552 research outputs found
Disaster planning in museums and libraries: A critical literature review
This paper provides a comprehensive review of literature on disaster planning in libraries and museums. Many libraries and museums are seriously damaged or destroyed by natural or human-caused disasters, but early preparation can ensure that a library or museum is adequately prepared to meet the disaster planning needs of the institution. While much as been written in the for-profit business world on disaster planning, less has been written regarding not-for-profit institutions. Such institutions, particularly libraries and museums, have special problems
endemic to their situations. Issues such as minimal security, extended hours, high employee turnover, and the institutions as focal points of cultural expression can lead to serious disasters if precautions and plans for quick response to emergency situations are not in place
Rolling With the Wheels of Commerce: The Challenges of Business and Industry-Based Resources
Collections and liaison librarians receive requests for specialized resources that may require use of passwords or other mediated access, local hosting, or special software. Sometimes, although not always, these resources are used in a business or industry setting, and their subscription and licensing processes do not follow typical academic library acquisitions patterns. Librarians may also receive requests for raw data that is part of a subscribed resource. How do librarians respond to these user needs? How do vendors make decisions about which products to bring to the academic library market? The authors present views on these issues and options to consider
The VLA-COSMOS Survey: V. 324 MHz continuum observations
We present 90 cm VLA imaging of the COSMOS field, comprising a circular area
of 3.14 square degrees at 8.0"x6.0" angular resolution with an average rms of
0.5 mJy/beam. The extracted catalog contains 182 sources (down to 5.5sigma), 30
of which are multi-component sources. Using Monte Carlo artificial source
simulations we derive the completeness of the catalog, and we show that our 90
cm source counts agree very well with those from previous studies. Using X-ray,
NUV-NIR and radio COSMOS data to investigate the population mix of our 90 cm
radio sample, we find that our sample is dominated by active galactic nuclei
(AGN). The average 90-20 cm spectral index (S_nu~nu**alpha, where S_nu is the
flux density at frequency nu, and alpha the spectral index) of our 90 cm
selected sources is -0.70, with an interquartile range of -0.90 to -0.53. Only
a few ultra-steep-spectrum sources are present in our sample, consistent with
results in the literature for similar fields. Our data do not show clear
steepening of the spectral index with redshift. Nevertheless, our sample
suggests that sources with spectral indices steeper than -1 all lie at z>1, in
agreement with the idea that ultra-steep-spectrum radio sources may trace
intermediate-redshift galaxies (z>1).Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Encoding the infrared excess (IRX) in the NUVrK color diagram for star-forming galaxies
We present an empirical method of assessing the star formation rate (SFR) of
star-forming galaxies based on their locations in the rest-frame color-color
diagram (NUV-r) vs (r-K). By using the Spitzer 24 micron sample in the COSMOS
field (~16400 galaxies with 0.2 < z < 1.3) and a local GALEX-SDSS-SWIRE sample
(~700 galaxies with z = <
L_IR / L_UV > can be described by a single vector, NRK, that combines the two
colors. The calibration between and NRK allows us to recover the IR
luminosity, L_IR, with an accuracy of ~0.21 dex for the COSMOS sample and ~0.27
dex for the local one. The SFRs derived with this method agree with the ones
based on the observed (UV+IR) luminosities and on the spectral energy
distribution fitting for the vast majority (~85 %) of the star-forming
population. Thanks to a library of model galaxy SEDs with realistic
prescriptions for the star formation history, we show that we need to include a
two-component dust model (i.e., birth clouds and diffuse ISM) and a full
distribution of galaxy inclinations in order to reproduce the behavior of the
stripes in the NUVrK diagram. In conclusion, the NRK method, based only
on rest-frame UV and optical colors available in most of the extragalactic
fields, offers a simple alternative of assessing the SFR of star-forming
galaxies in the absence of far-IR or spectral diagnostic observations.Comment: 21 pages, 22 figures, in publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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Intervention to Lower Household Wood Smoke Exposure in Guatemala Reduces ST-Segment Depression on Electrocardiograms
Background: A large body of evidence suggests that fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution is a cause of cardiovascular disease, but little is known in particular about the cardiovascular effects of indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels in developing countries. RESPIRE (Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects) was a randomized trial of a chimney woodstove that reduces wood smoke exposure. Objectives: We tested the hypotheses that the stove intervention, compared with open fire use, would reduce ST-segment depression and increase heart rate variability (HRV). Methods: We used two complementary study designs: a) between-groups comparisons based on randomized stove assignment, and b) before-and-after comparisons within control subjects who used open fires during the trial and received chimney stoves after the trial. Electrocardiogram sessions that lasted 20 hr were repeated up to three times among 49 intervention and 70 control women 38â84 years of age, and 55 control subjects were also assessed after receiving stoves. HRV and ST-segment values were assessed for each 30-min period. ST-segment depression was defined as an average value below â1.00 mm. Personal fine PM [aerodynamic diameter †2.5 ÎŒm (PM)] exposures were measured for 24 hr before each electrocardiogram. Results: PM exposure means were 266 and 102 ÎŒg/m during the trial period in the control and intervention groups, respectively. During the trial, the stove intervention was associated with an odds ratio of 0.26 (95% confidence interval, 0.08â0.90) for ST-segment depression. We found similar associations with the before-and-after comparison. The intervention was not significantly associated with HRV. Conclusions: The stove intervention was associated with reduced occurrence of nonspecific ST-segment depression, suggesting that household wood smoke exposures affect ventricular repolarization and potentially cardiovascular health
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