Consortial routes to effective repositories

A consortial approach to the establishment of repository services can help a group of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to share costs, share technology and share expertise. Consortial repository work can tap into existing structures, or it can involve new groupings of institutions with a common interest in exploring repository development. This Briefing Paper outlines some of the potential benefits of collaborative repository activity, and highlights some of the technical and organisational issues for consideration

Repository Steering Groups

A well-chosen, well-informed and committed Steering Group can make an important contribution to the sustained success of a repository. This Briefing Paper highlights some of the issues for consideration when planning the role, remit and composition of a repository Steering Group

EMBRACE (EMbedding Repositories And Consortial Enhancement) project: final report

EMBRACE (EMBedding Repositories And Consortial Enhancement) was an 18-month project led by UCL on behalf of the SHERPA-LEAP (London Eprints Access Project) Consortium, a group of 13 University of London institutions with institutional repositories. The project had two strands, technical and strategic. In its technical strand, EMBRACE aimed to implement a number of technical improvements to enhance the functionality of the SHERPA-LEAP repositories. In a concurrent strategic strand, EMBRACE set out to investigate the challenges of embedding repositories of digital assets in institutional strategy to ensure repository sustainability. The technical work of the project resulted in the successful enhancement of the partner repositories, and a cover page generating tool has been released on an open source basis. The strategic work delivered two main outputs: a full report on the work of RAND in drawing on stakeholder interviews which identifies drivers for, and barriers to, repository sustainability; and a supplementary, "briefing paper" digest of the main report, concentrating on the interventions which can be taken by repository managers and champions to address the challenges of embedding repositories. Both documents are in the public domain. The Briefing Paper is explicitly designed for adaptation and local customisation by HEIs. The RAND report emphasises the importance of establishing a clear vision for the repository, and of close communication with stakeholders, if a repository is to succeed

Pesticides in Ground Water: Will the EPA's New Regulation Decrease Health Risks?

The EPA's new regulation to protect ground water, the Pesticides and Ground Water Management Plan rule, will not significantly decrease health risks. Existing evidence suggests that the risk from ground water contamination is low and states have effective ground water protection programs. It is therefore unlikely that extensive federal involvement is necessary to protect ground water. The EPA has indicated it will use the new regulation to require states to expand their programs. The EPA did not, however, estimate the benefits of expanding ground water protection in the proposed rule, consider the risk of alternative pesticides, or show that the actual level of risk is potentially greater than existing data suggest. In this paper, I illustrate an approach for estimating the benefits and costs of ground water protection based on a case study of ground water contamination in California's San Joaquin Valley. The study shows that the health risk from ground water contamination is low, the costs of reducing contamination are high, and California is effectively protecting ground water. The study also shows that better analysis of the benefits and costs of ground water protection in each state can help the EPA determine the appropriate level of federal involvement in state ground water protection activities.

SHERPA-LEAP: a consortial model for the creation and support of academic institutional repositories

Purpose: To introduce SHERPA-LEAP, a model for the consortial development, population and support of eprints repositories. Design/methodology/approach: The organisational and technical structures of the consortium are described, including a brief summary of central and local resource responsibilities. Some positive and negative aspects of a consortial approach to institutional repository development, and of the SHERPA-LEAP model in particular, are identified. Outstanding issues and future plans for the consortium are outlined. Findings: SHERPA-LEAP is found to be succeeding in its aims of developing and supporting eprints repositories within the federal University of London. Some lessons learned from the SHERPA-LEAP approach are identified, but the SHERPA-LEAP consortial model is found to have been mostly beneficial to the participating institutions. In particular, the networking and experience-sharing opportunities which any consortial solution will facilitate are highly valued by the SHERPA-LEAP partners. Value: The case study is intended to help to inform the decision-making of institutions and consortia which are considering consortial solutions to the establishment and maintenance of institutional repositories

Developing a Framework for Sensible Regulation: Lessons from OSHA's Proposed Ergonomics Rule

Injuries caused by workplace activities that involve repetitive motion, known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), increasingly concern workers, employers, and regulators because of their frequency and high treatment costs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently proposed a national rule designed to reduce the workplace risk of MSDs. OSHA estimates there were about 626,000 MSDs in 1997, representing about one-third of all serious nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA estimates the proposed rule will cost $4 billion per year and generate$9 billion per year in benefits. Yet, OSHA does not provide sufficient evidence that private markets are failing to reduce MSD risk without government intervention and does not convincingly demonstrate that the rule will result in more good than harm. Unless OSHA effectively addresses some of the more serious flaws in the proposed rule, OSHA should not proceed with the final regulation. OSHA should more carefully evaluate the nature and extent of MSDs in the workplace than it did in the proposed rule and use improved economic analysis to target serious MSDs that employers can reduce at low cost. Furthermore, OSHA should include new provisions to improve employer access to information about reducing workplace risk of MSDs. The rule's ergonomics program requirements should apply only to those MSDs which employers do not have sufficient incentive to reduce without government intervention.

Genomics clarifies taxonomic boundaries in a difficult species complex.

Efforts to taxonomically delineate species are often confounded with conflicting information and subjective interpretation. Advances in genomic methods have resulted in a new approach to taxonomic identification that stands to greatly reduce much of this conflict. This approach is ideal for species complexes, where divergence times are recent (evolutionarily) and lineages less well defined. The California Roach/Hitch fish species complex is an excellent example, experiencing a convoluted geologic history, diverse habitats, conflicting species designations and potential admixture between species. Here we use this fish complex to illustrate how genomics can be used to better clarify and assign taxonomic categories. We performed restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing on 255 Roach and Hitch samples collected throughout California to discover and genotype thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). Data were then used in hierarchical principal component, admixture, and FST analyses to provide results that consistently resolved a number of ambiguities and provided novel insights across a range of taxonomic levels. At the highest level, our results show that the CA Roach/Hitch complex should be considered five species split into two genera (4 + 1) as opposed to two species from distinct genera (1 +1). Subsequent levels revealed multiple subspecies and distinct population segments within identified species. At the lowest level, our results indicate Roach from a large coastal river are not native but instead introduced from a nearby river. Overall, this study provides a clear demonstration of the power of genomic methods for informing taxonomy and serves as a model for future studies wishing to decipher difficult species questions. By allowing for systematic identification across multiple scales, taxonomic structure can then be tied to historical and contemporary ecological, geographic or anthropogenic factors

Specific binding of luteinizing hormone to leydig tumor cells

A radioimmunoassay was used to detect luteinizing hormone (LH) bound to washed Leydig tumor cells. Tumor cell suspensions were incubated with LH at 37° and washed repeatedly by centrifugation with isotonic 0.9% NaCl solution. The tumor cells contained large quantities of LH even after they were washed sufficiently to produce a 106-fold dilution of unbound LH. Six washings (106-fold dilution) were no more effective in removing LH from the cells than three washings (103-fold dilution). Binding was not influenced by the temperature at which the cells were washed. The extent of LH binding was related to the number of cells, with approximately 5300 ± 960 molecules of LH bound per cell. LH binding was also proportional to the same concentrations of LH which produced a steroidogenic dose response curve. The binding constant of 1.5 × 10-8 m was considered to be higher than that expected for nontumorous tissues. Tumor cells bound more LH than did erythrocytes or thymocytes under the same conditions

Cessation of steroidogenesis in leydig cell tumors after removal of luteinizing hormone and adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate

Luteinizing hormone (LH), but not follicle-stimulating hormone or prolactin, was shown to enhance steroid synthesis of Leydig tumor cells in vitro. Adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) duplicated the effect of LH. Removal of LH from the medium within 1 hour of incubation by washing the cells had no effect on the rate of steroid synthesis previously stimulated by LH. Under these conditions, addition of LH antiserum was required to reduce steroid synthesis. In contrast, removal of cAMP by washing the tumor cells caused a rapid termination of the previously induced steroidogenesis. Cycloheximide reduced the steroid synthesis initiated by LH. These results suggest that (a) steroidogenesis may be controlled by short lived factors (proteins), (b) LH may be required continually to elevate cAMP levels to maintain steroid synthesis at stimulated rates, and (c) that LH is probably bound to the tumor cells

Steroidogenesis and cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate accumulation in rat adrenal cells: divergent effects of adrenocorticotropin and its o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl derivative

Both adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and its o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl derivative (NPS-ACTH) in which the single tryptophan residue of the hormone is modified, were able to stimulate corticosterone synthesis to the same maximal rate in isolated rat adrenal cells. The concentration of NPS-ACTH required for half-maximal steroidogenesis was approximately 70 times that of ACTH. Although both ACTH and NPS-ACTH stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation, the effect of NPS-ACTH was marginal; the maximal stimulation of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) accumulation in response to ACTH was 30 to 100-fold greater than that due to NPS-ACTH. Apparently ACTH increased cyclic AMP accumulation well beyond that required for the stimulation of maximal steroidogenesis. NPS-ACTH appeared to inhibit in a competitive manner the effect of ACTH on cyclic AMP production but not steroid synthesis. The continued presence of ACTH or NPS-ACTH was necessary for the continued stimulation of steroidogenesis indicating that the factor (or factors) mediating the steroidogenic response must be present throughout the time of stimulation. The relationship between steroid synthesis and cyclic AMP accumulation was different for ACTH and NPS-ACTH. Much less cyclic AMP was produced when NPS-ACTH stimulated steroid synthesis to 75% of the maximal level than when ACTH enhanced steroidogenesis half-maximally. Even though cyclic AMP was found to leave the cells during the time of incubation, the same lack of correlation between cyclic AMP generation and rate of steroid synthesis mentioned above was found whether intracellular or total cyclic AMP was measured. These results suggest that there may be two receptors for ACTH in the adrenal cell population which may be in the same cell or in different cell types. NPS-ACTH stimulates one of these receptors but inhibits the other. Furthermore, these results imply that either very small amounts of cyclic AMP are required for the stimulation of steroidogenesis or factor (or factors) besides cyclic AMP may be involved in mediating this function of ACTH