Provision of Reference Services and Use of Information Resources by Undergraduate Students in University Libraries in Bayelsa State

This study investigated the provision of reference services and use of library information resources by undergraduates in universities in Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The study used a correlational survey research methodology, and the instrument for gathering data was a questionnaire. 17451 undergraduate students from the four universities in Bayelsa State made up the study\u27s population, with a sample size of 349 representing 20% of the total population. 349 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 346 were retrieved and found usable. Data were analyzed with frequency count, simple percentages, mean, and standard deviation while Pearson\u27s product moment correlation coefficient was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significant level. The study\u27s findings showed a strong positive link between responding to reference requests and undergraduate students\u27 use of library information resources at universities in Bayelsa State (r =.598; p 0.05). The usage of library information resources by students is significantly positively correlated with the referral service (r =.168; p 0.05), user education (r =.482; p 0.05), and current awareness services (r =.236; p 0.05). Undergraduate students\u27 use of library information resources at universities in Bayelsa State is significantly positively correlated with selective information distribution (r =.127; p 0.05). According to the study\u27s findings, reference services provided by librarians are still essential for university libraries to achieve their primary goals. The study concluded that librarians and libraries urgently need to prioritize offering reference services to undergraduates in light of their favorable impact on library use

The Effects of Dry Needling and Whole-Body Vibration on Jump Height and Performance in Adults: A Critically Appraised Topic

Whole-body vibration (WBV) involves oscillation of the plates to produce vibrations. It cause: rapid eccentric-concentric muscle action to enhance muscle performance due to rapid reflex and stretch-reflexes. WBV can also cause temporary positive changes to soft tissues like skeletal muscle by increasing circulation. Dry needling (DN) is an invasive skilled intervention performed by licensed physical therapists requiring a thin filiform needle through the skin to reach soft tissues like muscle or bone that causes a mild inflammatory response to improve pain and relax muscles tissue. Analysis of jump height was the outcome measure used to determine muscle performance. The purpose of our study is to compare WBV and DN in regard to improving jump performance in the healthy and injured adult populations

Breast Cancer Presenting as Unilateral Arm Edema

CONTEXT: Symptomatic arm lymphedema as the presenting symptom of invasive breast carcinoma is a rare occurrence. DESIGN: We report a case of invasive breast cancer presenting with unilateral arm swelling. The patient was initially thought to have venous thrombosis. A thorough physical examination and a mammogram revealed the presence of breast cancer and associated subclinical axillary lymphadenopathy. CONCLUSION: Failure to recognize this presentation can lead to misdiagnosis or a significant delay in diagnosis and treatment

Education can improve the negative perception of a threatened long-lived scavenging bird, the Andean condor

Human-wildlife conflicts currently represent one of the main conservation problems for wildlife species around the world. Vultures have serious conservation concerns, many of which are related to people's adverse perception about them due to the belief that they prey on livestock. Our aim was to assess local perception and the factors influencing people's perception of the largest scavenging bird in South America, the Andean condor. For this, we interviewed 112 people from Valle Fértil, San Juan province, a rural area of central west Argentina. Overall, people in the area mostly have an elementary education, and their most important activity is livestock rearing. The results showed that, in general, most people perceive the Andean condor as an injurious species and, in fact, some people recognize that they still kill condors. We identified two major factors that affect this perception, the education level of villagers and their relationship with livestock ranching. Our study suggests that conservation of condors and other similar scavengers depends on education programs designed to change the negative perception people have about them. Such programs should be particularly focused on ranchers since they are the ones who have the worst perception of these scavengers. We suggest that highlighting the central ecological role of scavengers and recovering their cultural value would be fundamental to reverse their persecution and their negative perception by people.Fil: Cailly Arnulphi, Verónica Beatríz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; ArgentinaFil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Borghi, Carlos Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentin

Protective Efficacy of Menthol Propylene Glycol Carbonate Compared to N, N-diethyl-Methylbenzamide Against Mosquito Bites in Northern Tanzania.

The reduction of malaria parasite transmission by preventing human-vector contact is critical in lowering disease transmission and its outcomes. This underscores the need for effective and long lasting arthropod/insect repellents. Despite the reduction in malaria transmission and outcomes in Tanzania, personal protection against mosquito bites is still not well investigated. This study sought to determine the efficacy of menthol propylene glycol carbonate (MR08), Ocimum suave as compared to the gold standard repellent N, N-diethyl-methylbenzamide (DEET), either as a single dose or in combination (blend), both in the laboratory and in the field against Anopheles gambiae s.l and Culex quinquefasciatus. In the laboratory evaluations, repellents were applied on one arm while the other arm of the same individual was treated with a base cream. Each arm was separately exposed in cages with unfed female mosquitoes. Repellents were evaluated either as a single dose or as a blend. Efficacy of each repellent was determined by the number of mosquitoes that landed and fed on treated arms as compared to the control or among them. In the field, evaluations were performed by human landing catches at hourly intervals from 18:00  hr to 01:00  hr. A total of 2,442 mosquitoes were collected during field evaluations, of which 2,376 (97.30%) were An. gambiae s.l while 66 (2.70%) were Cx. quinquefaciatus. MR08 and DEET had comparatively similar protective efficacy ranging from 92% to 100 for both single compound and blends. These findings indicate that MR08 has a similar protective efficacy as DEET for personal protection outside bed nets when used singly and in blends. Because of the personal protection provided by MR08, DEET and blends as topical applicants in laboratory and field situations, these findings suggest that, these repellents could be used efficiently in the community to complement existing tools. Overall, Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly prevented from blood feeding compared to An. gambiae s.l. The incorporation of these topical repellents for protection against insect bites can be of additional value in the absence or presence of IRS and ITNs coverage. However, a combination of both the physical (bed nets) and the repellent should be used in an integrated manner for maximum protection, especially before going to bed. Additional research is needed to develop repellents with longer duration of protection

Predicting fitness to practise events in international medical graduates who registered as UK doctors via the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) system: a national cohort study

Background International medical graduates working in the UK are more likely to be censured in relation to fitness to practise compared to home graduates. Performance on the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) tests and English fluency have previously been shown to predict later educational performance in this group of doctors. It is unknown whether the PLAB system is also a valid predictor of unprofessional behaviour and malpractice. The findings would have implications for regulatory policy. Methods This was an observational study linking data relating to fitness to practise events (referral or censure), PLAB performance, demographic variables and English language competence, as evaluated via the International English Language Test System (IELTS). Data from 27,330 international medical graduates registered with the GMC were analysed, including 210 doctors who had been sanctioned in relation to at least one fitness to practise issue. The main outcome was risk of eventual censure (including a warning). Results The significant univariable educational predictors of eventual censure (versus no censures or referrals) were lower PLAB part 1 (hazard ratio [HR], 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.00) and part 2 scores (HR, 0.94; 0.91 to 0.97) at first sitting, multiple attempts at both parts of the PLAB, lower IELTS reading (HR, 0.79; 0.65 to 0.94) and listening scores (HR, 0.76; 0.62 to 0.93) and higher IELTS speaking scores (HR, 1.28; 1.04 to 1.57). Multiple resits at either part of the PLAB and higher IELTS speaking score (HR, 1.49; 1.20 to 1.84) were also independent predictors of censure. We estimated that the proposed limit of four attempts at both parts of the PLAB would reduce the risk in this entire group by only approximately two censures per 5 years in this group of doctors. Conclusions Making the PLAB, or any replacement assessment, more stringent and raising the required standards of English reading and listening may result in fewer fitness to practice events in international medical graduates. However, the number of PLAB resits permitted would have to be further capped to meaningfully impact the risk of sanctions in this group of doctor

Peer norm guesses and self-reported attitudes towards performance-related pay

Due to a variety of reasons, people see themselves differently from how they see others. This basic asymmetry has broad consequences. It leads people to judge themselves and their own behavior differently from how they judge others and others’ behavior. This research, first, studies the perceptions and attitudes of Greek Public Sector employees towards the introduction of Performance-Related Pay (PRP) systems trying to reveal whether there is a divergence between individual attitudes and guesses on peers’ attitudes. Secondly, it is investigated whether divergence between own self-reported and peer norm guesses could mediate the acceptance of the aforementioned implementation once job status has been controlled for. This study uses a unique questionnaire of 520 observations which was designed to address the questions outlined in the preceding lines. Our econometric results indicate that workers have heterogeneous attitudes and hold heterogeneous beliefs on others’ expectations regarding a successful implementation of PRP. Specifically, individual perceptions are less skeptical towards PRP than are beliefs on others’ attitudes. Additionally, we found that managers are significantly more optimistic than lower rank employees regarding the expected success of PRP systems in their jobs. However, they both expect their peers to be more negative than they themselves are

Development of Derivatives of 3, 3′-Diindolylmethane as Potent Leishmania donovani Bi-Subunit Topoisomerase IB Poisons

Background: The development of 3, 39-diindolyl methane (DIM) resistant parasite Leishmania donovani (LdDR50) by adaptation with increasing concentrations of the drug generates random mutations in the large and small subunits of heterodimeric DNA topoisomerase I of Leishmania (LdTOP1LS). Mutation of large subunit of LdTOP1LS at F270L is responsible for resistance to DIM up to 50 mM concentration. Methodology/Principal Findings: In search of compounds that inhibit the growth of the DIM resistant parasite and inhibit the catalytic activity of mutated topoisomerase I (F270L), we have prepared three derivatives of DIM namely DPDIM (2,29diphenyl 3,39-diindolyl methane), DMDIM (2,29-dimethyl 3,39-diindolyl methane) and DMODIM (5,59-dimethoxy 3,39diindolyl methane) from parent compound DIM. All the compounds inhibit the growth of DIM resistant parasites, induce DNA fragmentation and stabilize topo1-DNA cleavable complex with the wild type and mutant enzyme. Conclusion: The results suggest that the three derivatives of DIM can act as promising lead molecules for the generation of new anti-leishmanial agents