insulin has differential effects in the presence of significant amyloid pathology, we repeated these experiments in older APP/PS1 mice with significant amyloid plaque burden. Postprandial insulin clamps increased ISF and plasma Aβ, whereas direct delivery of insulin to the hippocampus significantly increased tissue insulin and insulin signaling, with no effect on Aβ in old mice. These results suggest that the brain is still responsive to insulin in the presence of amyloid pathology but increased insulin signaling does not acutely modulate Aβ in vivo before or after the onset of amyloid pathology. Peripheral hyperinsulinemia modestly increases ISF and plasma Aβ in young and old mice, independent of neuronal insulin signaling. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The transportation of insulin from blood to brain is a saturable process relevant to understanding the link between hyperinsulinemia and AD. In vitro experiments have found direct connections between high insulin and extracellular Aβ, but these mechanisms presume that peripheral high insulin elevates brain insulin significantly. We found that physiological hyperinsulinemia in awake, behaving mice does not increase CNS insulin to an appreciable level yet modestly increases extracellular Aβ. We also found that the brain of aged APP/PS1 mice was not insulin resistant, contrary to the current state of the literature. These results further elucidate the relationship between insulin, the brain, and AD and its conflicting roles as both a risk factor and potential treatment

Attention training for infants at familial risk of ADHD (INTERSTAARS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

- Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder that can negatively impact on an individual’s quality of life. It is pathophysiologically complex and heterogeneous with different neuropsychological processes being impaired in different individuals. Executive function deficits, including those affecting attention, working memory and inhibitory control, are common. Cognitive training has been promoted as a treatment option, based on the notion that by strengthening the neurocognitive networks underlying these executive processes, ADHD symptoms will also be reduced. However, if implemented in childhood or later, when the full disorder has become well-established, cognitive training has only limited value. INTERSTAARS is a trial designed to test a novel approach to intervention, in which cognitive training is implemented early in development, before the emergence of the disorder. The aim of INTERSTAARS is to train early executive skills, thereby increasing resilience and reducing later ADHD symptoms and associated impairment.\ud - Methods/design: Fifty 10–14-month-old infants at familial risk of ADHD will participate in INTERSTAARS. Infants will be randomised to an intervention or a control group. The intervention aims to train early attention skills by using novel eye-tracking technology and gaze-contingent training paradigms. Infants view animated games on a screen and different events take place contingent on where on the screen the infant is looking. Infants allocated to the intervention will receive nine weekly home-based attention training sessions. Control group infants will also receive nine weekly home visits, but instead of viewing the training games during these visits they will view non-gaze-contingent age-appropriate videos. At baseline and post treatment, infant attention control will be assessed using a range of eye-tracking, observational, parent-report and neurophysiological measures. The primary outcome will be a composite of eye-tracking tasks used to assess infant attention skills. Follow-up data will be collected on emerging ADHD symptoms when the infants are 2 and 3 years old.\ud - Discussion: This is the first randomised controlled trial to assess the potential efficacy of cognitive training as a prevention measure for infants at familial risk of ADHD. If successful, INTERSTAARS could offer a promising new approach for developing early interventions for ADHD

Insights into Space Solar Cell Durability Using SPICE Simulation Seeded by Current-Voltage Characteristics Parametrized Using the Lambert W Special Function

We developed and validated an automated routine for the fitting of I-V curve data to the single diode model according to an exact analytical solution. Our fitting routine was validated to show good noise immunity and high accuracy usingsimulated values from LTSPICE. We are thus able to automate parameter extraction from a dataset or arbitrary size. This parameterization allows for better simulation of performance of real cells and arrays and provides utility for a host of applications relevant to space arrays. We will use this methodology to determine the array performance of radiated cells over time, and simulate the performance of the arrays with bypass diodes and power electronics

Assessment of the Influence of Demographic and Professional Characteristics on Health Care Providers' Pain Management Decisions Using Virtual Humans

Disparities in health care associated with patients’ gender, race, and age are well documented. Previous studies using virtual human (VH) technology have demonstrated that provider characteristics may play an important role in pain management decisions. However, these studies have largely emphasized group differences. The aims of this study were to examine dentists’ and physicians’ use of VH characteristics when making clinical judgments (i.e., cue use) and to identify provider characteristics associated with the magnitude of the impact of these cues (β-weights). Providers (N=152; 76 physicians, 76 dentists) viewed video vignettes of VH patients varying in gender (male/female), race (white/black), and age (younger/older). Participants rated VH patients’ pain intensity and unpleasantness and then rated their own likelihood of administering non-opioid and opioid analgesics. Compared to physicians, dentists had significantly lower β-weights associated with VH age cues for all ratings (p0.69). These effects varied by provider race and gender. For pain intensity, professional differences were present only among non-white providers. White providers had greater β-weights than non-white providers for pain unpleasantness but only among men. Provider differences regarding the use of VH age cues in non-opioid analgesic administration were present among all providers except non-white males. These findings highlight the interaction of patient and provider factors in driving clinical decision making. Although profession was related to use of VH age cues in pain-related clinical judgments, this relationship was modified by providers’ personal characteristics. Additional research is needed to understand what aspects of professional training or practice may account for differences between physicians and dentists and what forms of continuing education may help to mitigate the disparities

Public knowledge, attitudes, social distance and reporting contact with people with mental illness 2009-2017

Background: Our aim was to investigate patterns of change in public knowledge, attitudes, desire for social distance and reporting having contact with people with mental health problems in England during the Time to Change (TTC) programme to reduce stigma and discrimination 2009-2017. Methods: Using data from an annual face-to-face survey of a nationally representative quota sample of adults, we evaluated longitudinal trends of the outcome measures with regression analyses and made assumptions on the basis of a simple random sample. We tested interactions between year and demographic subgroups.Results: There were improvements in all outcomes in 2017 compared to baseline measures (2008 or 2009). Reported in standard deviation units (95% CI), the improvement for knowledge was 0·17 (0·10, 0·23); for attitudes 0·25 (0·18, 0·31); and for social distance 0·29 (0·23, 0·35). A higher likelihood of reporting contact was also associated with most recent survey year (OR 1·47, 95% CI 1·27, 1·71). Statistically significant interactions between year and region of England suggest greatest improvements in attitudes and intended behaviour in London, where both outcomes were significantly worse in the early years of the survey. However, for attitudes, this interaction was only significant among women. Other significant interactions suggest that attitudes improved most in the target age group (25-44).Conclusions: The results provide support for the effectiveness of TTC across demographic groups. However, other societal changes may influence the results, such as the increasing prevalence of common mental disorder in young women.<br/

New times, new politics: history and memory during the final years of the CPGB

This article examines the relationship between collective memory, historical interpretation and political identity. It focuses on the dissolution of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) as constructed through collective narrative memory, and on Marxist interpretations of history. The divisions within the party and the wider Marxist community, stretching from 1956 until 1991, were often framed around questions of historical interpretation. The events of 1989–1991 created an historical and mnemonic crisis for CPGB members who struggled to reconcile their past identities with their present situation. Unlike the outward-facing revisionism of other political parties, this was an intensely personal affair. The solution for many was to emphasise the need to find new ways to progress socialist aims, without relying on a discredited grand narrative. In contrast, other Communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Britain, which had been established (or ‘re-established’) in 1988, fared rather better. By adhering to the international party line of renewal and continued struggle, the party was able to hold its narrative together, condemning the excesses of totalitarian regimes, while reaffirming the need for international class struggle

Radical nostalgia, progressive patriotism and Labour's 'English problem'

‘Progressive patriots’ have long argued that Englishness can form the basis of a transformative political project, whether based on an historic tradition of resistance to state power or an open and cosmopolitan identity. However, this article suggests that the politics of Englishness present a number of specific dilemmas for Labour. First the historical narrative of a radical tradition in British history is not straightforwardly English and cannot easily be used to support a competitive politics of nationhood, in the way that disaffected English identifiers might desire. Second, the deliberately alternative nature of this ‘radical nostalgic’ narrative makes it an unlikely basis for a unifying national story. It is also at odds with Labour’s status as a successful party of government, committed to using the power of the British state, rather than opposing it. Finally, while ‘everyday Englishness’ may well align with core Labour values and be less socially conservative, intolerant or racially exclusive than it is often described, its very nature as an everyday practice, rather than a political identity makes it difficult for Labour to co-opt

Sodium bicarbonate ingestion and individual variability in time to peak pH

The aim of this study was to determine the individual variability in time to peak pH after the consumption of a 300mg.kg-1 dose of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). Seventeen active males volunteered to participate in the study (mean ± SD: age 21.38 ± 1.5y; mass 75.8 ± 5.8kg; height 176.8 ± 7.6cm). Participants reported to the laboratory where a resting capillary blood sample was taken aseptically from the fingertip. After this, 300 mg.kg-1 of NaHCO3 in 400ml of water with 50ml of flavoured cordial was ingested. Participants then rested for 90 min during which repeated blood samples were procured at 10 minute intervals for 60 mins and then every 5 min until 90 min. Blood pH concentrations were measured using a blood gas analyser. Results suggested that time to peak pH (64.41±18.78 min) was highly variable with a range of 10-85 min and a coefficient of variation of 29.16%. A bi-modal distribution occurred, at 65 and 75 min. In conclusion, researchers and athletes, when using NaHCO3 as an ergogenic aid, should determine, in advance their time to peak pH to best utilise the added buffering capacity this substance allows