Scholarly Societies, Scholarly Publishing, and the New Information Ecology

Since the founding of the Royal Society in the 1660s and with the development of disciplinary fields in the later nineteenth century, scholarly societies have established themselves as mediators of the professional lives of faculty and as vital components of the ecology of scholarly communication. In their interactions with libraries, societies may appear primarily as publishers of newsletters, books, reports, journals, indexes, and databases, but they also promote the creation and diffusion of knowledge by serving as hubs for professional activity, contributors to the making of public policy and opinion, providers of education, representatives of the interests of their members, and, more generally, shapers of the institutions and purposes of higher education. Society operations and education or outreach programs depend to varying degrees on revenues from publishing programs and membership dues. Today, however, changing demographics and membership decline, the academic job market, the weakening of library budgets, new modes of publishing and media for establishing scholarly reputation, and the importance of making scholarship available to a broader audience than those who can afford to purchase it challenge traditional society roles and especially the business models that have supported those roles . This paper addresses the ways in which scholarly societies are addressing the current information environment and how societies are adjusting programs and roles as they continue to build and maintain communities of scholars and promote the interests of teaching, learning, and research

Is there a bidirectional relationship between sleep and asthma and allergy in a general population?

The presented study aims at examining the relationship between sleep, on the one hand, and allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, on the other hand. These afflictions are highly comorbid, and a common denominator is nasal congestion and itching peaking at night, which may disturb sleep. However, previous research has suggested an alternative relationship in which insomnia precedes asthma and allergy. The objective is thus to explore whether there is a bidirectional relationship between sleep and asthma/allergy

Chemosensory interaction: acquired olfactory impairment is associated with decreased taste function

Olfaction, taste and trigeminal function are three distinct modalities. However, in daily life they are often activated concomitantly. In health and disease, it has been shown that in two of these senses, the trigeminal and olfactory senses, modification of one sense leads to changes in the other sense and vice versa. The objective of the study was to investigate whether and (if so) how, the third modality, taste, is influenced by olfactory impairment. We tested 210 subjects with normal (n=107) or impaired (n=103) olfactory function for their taste identification capacities. Validated tests were used for olfactory and gustatory testing (Sniffin' Sticks, Taste Strips). In an additional experiment, healthy volunteers underwent reversible olfactory cleft obstruction to investigate short-time changes of gustatory function after olfactory alteration. Mean gustatory identification (taste strip score) for the subjects with impaired olfaction was 19.4±0.6 points and 22.9±0.5 points for those with normal olfactory function (t=4.6, p<0.001). The frequencies of both, smell and taste impairments interacted significantly (Chi2, F=16.4, p<0.001), and olfactory and gustatory function correlated (r 210=0.30, p<0.001). Neither age nor olfactory impairment cause effects interfered with this olfactory-gustatory interaction. In contrast, after short-lasting induced olfactory decrease, gustatory function remained unchanged. The present study suggests that longstanding impaired olfactory function is associated with decreased gustatory function. These findings seem to extend previously described mutual chemosensory interactions also to smell and taste. It further raises the question whether chemical senses in general decrease mutually after acquired damag

An idiographic approach to Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance attributed to Electromagnetic Fields (IEI-EMF) Part II. Ecological momentary assessment of three individuals with severe IEI-EMF

IEI-EMF refers to a self-reported sensitivity characterized by attribution of non-specific physical symptoms to exposure to weak EMFs. The majority of empirical results do not support the existence of a causal relationship between EMF and IEI-EMF. However, this conclusion was drawn from environmental and experimental studies that are not without methodological limitations. In the current study, as part of a complex biopsychosocial approach, an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol was applied for the investigation of the temporal relationship between actual radio frequency (RF) EMF exposure and IEI-EMF, at the individual level. Continuous measurement of autonomic variables by holter electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors and the ambient RF EMF by personal dosimeters, as well as repeated (8/day) paper-and-pencil assessments of momentary internal states (symptoms, mood, perceived EMF intensity) and situational factors was conducted for 21 days with the participation of three individuals with severe IEI-EMF. Temporal relationships were examined by time series analyses. For two participants, the results did not support the association between the suspected EMF frequency range(s) and symptom reports. Nevertheless, the results revealed a reverse association with respect to another frequency range (GSM900 downlink), which contradicts the IEI-EMF condition. Autonomic activation related findings were inconsistent. For the third participant, the claimed association was partly supported, both for symptom reports and autonomic reactions (UMTS downlink, total RF; RMS values). The findings of this study suggest that IEI-EMF does not have a unitary aetiology. For certain individuals, a biophysical background cannot be excluded, whereas no such underlying factor appears to be at work for others. EMA is a useful method for the investigation of the aetiology of IEI-EMF

SN 2020udy: a SN Iax with strict limits on interaction consistent with a helium-star companion

Early observations of transient explosions can provide vital clues to their progenitor origins. In this paper we present the nearby Type Iax (02cx-like) supernova (SN), SN 2020udy that was discovered within hours ($\sim$7 hr) of estimated first light. An extensive dataset of ultra-violet, optical, and near-infrared observations was obtained, covering out to $\sim$150 d after explosion. SN 2020udy peaked at -17.86$\pm$0.43 mag in the r band and evolved similarly to other 'luminous' SNe Iax, such as SNe 2005hk and 2012Z. Its well-sampled early light curve allows strict limits on companion interaction to be placed. Main-sequence companion stars with masses of 2 and 6 M$_\odot$ are ruled out at all viewing angles, while a helium-star companion is allowed from a narrow range of angles (140-180$^\circ$ away from the companion). The spectra and light curves of SN2020udy are in good agreement with those of the 'N5def' deflagration model of a near Chandrasekhar-mass carbon-oxygen white dwarf. However, as has been seen in previous studies of similar luminosity events, SN 2020udy evolves slower than the model. Broad-band linear polarisation measurements taken at and after peak are consistent with no polarisation, in agreement with the predictions of the companion-star configuration from the early light curve measurements. The host galaxy environment is low metallicity and is consistent with a young stellar population. Overall, we find the most plausible explosion scenario to be the incomplete disruption of a CO white dwarf near the Chandrasekhar-mass limit, with a helium-star companion.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, submitted to MNRA

Growth in within graduate wage inequality: the role of subjects, cognitive skill dispersion and occupational concentration

UK graduate wage inequality has increased over the previous three decades. This paper demonstrates that most of the growth has occurred within degree subjects, with the largest occurring in non-STEM subjects. The paper therefore investigates two potential explanations. The first is the increase in the variance of childhood cognitive test scores amogst graduates in the same subject. This increase differs across subjects, and is again in the non-STEM subjects where the variance of test scores has increased the most, especially during the second period of rapid higher education expansion in the 1990s. The second potential explanation explored is the fall in the occupational concentration of subjects. Graduates of some subjects (like Medicine and Education) are highly concentrated into only a few jobs whereas others are much more widely dispersed. Generally, all subjects have become more widely dispersed across occupations over time, but some more so than others. The paper then shows that both of these factors have played a role in explaining growing graduate wage inequality within subjects, though the largest is by far from the widening in the variance of test scores. The path of graduate wage inequality would have been relatively flat without the accompanying increase in the variance of cognitive skills