What Does it Take to Make Discovery a Success?: A Survey of Discovery Tool Adoption, Instruction, and Evaluation Among Academic Libraries

Discovery tools have been widely adopted by academic libraries, yet little information exists that connects common practices regarding discovery tool implementation, maintenance, assessment, and staffing with conventions for research and instruction. The authors surveyed heads of reference and instruction departments in research and land-grant university libraries. The survey results revealed common practices with discovery tools among academic libraries. This study also draws connections between operational, instructional, and assessment practices and perceptions that participants have of the success of their discovery tool. Participants who indicated successful implementation of their discovery tool hailed from institutions that made significant commitments to the operations, maintenance, and acceptance of their discovery tool. Participants who indicated an unsuccessful implementation, or who were unsure about the success of their implementation, did not make lasting commitments to the technical maintenance, operations, and acceptance of their discovery tool

Biofilm formation is a risk factor for mortality in patients with Candida albicans bloodstream infection-Scotland, 2012-2013

Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377/Z/11/Z. Data collection was supported by a grant from Pfizer. G. Ramage was also supported by a research fellowship grant from Gilead Sciences. We are grateful to microbiology colleagues throughout Scotland for submitting isolates.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mobility at the neighbourhood scale: interim report

In this interim report, we present and discuss the initial findings of a review of literature and policy and a set of expert interviews with older and disabled people and those working with them or on their behalf. We begin by exploring the challenges these groups face and the ways in which they relate to transport and mobility. We discuss Active Neighbourhoods, 15/20-minute neighbourhoods, and Streets for All. These are concepts that seek to aid the development of more inclusive and active communities and that provide a starting point for our investigation. After a brief explanation of our methodology, we turn to our findings, taking in turn sociable spaces, accessible neighbourhoods, and collaborative processes. We conclude with some recommendations and thoughts about the further stages of this research

Combined analysis of the salivary microbiome and host defence peptides predicts dental disease

Understanding the triad of host response, microbiome and disease status is potentially informative for disease prediction, prevention, early intervention and treatment. Using longitudinal assessment of saliva and disease status, we demonstrated that partial least squares modelling of microbial, immunological and clinical measures, grouped children according to future dental disease status. Saliva was collected and dental health assessed in 33 children aged 4 years, and again 1-year later. The composition of the salivary microbiome was assessed and host defence peptides in saliva were quantified. Principal component analysis of the salivary microbiome indicated that children clustered by age and not disease status. Similarly, changes in salivary host defence peptides occurred with age and not in response to, or preceding dental caries. Partial least squares modelling of microbial, immunological and clinical baseline measures clustered children according to future dental disease status. These data demonstrate that isolated evaluation of the salivary microbiome or host response failed to predict dental disease. In contrast, combined assessment of both host response together with the microbiome revealed clusters of health and disease. This type of approach is potentially relevant to myriad diseases that are modified by host–microbiome interactions

Mainstreaming urban agriculture : opportunities and barriers to upscaling city farming

Urban Agriculture (UA), i.e., the production of crops or rearing of livestock in cities, is growing in popularity. Upscaled UA is increasingly gaining support from policy makers, funders, local authorities and other key actors across the globe. Radical forms of the concept, in the form of edible rooftops, urban farms and high-tech growing projects, are becoming more commonplace in our cityscapes; enabling production on a level not witnessed previously. With the mainstreaming of large-scale UA comes the potential to further the social, environmental and economic value of the practice, through job creation, biodiversity enhancement, the creation of short food supply chains and other benefits. Yet, despite this growth, there are barriers to upscaling city farming. Evidence suggests that a core issue surrounds urban soil contamination and hesitation with regards to crops in the city. This paper uses a qualitative approach to explore the UK’s largest urban farm and a spectrum of other UA sites to illustrate such barriers. We reveal how public hesitation, financial barriers and soil quality prevent development. We reflect on the breadth of the issue and call for a more pragmatic approach to these barriers. In doing so, we propose a path forward for enabling UA at scale

E-scooters in Greater Manchester: appendices

This report presents the !ndings of a University of Salford study focused on the shared e-scooter trial taking place in Greater Manchester and launched in autumn 2020. Sharing schemes are services that make vehicles, such as e-scooters, available for use on a shortterm rental basis. In the case of the Lime e-scooter share scheme operated in Greater Manchester, vehicles are parked in virtual docks within the boundaries of the scheme. The Greater Manchester trial sits within a Department for Transport programme that aims to understand the potential of e-scooters in UK towns and cities, and their impact on people and mobility practices. Greater Manchester’s scheme is run by Lime and has covered two areas in the conurbation. The Salford trial has developed from an initially compact area centred around the University and MediaCityUK and has expanded more recently to encompass a larger area that includes other major employers and transport interchanges. The Rochdale scheme launched in April 2021 and concluded the following year after the planned 12-month trial period