Ecosciences precinct library – collaboration of spaces & people

Introduction The Ecosciences Precinct (ESP) in Dutton Park, Brisbane opened in late 2010 providing a facility for researchers from Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management and CSIRO. This landmark building has won numerous awards for its innovative and sustainable design. The building incorporates ‘green’ energy and recycling initiatives, and is designed to encourage interaction and collaboration amongst occupants. A purpose built Library is at the physical and intellectual heart of the building and provides clients with an open, modern, collaborative space. This paper describes the planning process, physical occupation (involving relocating collections from more than eight different locations), the ongoing service operation, client satisfaction levels and future initiatives. Methods Library clients at the facility work in diverse areas including animal science, climate change and adaptation, agricultural sustainability, soil science, and weed management. In the spirit of collaboration that the centre is designed to encourage, library staff from the three agencies work together to provide services to over 1000 ESP staff and researchers. For example, training sessions have been offered to staff from all three agencies for common database platforms. This paper describes some challenges, including separate networks and catalogues, and how services have been adapted to overcome these barriers. The Library has successfully positioned itself as a community hub for the facility, with clients using it for journal clubs, meetings, and as a space for quiet research. Outcomes A survey has been carried out to determine client satisfaction with the new Library. Results are discussed and future plans based on the findings are outlined. A real benefit for library staff has been the cross-fertilisation and the resultant sharing of information, ideas, skills and broadening of knowledge. Conclusions Plans for future integration and collaboration in the ESP library service include the creation of a union library catalogue and possible shared access to electronic resources. A shared site intranet would also be a welcome development, enabling the Library to project a more unified presence to client

The well connected catalogue

Presented at: Beyond the OPAC : future directions for Web-based catalogues, ACOC Seminar 2006, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western Australia, Monday 18th September, 2006In an age where our users expect to be able to point and click, links through to other works by the same author, same subject or same series are standard features of a web catalogue that provide relevant retrieval wherever good authority control is practiced. This is an advantage of web catalogue versus web browser searches. The assiduous cataloguer also provides rich information about related works that can help users to find what they really need. If presented as succinctly-labelled clickable links, the user is likely to take advantage of this information. Using the Bib-Linking functionality supplied by Endeavor in WebVoyage, the University of Adelaide Library has been able to provide extended links in its catalogue to lead its users to works related in specific ways. To date these include analysed titles that are part of a serial, earlier and later journal titles, links between different format versions of the same title such as electronic and print, and links to titles belonging to electronic datasets. Hot linking to outside resources from URLs in a variety of fields, including notes, has enabled the Library to link to many other related digital resources or documents. Online contents and abstracts, licence agreements and online indexes for individual print journals are some examples that provide more depth, less clutter in the catalogue and better information that assists the user in choice of item

Bitopic binding mode of an M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist associated with adverse clinical trial outcomes

The realisation of the therapeutic potential of targeting the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1 mAChR) for the treatment of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease has prompted the discovery of M1 mAChR ligands showing efficacy in alleviating cognitive dysfunction in both rodents and humans. Among these is GSK1034702, described previously as a potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist, which showed pro-cognitive effects in rodents and improved immediate memory in a clinical nicotine withdrawal test but induced significant side-effects. Here we provide evidence using ligand binding, chemical biology and functional assays to establish that rather than the allosteric mechanism claimed, GSK1034702 interacts in a bitopic manner at the M1 mAChR such that it can concomitantly span both the orthosteric and an allosteric binding site. The bitopic nature of GSK1034702 together with the intrinsic agonist activity and a lack of muscarinic receptor subtype selectivity reported here, all likely contribute to the adverse effects of this molecule in clinical trials. We conclude that these properties, whilst imparting beneficial effects on learning and memory, are undesirable in a clinical candidate due to the likelihood of adverse side effects. Rather, our data supports the notion that "pure" positive allosteric modulators showing selectivity for the M1 mAChR with low levels of intrinsic activity would be preferable to provide clinical efficacy with low adverse responses

Germinal Center B Cells Regulate Their Capability to Present Antigen by Modulation of HLA-DO

Peptide acquisition by MHC class II molecules is catalyzed by HLA-DM (DM). In B cells, HLA-DO (DO) inhibits or modifies the peptide exchange activity of DM. We show here that DO protein levels are modulated during B cell differentiation. Remarkably, germinal center (GC) B cells, which have low levels of DO relative to naive and memory B cells, are shown to have enhanced antigen presentation capabilities. DM protein levels also were somewhat reduced in GC B cells; however, the ratio of DM to DO in GC B cells was substantially increased, resulting in more free DM in GC B cells. We conclude that modulation of DM and DO in distinct stages of B cell differentiation represents a mechanism by which B cells regulate their capacity to function as antigen-presenting cells. Efficient antigen presentation in GC B cells would promote GC B cell–T cell interactions that are essential for B cells to survive positive selection in the GC

Socioeconomic Standards, Nutritional Knowledge and Dietary Habits of Ghanaian Athletes: A Study of Three Major Sporting Regions in Ghana

Nutrition is essential in ensuring athletes’ optimum sports performance and good health. This study’s objective was to assess the socioeconomic (SE) standards, the nutritional knowledge, and the dietary habits of athletes across three (3) sporting regions in Ghana. Further, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the socioeconomic (SE) standards, the nutritional knowledge, and the dietary habits of athletes. The sample drew from football, hockey and basketball players. Data collection relied on an adapted Dietary Habits and Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire by Paugh, 2005, while examination of the relationships was done using chi-square tests of association, at 0.050 level of significance. The results showed that athletes had reasonably good nutritional knowledge and dietary habits, this highlighted by mean percentage scores of 69.42% and 66.26%, respectively. Assessment of athletes’ socioeconomic standards indicated that 80% lived on GHS1000 or less, per month. There were statistically significant relationships between sex and dietary habits, p=0.001; between sex and nutritional knowledge, p=0.016. There was no significant relationship between athletes’ level of nutritional knowledge and their dietary habits, p=0.620. Neither did the study establish any relationship between SE standard and dietary habits, p=0.292. This suggests a need for more indepth exploration of the relationship between the socioeconomic (SE) standards, nutritional knowledge, and dietary habits of athletes

Parent-mediated social communication therapy for young children with autism (PACT):long-term follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

SummaryBackgroundIt is not known whether early intervention can improve long-term autism symptom outcomes. We aimed to follow-up the Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT), to investigate whether the PACT intervention had a long-term effect on autism symptoms and continued effects on parent and child social interaction.MethodsPACT was a randomised controlled trial of a parent-mediated social communication intervention for children aged 2–4 years with core autism. Follow-up ascertainment was done at three specialised clinical services centres in the UK (London, Manchester, and Newcastle) at a median of 5·75 years (IQR 5·42–5·92) from the original trial endpoint. The main blinded outcomes were the comparative severity score (CSS) from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Dyadic Communication Assessment Measure (DCMA) of the proportion of child initiatiations when interacting with the parent, and an expressive-receptive language composite. All analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. PACT is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN58133827.Findings121 (80%) of the 152 trial participants (59 [77%] of 77 assigned to PACT intervention vs 62 [83%] of 75 assigned to treatment as usual) were traced and consented to be assessed between July, 2013, and September, 2014. Mean age at follow-up was 10·5 years (SD 0·8). Group difference in favour of the PACT intervention based on ADOS CSS of log-odds effect size (ES) was 0·64 (95% CI 0·07 to 1·20) at treatment endpoint and ES 0·70 (95% CI −0·05 to 1·47) at follow-up, giving an overall reduction in symptom severity over the course of the whole trial and follow-up period (ES 0·55, 95% CI 0·14 to 0·91, p=0·004). Group difference in DCMA child initiations at follow-up showed a Cohen's d ES of 0·29 (95% CI −0.02 to 0.57) and was significant over the course of the study (ES 0·33, 95% CI 0·11 to 0·57, p=0·004). There were no group differences in the language composite at follow-up (ES 0·15, 95% CI −0·23 to 0·53).InterpretationThe results are the first to show long-term symptom reduction after a randomised controlled trial of early intervention in autism spectrum disorder. They support the clinical value of the PACT intervention and have implications for developmental theory.FundingMedical Research Council

Changes to the Oligosaccharide Profile of Bovine Milk at the Onset of Lactation

peer-reviewedNumerous bioactive components exist in human milk including free oligosaccharides, which represent some of the most important, and provide numerous health benefits to the neonate. Considering the demonstrated value of these compounds, much interest lies in characterising structurally similar oligosaccharides in the dairy industry. In this study, the impacts of days post-parturition and parity of the cows on the oligosaccharide and lactose profiles of their milk were evaluated. Colostrum and milk samples were obtained from 18 cows 1–5 days after parturition. Three distinct phases were identified using multivariate analysis: colostrum (day 0), transitional milk (days 1–2) and mature milk (days 3–5). LS-tetrasaccharide c, lacto-N-neotetraose, disialyllacto-N-tetraose, 3’-sial-N-acetyllactosamine, 3’-sialyllactose, lacto-N-neohexaose and disialyllactose were found to be highly affiliated with colostrum. Notably, levels of lactose were at their lowest concentration in the colostrum and substantially increased 1-day post-parturition. The cow’s parity was also shown to have a significant effect on the oligosaccharide profile, with first lactation cows containing more disialyllacto-N-tetraose, 6’-sialyllactose and LS-tetrasaccharide compared to cows in their second or third parity. Overall, this study identifies key changes in oligosaccharide and lactose content that clearly distinguish colostrum from transitional and mature milk and may facilitate the collection of specific streams with divergent biological functions

Astonish Me! Recalling the Cabaret Spirit

Program for the 1999 RISD Wintersessoin Cabaret intiated by the Image and Word class in collaboration with students of RISD Cabaret 1998 and held at AS220. The presentation was conceived and performed in homage and celebration of past RISD Cabaret shows 1987-1998. Graphic Design: Ron Winter, Ji-Ho Sohn and Eric Urban.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_cabaret_programs/1010/thumbnail.jp