Developing a Web-Based Evaluation Tool for Purchasing Electronic Resources: A Librarian-Faculty-Student Partnership

Introduction “While the principles of collection development, which were developed in the world of print publications, do not change radically with new publishing technologies, methods of decision making and specific selection guidelines must be adjusted significantly to incorporate new publishing formats” (Demas). The goals of acquiring and maintaining a good collection of resources that directly benefit teaching and research at a university are important ones. It is nearly impossible for most library budgets to acquire every available electronic research database and the task of deciding which of these resources to purchase has been mostly left to librarians. In order to have a tool that would aid librarians in determining which electronic resources to acquire, the University of Akron Libraries developed an “Electronic Resources Previews Project Page” and introduced it on the library’s Web site in February 2005. The purpose of the Previews Project is to involve faculty, students, and librarians together in the evaluation and assessment of new electronic resources. With the volume and variety of research information becoming available electronically, the librarians at the University of Akron needed a more efficient way of keeping track of what is available and what information these resources provide. Previously, vendors and publishers would contact any number of librarians and offer a temporary trial of their product; after that the subject librarians would notify other colleagues and various teaching faculty with the logon and trial information. These librarians and faculty were then asked to logon and try out the resource and report their opinion on its value. The subject librarians would then forward the information to the Head of Collection Management who would consider these resources for possible purchase depending on the opinions and available funds. This was typically done through a series of email messages and phone conversations, and there was no consistent procedure in place. Trials on a number of electronic resource databases have also been available through the statewide consortium, OhioLINK. A procedure was needed to have a consistent way of arranging for and handling trials of electronic resources, and more importantly, having all the information in one place where librarians, faculty and students could have easy access for previewing and evaluating. Use of the Previews Project page by the Head of Collection Management would ensure an organized and systematic file of previewed electronic resources. With the creation and hiring of a new library position in 2004 (Electronic Resources Librarian), the Associate Dean of University Libraries envisioned the design and implementation of a Web-based tool for evaluating new electronic resources. After the initial plan was written the Associate Dean, the Head of Collection Management, and the Electronic Resources Librarian met to discuss and draw a workflow diagram for the creation, implementation and use of this new Web-based tool which became known as the “e-Resources Previews Project.” The goals and outcomes of this project are as follows: 1) develop a new and easy Web-based evaluation instrument for faculty, librarians, and students to assess individual electronic resources; 2) assess the potential use of a new resource by faculty and students prior to committing financial resources; 3) gather documentation from faculty and students to use as support for any additional funding requests; 4) develop methods for active collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty for using the resources in promoting student success via classroom assignments; 5) use the information gathered from librarians, faculty, and students to help with purchasing decisions; and 6) acquire the best resources and promote their use on campus

Evaluation of exposure to contaminated drinking water and specific birth defects and childhood cancers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: Drinking water supplies at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune were contaminated with trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene, vinyl chloride and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene during 1968 through 1985. METHODS: We conducted a case control study to determine if children born during 1968–1985 to mothers with residential exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune during pregnancy were more likely to have childhood hematopoietic cancers, neural tube defects (NTDs), or oral clefts. For cancers, exposures during the first year of life were also evaluated. Cases and controls were identified through a survey of parents residing on base during pregnancy and confirmed by medical records. Controls were randomly sampled from surveyed participants who had a live birth without a major birth defect or childhood cancer. Groundwater contaminant fate and transport and distribution system models provided estimates of monthly levels of drinking water contaminants at mothers’ residences. Magnitude of odds ratios (ORs) was used to assess associations. Confidence intervals (CIs) were used to indicate precision of ORs. We evaluated parental characteristics and pregnancy history to assess potential confounding. RESULTS: Confounding was negligible so unadjusted results were presented. For NTDs and average 1(st) trimester exposures, ORs for any benzene exposure and for trichloroethylene above 5 parts per billion were 4.1 (95% CI: 1.4-12.0) and 2.4 (95% CI: 0.6-9.6), respectively. For trichloroethylene, a monotonic exposure response relationship was observed. For childhood cancers and average 1(st) trimester exposures, ORs for any tetrachloroethylene exposure and any vinyl chloride exposure were 1.6 (95% CI: 0.5-4.8), and 1.6 (95% CI: 0.5-4.7), respectively. The study found no evidence suggesting any other associations between outcomes and exposures. CONCLUSION: Although CIs were wide, ORs suggested associations between drinking water contaminants and NTDs. ORs suggested weaker associations with childhood hematopoietic cancers

Developing a Web-Based Evaluation Tool for Purchasing Electronic Resources: A Librarian-Faculty-Student Partnership

Introduction “While the principles of collection development, which were developed in the world of print publications, do not change radically with new publishing technologies, methods of decision making and specific selection guidelines must be adjusted significantly to incorporate new publishing formats” (Demas). The goals of acquiring and maintaining a good collection of resources that directly benefit teaching and research at a university are important ones. It is nearly impossible for most library budgets to acquire every available electronic research database and the task of deciding which of these resources to purchase has been mostly left to librarians. In order to have a tool that would aid librarians in determining which electronic resources to acquire, the University of Akron Libraries developed an “Electronic Resources Previews Project Page” and introduced it on the library’s Web site in February 2005. The purpose of the Previews Project is to involve faculty, students, and librarians together in the evaluation and assessment of new electronic resources. With the volume and variety of research information becoming available electronically, the librarians at the University of Akron needed a more efficient way of keeping track of what is available and what information these resources provide. Previously, vendors and publishers would contact any number of librarians and offer a temporary trial of their product; after that the subject librarians would notify other colleagues and various teaching faculty with the logon and trial information. These librarians and faculty were then asked to logon and try out the resource and report their opinion on its value. The subject librarians would then forward the information to the Head of Collection Management who would consider these resources for possible purchase depending on the opinions and available funds. This was typically done through a series of email messages and phone conversations, and there was no consistent procedure in place. Trials on a number of electronic resource databases have also been available through the statewide consortium, OhioLINK. A procedure was needed to have a consistent way of arranging for and handling trials of electronic resources, and more importantly, having all the information in one place where librarians, faculty and students could have easy access for previewing and evaluating. Use of the Previews Project page by the Head of Collection Management would ensure an organized and systematic file of previewed electronic resources. With the creation and hiring of a new library position in 2004 (Electronic Resources Librarian), the Associate Dean of University Libraries envisioned the design and implementation of a Web-based tool for evaluating new electronic resources. After the initial plan was written the Associate Dean, the Head of Collection Management, and the Electronic Resources Librarian met to discuss and draw a workflow diagram for the creation, implementation and use of this new Web-based tool which became known as the “e-Resources Previews Project.” The goals and outcomes of this project are as follows: 1) develop a new and easy Web-based evaluation instrument for faculty, librarians, and students to assess individual electronic resources; 2) assess the potential use of a new resource by faculty and students prior to committing financial resources; 3) gather documentation from faculty and students to use as support for any additional funding requests; 4) develop methods for active collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty for using the resources in promoting student success via classroom assignments; 5) use the information gathered from librarians, faculty, and students to help with purchasing decisions; and 6) acquire the best resources and promote their use on campus

Dorsal Scapular Artery Variations And Relationship To The Brachial Plexus, And A Related Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Case

Knowledge of the relationship of the dorsal scapular artery (DSA) with the brachial plexus is limited. We report a case of a variant DSA path, and revisit DSA origins and underinvestigated relationship with the plexus in cadavers. The DSA was examined in a male patient and 106 cadavers. In the case, we observed an unusual DSA compressing the lower plexus trunk, that resulted in intermittent radiating pain and paresthesia. In the cadavers, the DSA originated most commonly from the subclavian artery (71%), with 35% from the thyrocervical trunk. Nine sides of eight cadavers (seven females) had two DSA branches per side, with one branch from each origin. The most typical DSA path was a subclavian artery origin before passing between upper and middle brachial plexus trunks (40% of DSAs), versus between middle and lower trunks (23%), or inferior (4%) or superior to the plexus (1%). Following a thyrocervical trunk origin, the DSA passed most frequently superior to the plexus (23%), versus between middle and lower trunks (6%) or upper and middle trunks (4%). Bilateral symmetry in origin and path through the brachial plexus was observed in 13 of 35 females (37%) and 6 of 17males (35%), with the most common bilateral finding of a subclavian artery origin and a path between upper and middle trunks (17%). Variability in the relationship between DSA and trunks of the brachial plexus has surgical and clinical implications, such as diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome

Parkinson’s disease mouse models in translational research

Animal models with high predictive power are a prerequisite for translational research. The closer the similarity of a model to Parkinson’s disease (PD), the higher is the predictive value for clinical trials. An ideal PD model should present behavioral signs and pathology that resemble the human disease. The increasing understanding of PD stratification and etiology, however, complicates the choice of adequate animal models for preclinical studies. An ultimate mouse model, relevant to address all PD-related questions, is yet to be developed. However, many of the existing models are useful in answering specific questions. An appropriate model should be chosen after considering both the context of the research and the model properties. This review addresses the validity, strengths, and limitations of current PD mouse models for translational research

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field