Overwhelmed to Action: Digital Preservation Challenges at the Under-resourced Institution

Digital preservation advocates at small or mid-sized institutions struggle with the expectations of implementing a digital preservation program. Given that they operate with fewer resources than their larger colleagues, implementation can seem overwhelmingly difficult. With digital preservation a pressing issue, how do these libraries begin to tackle the challenge? Advocates at Milner Library have had the advantage of collaborating on the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant, Preserving (Digital) Objects With Restricted Resources (POWRR). This case study examines how they have applied the lessons they have learned to go from being overwhelmed to taking action. Along the way, they have encountered several misconceptions and challenges. This paper reviews the misconceptions and suggests approaches to the challenges of digital preservation. Some of the challenges include: minimal funds, change fatigue, lack of training, lack of engagement, and difficulty in framing the argument for administrators. Milner Library digital preservation advocates have approached the task by seeking collaborations, raising awareness, and starting small. It is possible to start the cultural change that is required to implement a digital preservation program, even with restricted resources

Building Research Data Management Capacity

La Research data management (RDM) ( gestion des données de recherche) est une approche émergente et de plus en plus essentielle de services et d’expertise pour les universités et d\u27un intérêt stratégique pour les bibliothèques universitaires. Pour de nombreuses bibliothèques, la collaboration avec des partenaires pour fournir une capacité partagée — est une stratégie attrayante. Toutefois, une collaboration fructueuse et durable n’est pas certaine; de nombreux obstacles peuvent entraver la voie à suivre. Ce rapport explore le rôle de la collaboration entre bibliothèques multi-institutionnelles

Genome of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (\u3cem\u3eAnoplophora glabripennis\u3c/em\u3e), a Globally Significant Invasive Species, Reveals Key Functional and Evolutionary Innovations at the Beetle-Plant Interface

Background: Relatively little is known about the genomic basis and evolution of wood-feeding in beetles. We undertook genome sequencing and annotation, gene expression assays, studies of plant cell wall degrading enzymes, and other functional and comparative studies of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, a globally significant invasive species capable of inflicting severe feeding damage on many important tree species. Complementary studies of genes encoding enzymes involved in digestion of woody plant tissues or detoxification of plant allelochemicals were undertaken with the genomes of 14 additional insects, including the newly sequenced emerald ash borer and bull-headed dung beetle. Results: The Asian longhorned beetle genome encodes a uniquely diverse arsenal of enzymes that can degrade the main polysaccharide networks in plant cell walls, detoxify plant allelochemicals, and otherwise facilitate feeding on woody plants. It has the metabolic plasticity needed to feed on diverse plant species, contributing to its highly invasive nature. Large expansions of chemosensory genes involved in the reception of pheromones and plant kairomones are consistent with the complexity of chemical cues it uses to find host plants and mates. Conclusions: Amplification and functional divergence of genes associated with specialized feeding on plants, including genes originally obtained via horizontal gene transfer from fungi and bacteria, contributed to the addition, expansion, and enhancement of the metabolic repertoire of the Asian longhorned beetle, certain other phytophagous beetles, and to a lesser degree, other phytophagous insects. Our results thus begin to establish a genomic basis for the evolutionary success of beetles on plants

Instructional Models for Course-Based Research Experience (CRE) Teaching

The course-based research experience (CRE) with its documented educational benefits is increasingly being implemented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. This article reports on a study that was done over a period of 3 years to explicate the instructional processes involved in teaching an undergraduate CRE. One hundred and two instructors from the established and large multi-institutional SEA-PHAGES program were surveyed for their understanding of the aims and practices of CRE teaching. This was followed by large-scale feedback sessions with the cohort of instructors at the annual SEA Faculty Meeting and subsequently with a small focus group of expert CRE instructors. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the survey data were analyzed for the aims of inquiry instruction and pedagogical practices used to achieve these goals. The results characterize CRE inquiry teaching as involving three instructional models: 1) being a scientist and generating data; 2) teaching procedural knowledge; and 3) fostering project ownership. Each of these models is explicated and visualized in terms of the specific pedagogical practices and their relationships. The models present a complex picture of the ways in which CRE instruction is conducted on a daily basis and can inform instructors and institutions new to CRE teaching

Models of classroom assessment for course-based research experiences

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment—(1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; (2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; (3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and (4) Metacognition of Learning—along with a set of practices for each aim. These aims and practices of assessment were then integrated with previously developed models of course-based research instruction to reveal an assessment program in which instructors provide extensive feedback to support productive student engagement in research while grading those aspects of research that are necessary for the student to succeed. Assessment conducted in this way delicately balances the need to facilitate students’ ongoing research with the requirement of a final grade without undercutting the important aims of a CRE education

Complete Genome Sequences of 44 Arthrobacter

This article reports the complete genome sequences of 44 phages infecting Arthrobacter sp. strain ATCC 21022

Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and elemental carbon in Bakersfield, California

Despite increasing evidence that airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures contribute to adverse health outcomes for sensitive populations, limited data are available on short-term intraurban spatial distributions for use in epidemiologic research. Exposure assessments for airborne PAHs are uncommon because air sampling for PAHs is a labor-, equipment-, and time-intensive task. To address this gap we measured wintertime PAH concentrations during 2010-2011 in Bakersfield, California, USA, a major city in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. Specifically, 58 96-hour integrated PAH samples were collected during 4 time periods at 14 locations from November 2010 to January 2011; duplicates were collected at two sites. We also collected elemental carbon (EC) at the same 14 sites and analyzed the two time periods with the highest ambient PAH pollution. We used linear regression models to quantify the relationship between potential spatial and temporal predictors of PAH concentrations. We found that wintertime PAH concentrations in Bakersfield, CA, are best predicted by meteorological variables and traffic proximity. Our model explains a moderate amount of the variability in the data (R(2)=0.58), likely reflecting the major sources of PAHs in Bakersfield. We also observed that PAH concentrations were more spatially variable than EC concentrations. Comparing our data to historical monitoring data at one location in Bakersfield showed that the relatively low PAH concentrations during the 2010-2011 winter in Bakersfield is part of a long-term trend in decreasing PAH concentrations