Anchoring Temporal Expressions in Scheduling-related Emails

In this paper we adopt a constraint-based representation of time, Time Calculus (TC), for anchoring temporal expressions in a novel genre, emails. Email is sufficiently different from the most studied genre - newswire texts, and its highly under-specified nature fits well with our representation. The evaluation of our anchoring system shows that it performs significantly better than the baseline, and the result compares favorably with some of the closest related work

Teaching Evidence-Based Literature Retrieval to Medical Students and Residents

With the growth on the emphasis on the importance of Evidence-Based Practice in the 1980s and 90s also came the need for clinicians to have a better understanding of how to find information about best-evidence outcomes in the medical literature. Academic medical librarians responded to this need by creating educational opportunities designed to instruct clinicians in how to most effectively use literature databases to find “the best-evidence needles” in what is often a very-large haystack. Many of these educational opportunities have been directed specifically towards medical students and residents with the goal of providing them with tools that will assist them in using best-evidence in the medical literature as they begin their clinical careers. This poster will demonstrate examples of educational programs focusing upon evidence-based literature retrieval that are in place at many NEGEA affiliated medical school libraries. Poster presented at the Northeast Group on Educational Affairs 2008 Annual Educational Retreat, April 12, 2008, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT

Serum microRNA-122 and miR-155 as biomarkers of liver injury and inflammation in models of acute and chronic liver disease

Background: MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding molecules that regulate gene expression. MiRs expression levels change not only in diseased tissues but also in circulation. Further, miRs are stable in frozen samples that make them attractive for biomarker discovery. Recent reports suggest altered expression of circulating miRNAs in various diseases. MiR-122 is highly abundant in hepatocytes where it regulates different metabolic pathways while miR-155 is a central regulator of inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate circulating miRNAs as potential markers of hepatocyte damage and inflammation in liver diseases. Methods: Serum/plasma and liver samples were collected from C57/BL6 mice after: 1. Chronic alcohol feeding with Lieber-deCarli diet containing alcohol or pair-fed diet for 5 weeks 2. Acetaminophen (APAP) administration. 3. TLR9/4 administration. 4. CCL4 administration. Serum/plasma ALT was evaluated and total RNA was analyzed for miRNAs expression with TaqMan MicroRNA assay. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used for statistics. Results: The alcohol, APAP, TLR9/TLR4 and CCL4, -induced liver injury models all resulted in ALT increase and more important, in increased serum/plasma miR-122 levels compared to control mice. There was a linear correlation between miR-122 and ALT levels. After CCL4 treatment, serum miR-122 was upregulated as early as one week over controls and it remained elevated. No increase in serum miR-122 in Toll like receptor 4 or NADPH oxidase–deficient mice was found after alcohol feeding as these KO mice were protected from alcohol-induced liver injury and inflammation. Alcohol-, APAP, TLR9/TLR4 and CCL4-induced liver damage all involve in activation of the inflammatory cascade. Consistent with this, we found increased serum miR-155 levels. Conclusion: Our novel results show that serum/plasma miR-122 up-regulation correlates with ALT, thus, miR-122 could be a useful biomarker in acute and chronic liver injury. We also report that serum miR-155 is increased in liver disease with inflammation

Scanning the Data Environment at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

Objective Environmental scanning constitutes a primary mode of organizational learning” (Choo 1999). In a step toward active development of research data support services for its community, the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has undertaken extensive environmental scanning to better understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of an academic biomedical institution with respect to research data. Given the variety of potential data services that an academic library may deploy, the information gathered from these activities will identify and prioritize new library activities. Method Environmental scanning activities include a survey of student’s experiences and attitudes with research data management; faculty and administrator interviews (via the DuraSpace 2014 eScience Institute program); and the identification of existing local services and policy documents related to research data. Results from these activities are analyzed by the Library Data Services Advisory Group and the eScience Institute working group to plot a formal roadmap for library-based data services. Results Students, faculty, administrators, and existing documentation together reveal a variety of attitudes, assumptions, and avenues for the handling of research data on campus. They identify potential activities where the library might play a role, some expected and some unexpected. Conclusion Information gathered during environmental scanning activities at the University of Massachusetts Medical School informs the development and prioritization of library-based research data support services