Expenditures for collection development in Iowa\u27s public school library media centers

This research paper involved a survey of 100 full-time library media specialists in Iowa\u27s public schools to determine expenditures for collection development during the 1988-89 school year. The summary report included a comparison of the Iowa survey results to national survey findings and percentages of total educational materials budget spent on various types of media in Iowa\u27s public schools. Iowa\u27s mean and median expenditures for books, computer software, and other audio-visual materials were below national figures; only periodical expenditures were above. It was shown that a majority of library media specialists in Iowa spent 55 percent or more of their materials budget for books, five percent or less for professional materials, 20 percent or more for periodicals, and Jess than 20 percent for audio-visual materials. Considering only the non-print materials budget, the majority of Iowa school library media specialists spent 25 percent or more for computer software and less than 75 percent for other audio-visual materials, including filmstrips, audio and video recordings, kits, CD/Laser disks, and transparencies

The Contribution of Set Switching and Working Memory to Sentence Processing in Older Adults

This study evaluates the involvement of switching skills and working memory capacity in auditory sentence processing in older adults. The authors examined 241 healthy participants, aged 55 to 88 years, who completed four neuropsychological tasks and two sentence-processing tasks. In addition to age and the expected contribution of working memory, switching ability, as measured by the number of perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, emerged as a strong predictor of performance on both sentence-processing tasks. Individuals with both low working-memory spans and more perseverative errors achieved the lowest accuracy scores. These findings are consistent with compensatory accounts of successful performance in older age

Assessing the efficacy of oral immunotherapy for the desensitisation of peanut allergy in children (STOP II): a phase 2 randomised controlled trial

SummaryBackgroundSmall studies suggest peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) might be effective in the treatment of peanut allergy. We aimed to establish the efficacy of OIT for the desensitisation of children with allergy to peanuts.MethodsWe did a randomised controlled crossover trial to compare the efficacy of active OIT (using characterised peanut flour; protein doses of 2–800 mg/day) with control (peanut avoidance, the present standard of care) at the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Cambridge Clinical Research Facility (Cambridge, UK). Randomisation (1:1) was by use of an audited online system; group allocation was not masked. Eligible participants were aged 7–16 years with an immediate hypersensitivity reaction after peanut ingestion, positive skin prick test to peanuts, and positive by double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). We excluded participants if they had a major chronic illness, if the care provider or a present household member had suspected or diagnosed allergy to peanuts, or if there was an unwillingness or inability to comply with study procedures. Our primary outcome was desensitisation, defined as negative peanut challenge (1400 mg protein in DBPCFC) at 6 months (first phase). Control participants underwent OIT during the second phase, with subsequent DBPCFC. Immunological parameters and disease-specific quality-of-life scores were measured. Analysis was by intention to treat. Fisher's exact test was used to compare the proportion of those with desensitisation to peanut after 6 months between the active and control group at the end of the first phase. This trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials, number ISRCTN62416244.FindingsThe primary outcome, desensitisation, was recorded for 62% (24 of 39 participants; 95% CI 45–78) in the active group and none of the control group after the first phase (0 of 46; 95% CI 0–9; p<0·001). 84% (95% CI 70–93) of the active group tolerated daily ingestion of 800 mg protein (equivalent to roughly five peanuts). Median increase in peanut threshold after OIT was 1345 mg (range 45–1400; p<0·001) or 25·5 times (range 1·82–280; p<0·001). After the second phase, 54% (95% CI 35–72) tolerated 1400 mg challenge (equivalent to roughly ten peanuts) and 91% (79–98) tolerated daily ingestion of 800 mg protein. Quality-of-life scores improved (decreased) after OIT (median change −1·61; p<0·001). Side-effects were mild in most participants. Gastrointestinal symptoms were, collectively, most common (31 participants with nausea, 31 with vomiting, and one with diarrhoea), then oral pruritus after 6·3% of doses (76 participants) and wheeze after 0·41% of doses (21 participants). Intramuscular adrenaline was used after 0·01% of doses (one participant).InterpretationOIT successfully induced desensitisation in most children within the study population with peanut allergy of any severity, with a clinically meaningful increase in peanut threshold. Quality of life improved after intervention and there was a good safety profile. Immunological changes corresponded with clinical desensitisation. Further studies in wider populations are recommended; peanut OIT should not be done in non-specialist settings, but it is effective and well tolerated in the studied age group.FundingMRC-NIHR partnership

Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties. Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.Comment: invited review, 36 figures, 900+ references; minor stylistic changes from the published versio

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Study of induction of Tolerance to Oral Peanut: a randomised controlled trial of desensitisation using peanut oral immunotherapy in children (STOP II)

Background: Peanut allergy is a common disease that causes severe and fatal food allergic reactions. Currently, the best treatment is avoidance as repeated reactions can occur. Quality of life (QoL) is reduced by fear of severe reactions and social limitations. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a novel treatment that may be an effective treatment for peanut allergy. Objectives: To determine the efficacy of peanut OIT in children. Design: A phase 2 randomised, controlled, crossover trial (open label). Setting: Single UK centre study. Participants: Children aged 7–15 years with peanut allergy diagnosed by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). No children were excluded because of anaphylaxis or asthma. Interventions: Daily immunotherapy (2 mg, 5 mg, 12.5 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg and 800 mg of peanut protein) was administered as peanut flour (containing 50% peanut protein). Doses were increased at 2-weekly intervals to a maintenance dose of 800 mg of protein. The control group underwent peanut avoidance for 6 months during phase 1. Main outcome measure: A peanut DBPCFC up to 1400 mg of peanut protein was performed in both groups at 6 months. The highest amount of peanut tolerated was the main outcome measure. Randomisation: Randomised by online audited system to active or control group (1 : 1). Blinding: The intervention arm allocation was not blinded. Methods: We assigned 99 participants aged 7–16 years with peanut allergy of all severities to active OIT or control (peanut avoidance/current standard of care). The primary outcome was desensitisation, defined as negative peanut challenge (1400 mg of protein DBPCFC) at 6 months (phase 1). Control participants underwent OIT during phase 2, followed by DBPCFC. Immunological parameters and disease-specific QoL scores were measured. Results: The primary outcome, desensitisation, was observed in 62% (24/39) of the active group and none (0/46) of the control group after phase 1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 45% to 78% vs. 0% to 9%; p < 0.001]; 84% (95% CI 70% to 93%) of the active group tolerated daily ingestion of 800 mg of protein (≈ five peanuts). Median increase in peanut threshold after OIT was 1345 mg (range 45–1400 mg; p < 0.001) or 2.5-fold (range 1.82–280-fold; p < 0.001). After phase 2, 54% (95% CI 35% to 72%) tolerated a 1400-mg challenge (≈ 10 peanuts) and 91% (95% CI 79% to 98%) tolerated a daily ingestion of 800 mg of protein. QoL scores improved (decreased) after OIT (median change –1.61; p < 0.001). Side effects were mostly mild with gastrointestinal symptoms being the most common: oral pruritus occurred after 6.3% of doses, wheeze occurred after 0.41% of doses (one-fifth of participants) and intramuscular epinephrine was required after 0.01% of doses (one participant). Conclusion: In children with peanut allergy of any severity, OIT successfully induced desensitisation in the majority, with a clinically meaningful increase in peanut threshold. QoL improved after intervention and there was a good safety profile. Immunological changes reflected clinical desensitisation. Peanut OIT should not be undertaken in non-specialist settings. Future work will include a phase 3 confirmatory study and studies of long-term tolerance; similar studies of other allergens are also required. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN62416244. Funding: This project was awarded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme and is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on behalf of the MRC–NIHR partnership, and jointly sponsored by the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital [Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust (RD authorisation A091686)]. The project will be published in full in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Vol. 1, No. 4. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Work adjustment of cancer survivors: An organisational support framework

Orientation: Medical advancements increase incidents of cancer survivors returning to work. Work adjustment of cancer survivors is essential for job satisfaction and productivity and should be supported and facilitated by the organisation. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore cancer survivors’ return to work experience in order to explicate organisational support needed to facilitate their successful work adjustment. Motivation for the study: Despite the growing awareness of cancer survivorship, the challenges, expectations and management of the return to work process remain under researched. Research approach, design and method: Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology formed the methodological foundation to the study. Purposive sampling was used to select eight participants from an oncology unit and cancer support organisation in the Southern Cape and Little Karoo regions. Participants, diagnosed with various types of cancer, were regarded as cancer survivors as they completed treatment and have returned to work. Data were collected using unstructured interviews and analysed through thematic analysis based on Ricoeur’s hermeneutic phenomenological theory of interpretation. Main findings: Results highlight four themes representing cancer survivors’ needs for organisational support. The support needs are presented in the context of the theory of work adjustment in a hierarchical schema that evolves from a basic need for emotion-focussed support to the need for knowledge and for practical guidance. Support needs culminate in the need for self-actualisation through meaning-making. An organisational support framework is proposed consisting of four integrated functions aimed at addressing the needs that emerged from the data. Practical and managerial implications: The organisational support framework provides guidance to develop an organisational policy and intervention strategy aimed at managing the successful work adjustment of the cancer survivor. Contribution or value-add: The study presents original research, contributing to the body of knowledge regarding cancer survivors returning to work, and introduces a new area of research in the discipline of industrial and organisational psychology