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Hot Doc: NTIS Expands Free Access to Federal Technical Report

Grey Literature and Professional Knowledge Making

International audienceWhat does grey literature mean? What role does it play in the production and dissemination of practitioner knowledge? How do reports, presentations and communications, working papers and other un-published material contribute to professional, extra-academic knowledge making? The following paper tries to provide some elements for a better understanding of grey literature, with examples from different collections and disciplines. Moreover, it puts the focus on critical issues like standards, identifiers and quality, and it discusses the impact of open science, i.e. the movement to make scientific research, data and dissemination accessible to all levels of an inquiring society, amateur or professional

Inside Science Resources in Retrospective – 2015 – 2020

The purpose of this report is threefold: 1. To summarize the production of the committee since its beginning in April of 2015; 2. To give credit to all the contributors for their excellent work in identifying resources of value to the STEM community; and 3. To provide an easy index for all the contributions made. A total of 63 contributions have been published in this blog, which have been written by 30 of our STS colleagues

Comparison of maldi-tof ms and 16s rrna sequencing for identification of a collection of clinical isolates of nonntuberculous mycobacteria in Kenya and describing their antimicrobial susceptibilities

Study background: non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are members of the genus Mycobacteria that are ubiquitous in the environment. They are increasingly documented to cause multi-drug resistant human and animal infections in immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent hosts and thus, they are a huge burden on public health resources. Diagnosis and treatment of these infections is particularly challenging due to their variable clinical presentation and the lack of easily accessible identification methods. MALDI-TOF MS is a proteomic method that has gained traction in the identification of microbial organisms in clinical practice due to its fast turn-around time, high resolution, and cost-effectiveness but its utility in the identification of NTMs is still an area of ongoing research. Broad objective: this study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of MALDI-TOF MS against 16S rRNA sequencing as the gold standard in the identification of a collection of clinical isolates of NTMs in our laboratories in Nairobi and to describe their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Study design and sites: This was a prospective laboratory-based study on clinical isolates that were collected from archived samples at Aga Khan university hospital and National TB reference laboratories, obtained between 2007 and 2021. MALDI-TOF analysis was done at the Kenyatta National hospital laboratory and 16S rRNA and whole genome sequencing at the Basel university Switzerland. Material and Methods: sixty five archived clinical isolates were revived and analyzed using the VITEK®MS platform. Species identification was done by comparing spectra generated against spectra in the Knowledge base v3.2 database. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes was done for the isolates as the gold standard for identification. Resistome analysis was done from whole genome sequencing data using the CARD database. Data management: Data were input and analyzed using Microsoft excel/ Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: The study found agreement between MALDI TOF MS and 16S rRNA sequencing at 81.3% for RGM and 80.1% for SGM. Overall, the level of agreement for NTM speciation in this study was at 81%. v MALDI TOF, unlike sequencing, was unable to further classify the NTM isolates up to subspecies level. Chromosomal and mutational resistance genes were found against drugs recommended for first line therapy. Conclusion: This study showed agreement between MALDI TOF MS and 16S rRNA identification for non-tuberculous mycobacteria. The presence of several molecular markers of resistance is a finding of concern that requires further investigatio

Energy Information Systems: From the Basement to the Boardroom

A significant buildings energy reduction opportunity exists in the office sector, given that this market segment typically is an early adopter of new technology. There is a rising trend towards smart and connected offices through the internet of things (IoT) that provides new opportunities for operational efficiency and environmental sustainability practices. Leading commercial real estate companies have begun to shift from individual building automation systems (BAS) to partially integrated and automated systems such as energy information systems (EIS). In both the United States and India, organizations are seeking operational excellence, enhanced tenant relationships, and topline growth. Hence it is imperative to engage the executives with decision-making power, by tapping into their interest in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and innovation. This expansion of interest can enable data-driven decisions, strong energy investments, and deeper energy benefits, and would drive innovation in this field. However, none of this would be possible without robust, consistent building energy information to provide visibility across all the levels of decision making, i.e. from the basement where the facilities staff take operational action to the boardroom where the executives make investment decisions. Price, security, and ease of use remain barriers to the adoption and pervasive use of promising EIS technologies in commercial office buildings. We believe that these barriers can be addressed through the development of ready, simplified, consistent, commercially available, low-cost EIS-in-a-box packages, that have a pre-defined set of hardware components and software features and functionality that are pertinent to a particular building sector. These simplified, sector-specific EIS packages can help to obviate the need for customization, and enhance ease of use, thereby enabling scale-up, in order to facilitate building energy savings. The EIS-in-a-box are adaptable in both U.S. and Indian office buildings, and potentially beyond these two countries

The publicness of publicly funded research

In this paper, we chronicle key US legislative initiatives during the post–World War II history of public policy related to the ownership of publicly funded research-based knowledge. Our motivation for recording this history is the observation that many scholars, who are appropriately concerned about taxpayer rights, have argued for the need for public policy to clarify ownership of the publicness or openness of publicly funded research results when in fact such public policies have long been in place. We conclude this historical trace with the proposition that if the past is prologue to the future, one might expect future administrations to continue to acknowledge the importance of public access to findings from publicly funded research, be that research having occurred in federal laboratories, universities, or private-sector organizations

Shoreline Oil Spill Response Knowledge Gaps and Technological Development Opportunities: A Workshop Report

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) partnered with NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and UNH’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) to plan and facilitate an in-person workshop on the NOAA WRC in Seattle, WA. This event entitled “Shoreline Oil Spill Response Knowledge Gaps and Technological Development Opportunities” identified knowledge gaps and opportunities regarding technologies and scientific research associated with oil spill shoreline response. This effort included the exploration of the current state of the science of oil spill research associated with impacts of crude oil to shoreline environments and identified countermeasures and response alternatives that may become part of the oil spill response toolbox. The specific objectives of the workshop were: Develop a literature review of the state of the science regarding impacts, preparedness and responses strategies and technologies associated with oil spills on shorelines (i.e., oils from offshore facilities including crude oil and dielectric fluids). Identify gaps in the current state of science regarding impacts of crude oil and dielectric fluids from offshore facilities. Identify operational constraints of shoreline techniques

Belen News, 05-13-1920

https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/belen_news/1279/thumbnail.jp

Toxicological profile for hexachlorobutadiene

Hexachlorobutadiene (C4Cl6; CAS No. 87-68-3) is a colorless liquid with a turpentine-like odor with an odor threshold of approximately 1 ppm. The main source of hexachlorobutadiene in the United States is its production as a byproduct of chlorinated hydrocarbon synthesis.Low levels of hexachlorobutadiene can be detected in air, water, and sediment. Atmospheric levels of hexachlorobutadiene in rural and urban air samples typically range from 2 to 11 ppt, with a mean value of 2\u20133 ppt. Higher levels can be detected at areas near industrial and chemical waste disposal sites and production sites. Hexachlorobutadiene is infrequently detected in ambient waters, but has been detected in drinking water at levels of 2\u20133 ppt. Sediments contain higher levels of hexachlorobutadiene than the waters from which they were obtained. Foodstuffs generally do not contain detectable levels of hexa- chlorobutadiene, except for fish in which concentrations of 0.1\u20134.7 mg/kg have been reported. Thus, exposure can occur through ingestion of contaminated water or food or inhalation of contaminated air.Hexachlorobutadiene has been detected in human adipose tissue and blood samples, although general population monitoring data are not available.Version HistoryDate DescriptionMarch 2021 Final toxicological profile releasedDecember 2019 Draft for public comment toxicological profile releasedDecember 2012 Addendum to the toxicological profile releasedMay 1994 Final toxicological profile releasedCS274127-Atp42.pdf2021934

Toxicological profile for vinyl chloride draft for public comment

VERSION HISTORYDate DescriptionJanuary 2023 Draft for public comment toxicological profile releasedJuly 2006 Final toxicological profile releasedSeptember 1997 Final toxicological profile releasedApril 1993 Final toxicological profile releasedAugust 1989 Final toxicological profile releasedtp20.pd