Strategic engagement and librarians

The future of the academic book is a strategic engagement issue for librarians. Books might not be stored in or purchased for university libraries; they might not even exist in a physical form. How will academic books be organised and accessed in the future, if they are not in libraries? How will librarians at universities engage academic researchers in strategic conversations about the future of their academic books? This chapter argues that conversations between librarians and academic book authors about the future are more important than ever. It puts the current challenges in context, using data from the Research Excellence Framework and the University of Nottingham library catalogue, identifying the strategic role of librarians in shaping the future of the academic book through strategic engagement

Functional impairment related to painful physical symptoms in patients with generalized anxiety disorder with or without comorbid major depressive disorder: post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most frequent anxiety disorder in primary care patients. It is known that painful physical symptoms (PPS) are associated with GAD, regardless the presence of comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD). However the specific role of such symptoms in patients' functional impairment is not well understood. The objective of the present study is to assess functional impairment related to the presence of PPS in patients with GAD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a post hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study. Functioning, in the presence (overall pain score >30; Visual Analog Scale) or absence of PPS, was assessed using the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) in three groups of patients; 1) GAD and comorbid MDD (GAD+MDD+), 2) GAD without comorbid MDD (GAD+MDD-), 3) controls (GAD-MDD-). ANCOVA models were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of those patients with GAD+MDD+ (n = 559), 436 (78.0%) had PPS, compared with GAD+MDD- (249 of 422, 59%) and controls (95 of 336, 28.3%). Functioning worsened in both GAD groups in presence of PPS (SDS least squares mean total score: 16.1 vs. 9.8, p < 0.0001, GAD+MDD+; 14.3 vs. 8.2, p < 0.0001, GAD+MDD-). The presence of PPS was significantly associated with less productivity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Functional impairment related to the presence of PPS was relevant. Clinical implications should be considered.</p

BRIEF REPORT: Utility of a Short Screening Scale for DSM-IV PTSD in Primary Care

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Breslau's 7-item screen for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for use in primary care. DESIGN: One hundred and thirty-four patients were recruited from primary care clinics at a large medical center. Participants completed the self-administered 7-item PTSD screen. Later, psychologists blinded to the results of the screen-interviewed patients using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LR) were calculated using the CAPS as the criterion for PTSD. RESULTS: The screen appears to have test-retest reliability (r=.84), and LRs range from 0.04 to 13.4. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for PTSD in primary care is time efficient and has the potential to increase the detection of previously unrecognized PTSD

Competition for iron drives phytopathogen control by natural rhizosphere microbiomes

Plant pathogenic bacteria cause high crop and economic losses to human societies1-3. Infections by such pathogens are challenging to control as they often arise through complex interactions between plants, pathogens and the plant microbiome4,5. This natural ecosystem is rarely studied experimentally at the microbiome-wide scale, and consequently we poorly understand how taxonomic and functional microbiome composition and the resulting ecological interactions affect pathogen growth and disease outbreak. Here we combine DNA-based soil microbiome analysis with in vitro and in planta bioassays to show that competition for iron via secreted siderophore molecules is a good predictor of microbe-pathogen interactions and plant protection. We examined the ability of 2150 individual bacterial members of 80 rhizosphere microbiomes, covering all major phylogenetic lineages, to suppress the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, a global phytopathogen capable of infecting various crops6,7. We found that secreted siderophores altered microbiome-pathogen interactions from complete pathogen suppression to strong facilitation. Rhizosphere microbiome members with growth-inhibitory siderophores could often suppress the pathogen in vitro, in natural and greenhouse soils, and protect tomato plants from infection. Conversely, rhizosphere microbiome members with growth-promotive siderophores were often inferior in competition and facilitated plant infection by the pathogen. Because siderophores are a chemically diverse group of molecules with each siderophore type relying on a compatible receptor for iron uptake8-12, our results suggest that pathogen-suppressive microbiome members produce siderophores the pathogen cannot use. Altogether, our study establishes a causal mechanistic link between microbiome-level competition for iron and plant protection and opens promising avenues to use siderophore-mediated interactions as a tool for microbiome engineering and pathogen control