Literature and technology skills for entry-level children's librarians : what employers want

Public libraries are increasingly advertising for children's librarians with "technological savvy." In a field that used to be dominated by books and reading, this new focus on technology has been somewhat unexpected. This article uses two methods to investigate the role that technology and juvenile literature play in hiring new children's librarians: a content analysis of children's services job announcements and interviews with public library employers about hiring children's librarians. The content analysis, which looked at children's librarian job announcements over a 30 year period, suggests that knowledge of juvenile literature is no longer the sine qua non of youth services librarianship, and that technological skills are in the ascendant. Interviews confirmed the importance of basic technological skills. However, these interviews also reinforce the notion that children's librarians need to have a love of the literature in order to effectively work as a children's librarian.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

"Wasting time on romances" : uncommon ground in reader advisory education and professional practice [paper]

Do we teach our masters' students about reader advisory services? Well, the majority of schools offer a class that is either explicitly oriented toward Reader Advisory or includes Reader Advisory as a significant element. We conducted an informal review of course descriptions at 50 out of 56 LIS programs, and of those 50, 30 programs offered a total of 48 reader advisory or reader-advisory related courses. Eleven of those courses were specifically titled "Reader Advisory," and the 38 "related" courses generally had titles like "Materials and Services for Adults" or "History of the Book."Presentatio

Perception of Romance Readers: An Analysis of Missouri Librarians

PowerPoint presentation presented on the perception of romance readers by Missouri Librarians.PowerPoint presentation related to the perception of romance readers by Missouri librarians

"Wasting time on romances" : uncommon ground in reader advisory education and professional practice [handout]

Two page presentation handout distributed at the Association for Library and Information Science Education Conference in Seattle, Washington on January 16, 2007.Presentation handout for "Wasting Time on Romances": Uncommon Ground in Readers Advisory Education and Professional Practice. Presented on January 16, 2007 in Seattle, Washington, for the Association of Library and Information Science Education Conference

Perceptions of Romance Readers : An Analysis of Missouri Librarians

The romance novel is a form of literature geared toward women, which presents a love story with a central female character and a focus on that character's emotional state. Feminist scholarship and library-related literature from the 1980s and 1990s suggests a bias against romance novels on the part of librarians. Some of the reasons for this opinion include the marketing of romance novels as commodities rather than literature, the presence of sexuality in those novels, and the suggestion that romance novels undercut the goals of feminism by maintaining that the key to women's happiness lies in male domination.PresentationIncludes bibliographical references

Romance promotion in American public libraries

Almost all libraries collect romance novels, but not all libraries engage in promotion or programming geared toward romance novels. Reader advisory services specific to romance tend to be secondary to general reader advisory services. With the increase in Web 2.0 book promotion, though, the time could be right for promoting the romance genre.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Relations between librarians and romance readers: A Missouri survey.

Romance novels have traditionally been derided in academic literature and while recent LIS literature has been supportive of romance, previous articles indicated considerable disdain for the genre. Criticism raised in the literature suggests that romance readers are less educated than other women and that romance novels portray women as passive recipients of men's actions. Do public librarians subscribe to these attitudes? In order to find out, we surveyed public librarians in the State of Missouri to gauge their attitudes and beliefs about romance novels and romance readers.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Ferroptosis in health and disease.

Ferroptosis is a pervasive non-apoptotic form of cell death highly relevant in various degenerative diseases and malignancies. The hallmark of ferroptosis is uncontrolled and overwhelming peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids contained in membrane phospholipids, which eventually leads to rupture of the plasma membrane. Ferroptosis is unique in that it is essentially a spontaneous, uncatalyzed chemical process based on perturbed iron and redox homeostasis contributing to the cell death process, but that it is nonetheless modulated by many metabolic nodes that impinge on the cells susceptibility to ferroptosis. Among the various nodes affecting ferroptosis sensitivity, several have emerged as promising candidates for pharmacological intervention, rendering ferroptosis-related proteins attractive targets for the treatment of numerous currently incurable diseases. Herein, the current members of a Germany-wide research consortium focusing on ferroptosis research, as well as key external experts in ferroptosis who have made seminal contributions to this rapidly growing and exciting field of research, have gathered to provide a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review on ferroptosis. Specific topics include: basic mechanisms, in vivo relevance, specialized methodologies, chemical and pharmacological tools, and the potential contribution of ferroptosis to disease etiopathology and progression. We hope that this article will not only provide established scientists and newcomers to the field with an overview of the multiple facets of ferroptosis, but also encourage additional efforts to characterize further molecular pathways modulating ferroptosis, with the ultimate goal to develop novel pharmacotherapies to tackle the various diseases associated with - or caused by - ferroptosis

Traumatic brain injury: integrated approaches to improve prevention, clinical care, and research

No abstract available

Machine learning algorithms performed no better than regression models for prognostication in traumatic brain injury

Objective: We aimed to explore the added value of common machine learning (ML) algorithms for prediction of outcome for moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. Study Design and Setting: We performed logistic regression (LR), lasso regression, and ridge regression with key baseline predictors in the IMPACT-II database (15 studies, n = 11,022). ML algorithms included support vector machines, random forests, gradient boosting machines, and artificial neural networks and were trained using the same predictors. To assess generalizability of predictions, we performed internal, internal-external, and external validation on the recent CENTER-TBI study (patients with Glasgow Coma Scale <13, n = 1,554). Both calibration (calibration slope/intercept) and discrimination (area under the curve) was quantified. Results: In the IMPACT-II database, 3,332/11,022 (30%) died and 5,233(48%) had unfavorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale less than 4). In the CENTER-TBI study, 348/1,554(29%) died and 651(54%) had unfavorable outcome. Discrimination and calibration varied widely between the studies and less so between the studied algorithms. The mean area under the curve was 0.82 for mortality and 0.77 for unfavorable outcomes in the CENTER-TBI study. Conclusion: ML algorithms may not outperform traditional regression approaches in a low-dimensional setting for outcome prediction after moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Similar to regression-based prediction models, ML algorithms should be rigorously validated to ensure applicability to new populations