A log analysis study of 10 years of ebook consumption in academic library collections

Even though libraries have been offering eBooks for more than a decade, very little is known about eBook access and consumption in academic library collections. This paper addresses this gap with a log analysis study of eBook access at the library of the University of Waikato. This in-depth analysis covers a period spanning 10 years of eBook use at this university. We draw conclusions about the use of eBooks at this institution and compare the results with other published studies of eBook usage at tertiary institutes

Identifying Areas with Disproportionate Local Health Department Services Relative to Opioid Overdose, HIV and Hepatitis C Diagnosis Rates: A Study of Rural Illinois

Background: U.S. rural populations have been disproportionately affected by the syndemic of opioid-use disorder (OUD) and the associated increase in overdoses and risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. Local health departments (LHDs) can play a critical role in the response to this syndemic. We utilized two geospatial approaches to identify areas of discordance between LHD service availability and disease burden to inform service prioritization in rural settings.Methods: We surveyed rural Illinois LHDs to assess their OUD-related services, and calculated county-level opioid overdose, HIV, and hepatitis C diagnosis rates. Bivariate choropleth maps were created to display LHD service provision relative to disease burden in rural Illinois counties. Results: Most rural LHDs provided limited OUD-related services, although many LHDs provided HIV and HCV testing. Bivariate mapping showed rural counties with limited OUD treatment and HIV services and with corresponding higher outcome/disease rates to be dispersed throughout Illinois. Additionally, rural counties with limited LHD-offered hepatitis C services and high hepatitis C diagnosis rates were geographically concentrated in southern Illinois. Conclusions: Bivariate mapping can enable geographic targeting of resources to address the opioid crisis and related infectious disease by identifying areas with low LHD services relative to high disease burden

Phylogenomic exploration of the relationships between strains of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) is an infectious enteric pathogen that causes Johne's disease in livestock. Determining genetic diversity is prerequisite to understanding the epidemiology and biology of Map. We performed the first whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 141 global Map isolates that encompass the main molecular strain types currently reported. We investigated the phylogeny of the Map strains, the diversity of the genome and the limitations of commonly used genotyping methods. RESULTS: Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and phylogenetic analyses confirmed two major lineages concordant with the former Type S and Type C designations. The Type I and Type III strain groups are subtypes of Type S, and Type B strains are a subtype of Type C and not restricted to Bison species. We found that the genome-wide SNPs detected provided greater resolution between isolates than currently employed genotyping methods. Furthermore, the SNP used for IS1311 typing is not informative, as it is likely to have occurred after Type S and C strains diverged and does not assign all strains to the correct lineage. Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR) differentiates Type S from Type C but provides limited resolution between isolates within these lineages and the polymorphisms detected do not necessarily accurately reflect the phylogenetic relationships between strains. WGS of passaged strains and coalescent analysis of the collection revealed a very high level of genetic stability, with the substitution rate estimated to be less than 0.5 SNPs per genome per year. CONCLUSIONS: This study clarifies the phylogenetic relationships between the previously described Map strain groups, and highlights the limitations of current genotyping techniques. Map isolates exhibit restricted genetic diversity and a substitution rate consistent with a monomorphic pathogen. WGS provides the ultimate level of resolution for differentiation between strains. However, WGS alone will not be sufficient for tracing and tracking Map infections, yet importantly it can provide a phylogenetic context for affirming epidemiological connections

Planetary science and exploration in the deep subsurface: results from the MINAR Program, Boulby Mine, UK

The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research – MINe Analog Research (MINAR). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small-scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator, Close-Up Imager, Raman spectrometer, Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool, Ultrasonic drill and handheld X-ray diffraction (XRD). We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimetre to metre scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining

Climate change implications for tidal marshes and food web linkages to estuarine and coastal nekton

Climate change is altering naturally fluctuating environmental conditions in coastal and estuarine ecosystems across the globe. Departures from long-term averages and ranges of environmental variables are increasingly being observed as directional changes [e.g., rising sea levels, sea surface temperatures (SST)] and less predictable periodic cycles (e.g., Atlantic or Pacific decadal oscillations) and extremes (e.g., coastal flooding, marine heatwaves). Quantifying the short- and long-term impacts of climate change on tidal marsh seascape structure and function for nekton is a critical step toward fisheries conservation and management. The multiple stressor framework provides a promising approach for advancing integrative, cross-disciplinary research on tidal marshes and food web dynamics. It can be used to quantify climate change effects on and interactions between coastal oceans (e.g., SST, ocean currents, waves) and watersheds (e.g., precipitation, river flows), tidal marsh geomorphology (e.g., vegetation structure, elevation capital, sedimentation), and estuarine and coastal nekton (e.g., species distributions, life history adaptations, predator-prey dynamics). However, disentangling the cumulative impacts of multiple interacting stressors on tidal marshes, whether the effects are additive, synergistic, or antagonistic, and the time scales at which they occur, poses a significant research challenge. This perspective highlights the key physical and ecological processes affecting tidal marshes, with an emphasis on the trophic linkages between marsh production and estuarine and coastal nekton, recommended for consideration in future climate change studies. Such studies are urgently needed to understand climate change effects on tidal marshes now and into the future

Mutagenicity of tamoxifen DNA adducts in human endometrial cells and in silico prediction of p53 mutation hotspots

Tamoxifen elevates the risk of endometrial tumours in women and α-(N2-deoxyguanosinyl)-tamoxifen adducts are reportedly present in endometrial tissue of patients undergoing therapy. Given the widespread use of tamoxifen there is considerable interest in elucidating the mechanisms underlying treatment-associated cancer. Using a combined experimental and multivariate statistical approach we have examined the mutagenicity and potential consequences of adduct formation by reactive intermediates in target uterine cells. pSP189 plasmid containing the supF gene was incubated with α-acetoxytamoxifen or 4-hydroxytamoxifen quinone methide (4-OHtamQM) to generate dG-N2-tamoxifen and dG-N2-4-hydroxytamoxifen, respectively. Plasmids were replicated in Ishikawa cells then screened in Escherichia coli. Treatment with both α-acetoxytamoxifen and 4-OHtamQM caused a dose-related increase in adduct levels, resulting in a damage-dependent increase in mutation frequency for α-acetoxytamoxifen; 4-OHtamQM had no apparent effect. Only α-acetoxytamoxifen generated statistically different supF mutation spectra relative to the spontaneous pattern, with most mutations being GC→TA transversions. Application of the LwPy53 algorithm to the α-acetoxytamoxifen spectrum predicted strong GC→TA hotspots at codons 244 and 273. These signature alterations do not correlate with current reports of the mutations observed in endometrial carcinomas from treated women, suggesting that dG-N2-tam adduct formation in the p53 gene is not a prerequisite for endometrial cancer initiation in women

The FuturICT education accelerator

Education is a major force for economic and social wellbeing. Despite high aspirations, education at all levels can be expensive and ineffective. Three Grand Challenges are identified: (1) enable people to learn orders of magnitude more effectively, (2) enable people to learn at orders of magnitude less cost, and (3) demonstrate success by exemplary interdisciplinary education in complex systems science. A ten year ‘man-on-the-moon’ project is proposed in which FuturICT’s unique combination of Complexity, Social and Computing Sciences could provide an urgently needed transdisciplinary language for making sense of educational systems. In close dialogue with educational theory and practice, and grounded in the emerging data science and learning analytics paradigms, this will translate into practical tools (both analytical and computational) for researchers, practitioners and leaders; generative principles for resilient educational ecosystems; and innovation for radically scalable, yet personalised, learner engagement and assessment. The proposed Education Accelerator will serve as a ‘wind tunnel’ for testing these ideas in the context of real educational programmes, with an international virtual campus delivering complex systems education exploiting the new understanding of complex, social, computationally enhanced organisational structure developed within FuturICT

The FuturICT education accelerator

Education is a major force for economic and social wellbeing. Despite high aspirations, education at all levels can be expensive and ineffective. Three Grand Challenges are identified: (1) enable people to learn orders of magnitude more effectively, (2) enable people to learn at orders of magnitude less cost, and (3) demonstrate success by exemplary interdisciplinary education in complex systems science. A ten year ‘man-on-the-moon’ project is proposed in which FuturICT’s unique combination of Complexity, Social and Computing Sciences could provide an urgently needed transdisciplinary language for making sense of educational systems. In close dialogue with educational theory and practice, and grounded in the emerging data science and learning analytics paradigms, this will translate into practical tools (both analytical and computational) for researchers, practitioners and leaders; generative principles for resilient educational ecosystems; and innovation for radically scalable, yet personalised, learner engagement and assessment. The proposed Education Accelerator will serve as a ‘wind tunnel’ for testing these ideas in the context of real educational programmes, with an international virtual campus delivering complex systems education exploiting the new understanding of complex, social, computationally enhanced organisational structure developed within FuturICT