Using Your Library’s Objectives as the Organizational Framework for Library Documentation in Planning, Assessment, and Accreditation

The San Diego Christian/Southern California Seminary Library1 uses its objectives as the organizational framework for its strategic plan, annual report, assessment plan, and policies and procedures manual. This article describes how the library’s objectives compare to the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Standards (to ensure best practices), relate to the areas covered in the library strategic plan, annual report, and operations manual, and correspond to the standards and criteria from their respective accrediting agencies, showing how easy it is to identify supporting evidence for a program review or self-study when using this organizing method

Can Memoirs Be Used For Spiritual Development in a Book Group?

Biographies have historically been used by Christians for instruction and encouragement. The current trend in biographical writing is the memoir. Can spiritual memoirs be used as an effective tool for learning more about Scripture, doctrine or the Christian life? Approximately twenty spiritual memoirs were read and evaluated to determine if there was a central theme or series of themes that provided a story-based context for exploring greater biblical truths. This article reviews the genre of spiritual memoirs, discusses their strengths and weaknesses, and suggests a method for preparing them for a book group format

Ancestral bias in the Hras1 gene and distal Chromosome 7 among inbred mice

Inbred strains of mice vary in their frequency of liver tumors initiated by a mutation in the Hras1 (H-ras) proto-oncogene. We sequenced 4.5 kb of the Hras1 gene on distal Chr 7 in a diverse set of 12 commonly used laboratory inbred strains of mice and detected no sequence variation to account for strain-specific differences in Hras1 mutation prevalence. Furthermore, the Hras1 sequence is essentially monoallelic for an ancestral gene derived from the M. m. domesticus species. To determine if the monoallelism and associated low rate of polymorphism are unique to Hras1 or representative of the general chromosomal locale, we extended the sequence analysis to 12 genes in the final 8 Mb of distal Chr 7. A region of at least 2.5 Mb that encompasses several genes, including Hras1 and the H19/Igf2 loci, demonstrates virtually no sequence variation. The 12 inbred strains share one dominant haplotype derived from the M. m. domesticus allele. Chromosomal regions flanking the monoallelic segment exhibit a significantly higher rate of variation and multiple haplotypes, a majority of which are attributed to M. m. domesticus or M. m. musculus ancestry

The Airborne Metagenome in an Indoor Urban Environment

The indoor atmosphere is an ecological unit that impacts on public health. To investigate the composition of organisms in this space, we applied culture-independent approaches to microbes harvested from the air of two densely populated urban buildings, from which we analyzed 80 megabases genomic DNA sequence and 6000 16S rDNA clones. The air microbiota is primarily bacteria, including potential opportunistic pathogens commonly isolated from human-inhabited environments such as hospitals, but none of the data contain matches to virulent pathogens or bioterror agents. Comparison of air samples with each other and nearby environments suggested that the indoor air microbes are not random transients from surrounding outdoor environments, but rather originate from indoor niches. Sequence annotation by gene function revealed specific adaptive capabilities enriched in the air environment, including genes potentially involved in resistance to desiccation and oxidative damage. This baseline index of air microbiota will be valuable for improving designs of surveillance for natural or man-made release of virulent pathogens

Limited Awareness and Low Immediate Uptake of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among Men Who Have Sex with Men Using an Internet Social Networking Site

Background: In 2010, the iPrEx trial demonstrated that oral antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduced the risk of HIV acquisition among high-risk men who have sex with men (MSM). The impact of iPrEx on PrEP knowledge and actual use among at-risk MSM is unknown. Online surveys were conducted to assess PrEP awareness, interest and experience among at-risk MSM before and after iPrEx, and to determine demographic and behavioral factors associated with these measures. Methods and Findings: Cross-sectional, national, internet-based surveys were administered to U.S. based members of the most popular American MSM social networking site 2 months before (n = 398) and 1 month after (n = 4 558) publication of iPrEx results. Comparisons were made between these samples with regards to PrEP knowledge, interest, and experience. Data were collected on demographics, sexual risk, and experience with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). Regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with PrEP awareness, interest, and experience post-iPrEx. Most participants were white, educated, and indicated high-risk sexual behaviors. Awareness of PrEP was limited pre- and post-iPrEx (13% vs. 19%), whereas interest levels after being provided with a description of PrEP remained high (76% vs. 79%). PrEP use remained uncommon (0.7% vs. 0.9%). PrEP use was associated with PEP awareness (OR 7.46; CI 1.52–36.6) and PEP experience (OR 34.2; CI 13.3–88.4). PrEP interest was associated with older age (OR 1.01; CI 1.00–1.02), unprotected anal intercourse with ≥1 male partner in the prior 3 months (OR 1.40; CI 1.10–1.77), and perceiving oneself at increased risk for HIV acquisition (OR 1.20; CI 1.13–1.27). Conclusions: Among MSM engaged in online networking, awareness of PrEP was limited 1 month after the iPrEx data were released. Utilization was low, although some MSM who reported high-risk behaviors were interested in using PrEP. Studies are needed to understand barriers to PrEP utilization by at-risk MSM

Using near-term forecasts and uncertainty partitioning to improve predictions of low-frequency cyanobacterial events

Near-term ecological forecasts provide resource managers advance notice of changes in ecosystem services, such as fisheries stocks, timber yields, or water and air quality. Importantly, ecological forecasts can identify where uncertainty enters the forecasting system, which is necessary to refine and improve forecast skill and guide interpretation of forecast results. Uncertainty partitioning identifies the relative contributions to total forecast variance (uncertainty) introduced by different sources, including specification of the model structure, errors in driver data, and estimation of initial state conditions. Uncertainty partitioning could be particularly useful in improving forecasts of high-density cyanobacterial events, which are difficult to predict and present a persistent challenge for lake managers. Cyanobacteria can produce toxic or unsightly surface scums and advance warning of these events could help managers mitigate water quality issues. Here, we calibrate fourteen Bayesian state-space models to evaluate different hypotheses about cyanobacterial growth using data from eight summers of weekly cyanobacteria density samples in an oligotrophic (low nutrient) lake that experiences sporadic surface scums of the toxin-producing cyanobacterium, Gloeotrichia echinulata. We identify dominant sources of uncertainty for near-term (one-week to four-week) forecasts of G. echinulata densities over two years. Water temperature was an important predictor in calibration and at the four-week forecast horizon. However, no environmental covariates improved over a simple autoregressive (AR) model at the one-week horizon. Even the best fit models exhibited large variance in forecasted cyanobacterial densities and often did not capture rare peak density occurrences, indicating that significant explanatory variables in calibration are not always effective for near-term forecasting of low-frequency events. Uncertainty partitioning revealed that model process specification and initial conditions uncertainty dominated forecasts at both time horizons. These findings suggest that observed densities result from both growth and movement of G. echinulata, and that imperfect observations as well as spatial misalignment of environmental data and cyanobacteria observations affect forecast skill. Future research efforts should prioritize long-term studies to refine process understanding and increased sampling frequency and replication to better define initial conditions. Our results emphasize the importance of ecological forecasting principles and uncertainty partitioning to refine and understand predictive capacity across ecosystems.Accepted manuscrip

Sequencing, Mapping, and Analysis of 27,455 Maize Full-Length cDNAs

Full-length cDNA (FLcDNA) sequencing establishes the precise primary structure of individual gene transcripts. From two libraries representing 27 B73 tissues and abiotic stress treatments, 27,455 high-quality FLcDNAs were sequenced. The average transcript length was 1.44 kb including 218 bases and 321 bases of 5′ and 3′ UTR, respectively, with 8.6% of the FLcDNAs encoding predicted proteins of fewer than 100 amino acids. Approximately 94% of the FLcDNAs were stringently mapped to the maize genome. Although nearly two-thirds of this genome is composed of transposable elements (TEs), only 5.6% of the FLcDNAs contained TE sequences in coding or UTR regions. Approximately 7.2% of the FLcDNAs are putative transcription factors, suggesting that rare transcripts are well-enriched in our FLcDNA set. Protein similarity searching identified 1,737 maize transcripts not present in rice, sorghum, Arabidopsis, or poplar annotated genes. A strict FLcDNA assembly generated 24,467 non-redundant sequences, of which 88% have non-maize protein matches. The FLcDNAs were also assembled with 41,759 FLcDNAs in GenBank from other projects, where semi-strict parameters were used to identify 13,368 potentially unique non-redundant sequences from this project. The libraries, ESTs, and FLcDNA sequences produced from this project are publicly available. The annotated EST and FLcDNA assemblies are available through the maize FLcDNA web resource (www.maizecdna.org)

Predisposition to Cancer Caused by Genetic and Functional Defects of Mammalian Atad5

ATAD5, the human ortholog of yeast Elg1, plays a role in PCNA deubiquitination. Since PCNA modification is important to regulate DNA damage bypass, ATAD5 may be important for suppression of genomic instability in mammals in vivo. To test this hypothesis, we generated heterozygous (Atad5+/m) mice that were haploinsuffficient for Atad5. Atad5+/m mice displayed high levels of genomic instability in vivo, and Atad5+/m mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) exhibited molecular defects in PCNA deubiquitination in response to DNA damage, as well as DNA damage hypersensitivity and high levels of genomic instability, apoptosis, and aneuploidy. Importantly, 90% of haploinsufficient Atad5+/m mice developed tumors, including sarcomas, carcinomas, and adenocarcinomas, between 11 and 20 months of age. High levels of genomic alterations were evident in tumors that arose in the Atad5+/m mice. Consistent with a role for Atad5 in suppressing tumorigenesis, we also identified somatic mutations of ATAD5 in 4.6% of sporadic human endometrial tumors, including two nonsense mutations that resulted in loss of proper ATAD5 function. Taken together, our findings indicate that loss-of-function mutations in mammalian Atad5 are sufficient to cause genomic instability and tumorigenesis

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Computational Biology Methods and Their Application to the Comparative Genomics of Endocellular Symbiotic Bacteria of Insects

Comparative genomics has become a real tantalizing challenge in the postgenomic era. This fact has been mostly magnified by the plethora of new genomes becoming available in a daily bases. The overwhelming list of new genomes to compare has pushed the field of bioinformatics and computational biology forward toward the design and development of methods capable of identifying patterns in a sea of swamping data noise. Despite many advances made in such endeavor, the ever-lasting annoying exceptions to the general patterns remain to pose difficulties in generalizing methods for comparative genomics. In this review, we discuss the different tools devised to undertake the challenge of comparative genomics and some of the exceptions that compromise the generality of such methods. We focus on endosymbiotic bacteria of insects because of their genomic dynamics peculiarities when compared to free-living organisms