RDA, or, The Long Journey of the Catalog to the Digital Age

RDA was created in response to complaints about the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, especially the call for a more international, principle-based content standard that takes the perspective of the conceptual models of FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) and FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data).  The past and ongoing process for continuous improvement to RDA is through the Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (known as the JSC, but recently renamed the RDA Steering Committee - RSC) to make RDA even more international and principle-based.RDA nasce per rispondere all'insoddisfazione verso le Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, in special modo rispetto alla richiesta di uno standard basato su principi di taglio più internazionale, che riprendesse la prospettiva del modello concettuale di FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) e FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data). Il processo passato e ancora in corso per il miglioramento continuo di RDA è coordinato dal Joint Steering Committee for Development of RDA (noto come JSC, ma recentemente rinominato RDA Steering Committee - RSC) per rendere RDA sempre più internazionale e aderente ai principi

Cataloging Heresy: Challenging the Standard Bibliographic Product (Book Review)

published or submitted for publicatio

Imaging With the Past: Revealing the Complexity of Chimaeroid Pelvic Musculature Anatomy and Development

Chondrichthyans are now widely adopted as models for examining the development and evolution of the stem gnathostome body plan. The fins of some cartilaginous fish are recognized for their plesiomorphic form and mode of muscular development, i.e., epithelial extension. Despite detailed molecular and descriptive examinations of these developmental mechanisms, there has been little contemporary examination of the ontogeny and morphology of the musculature in chondrichthyans including that of the paired fins. This gap represents a need for further examination of the developmental morphology of these appendicular musculatures to gain insight into their evolution in gnathostomes. The elephant shark is a Holocephalan, the sister group of all other chondrichthyans (Holocephali: Callorhinchus milii). Here, we use nano-CT imaging and 3D reconstructions to describe the development of the pelvic musculature of a growth series of elephant shark embryos. We also use historical descriptions from the nineteenth century and traditional dissection methods to describe the adult anatomy. This combined approach, using traditional methods and historical knowledge with modern imaging techniques, has enabled a more thorough examination of the anatomy and development of the pelvic musculature revealing that chimaeroid musculatures are more complex than previously thought. These data, when compared to extant and extinct sister taxa, are essential for interpreting and reconstructing fossil musculatures as well as understanding the evolution of paired fins

Library of Congress controlled vocabularies and their application to the Semantic Web

Pre-print of an article to be published in an upcoming issue of Cataloging & Classification Quarterly.This article discusses how various controlled vocabularies, classification schemes and thesauri can serve as some of the building blocks of the Semantic Web. These vocabularies have been developed over the course of decades, and can be put to great use in the development of robust web services and Semantic Web technologies. The article covers how initial collaboration between the Semantic Web, Library and Metadata communities are creating partnerships to complete work in this area. It then discusses some cores principles of authority control before talking more specifically about subject and genre vocabularies and name authority. It is hoped that future systems for internationally shared authority data will link the world's authority data from trusted sources to benefit users worldwide. Finally, the article looks at how encoding and markup of vocabularies can help ensure compatibility with the current and future state of Semantic Web development and provides examples of how this work can help improve the findability and navigation of information on the World Wide Web

A novel isolator-based system promotes viability of human embryos during laboratory processing

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and related technologies are arguably the most challenging of all cell culture applications. The starting material is a single cell from which one aims to produce an embryo capable of establishing a pregnancy eventually leading to a live birth. Laboratory processing during IVF treatment requires open manipulations of gametes and embryos, which typically involves exposure to ambient conditions. To reduce the risk of cellular stress, we have developed a totally enclosed system of interlinked isolator-based workstations designed to maintain oocytes and embryos in a physiological environment throughout the IVF process. Comparison of clinical and laboratory data before and after the introduction of the new system revealed that significantly more embryos developed to the blastocyst stage in the enclosed isolator-based system compared with conventional open-fronted laminar flow hoods. Moreover, blastocysts produced in the isolator-based system contained significantly more cells and their development was accelerated. Consistent with this, the introduction of the enclosed system was accompanied by a significant increase in the clinical pregnancy rate and in the proportion of embryos implanting following transfer to the uterus. The data indicate that protection from ambient conditions promotes improved development of human embryos. Importantly, we found that it was entirely feasible to conduct all IVF-related procedures in the isolator-based workstations

The N-terminal intrinsically disordered domain of mgm101p is localized to the mitochondrial nucleoid.

The mitochondrial genome maintenance gene, MGM101, is essential for yeasts that depend on mitochondrial DNA replication. Previously, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it has been found that the carboxy-terminal two-thirds of Mgm101p has a functional core. Furthermore, there is a high level of amino acid sequence conservation in this region from widely diverse species. By contrast, the amino-terminal region, that is also essential for function, does not have recognizable conservation. Using a bioinformatic approach we find that the functional core from yeast and a corresponding region of Mgm101p from the coral Acropora millepora have an ordered structure, while the N-terminal domains of sequences from yeast and coral are predicted to be disordered. To examine whether ordered and disordered domains of Mgm101p have specific or general functions we made chimeric proteins from yeast and coral by swapping the two regions. We find, by an in vivo assay in S.cerevisiae, that the ordered domain of A.millepora can functionally replace the yeast core region but the disordered domain of the coral protein cannot substitute for its yeast counterpart. Mgm101p is found in the mitochondrial nucleoid along with enzymes and proteins involved in mtDNA replication. By attaching green fluorescent protein to the N-terminal disordered domain of yeast Mgm101p we find that GFP is still directed to the mitochondrial nucleoid where full-length Mgm101p-GFP is targeted

The Effect of Guselkumab on Work Productivity in Biologic-Naïve Patients with Active Psoriatic Arthritis Through Week 52 of the Phase 3, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled DISCOVER-2 Trial

Introduction: The phase 3 DISCOVER-2 trial evaluated the effect of guselkumab on impaired work productivity and nonwork activity in biologic-naïve patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: Adults with active PsA were randomized (1:1:1) to guselkumab 100 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W), guselkumab 100 mg at weeks 0 and 4 and then every 8 weeks (Q8W), or placebo (with crossover to guselkumab Q4W at week 24). Least squares mean change from baseline in Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire for PsA (WPAI-PsA) domains and employment were assessed by treatment group. Multivariate analysis of data from weeks 0 through 24 assessed independent associations between PsA clinical features and WPAI-PsA domains. Results: In total, 738 patients were evaluated (guselkumab Q4W n = 245; guselkumab Q8W n = 248; placebo n = 245). At week 24, improvements (reduced impairment) in presenteeism (Q4W −20.1%, Q8W −19.6%, placebo −10.5%), work productivity (Q4W −20.1%, Q8W −19.2%, placebo −10.6%), and nonwork activity (Q4W −20.5%, Q8W −21.2%, placebo −9.9%) were greater in guselkumab-treated versus placebo-treated patients. At week 52, following placebo crossover at week 24, improvements were similar among groups. Baseline absenteeism was minimal and did not change in any group. By week 52, 23.1–25.9% of guselkumab-treated patients who were unemployed at baseline were employed. All WPAI-PsA domains were positively associated with C-reactive protein level, fatigue, and pain. All domains except absenteeism were positively associated with enthesitis and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score. Age was negatively associated with presenteeism and work productivity loss, female sex and tender joint count were positively associated with nonwork activity impairment, and dactylitis was positively associated with presenteeism. Conclusion: Both guselkumab regimens reduced work productivity loss and nonwork activity impairment in patients with active PsA. Association of work productivity loss and nonwork activity impairment with PsA joint and skin features suggests that improvement in both features is beneficial for optimizing improved work productivity loss and nonwork activity impairment. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03158285

Inflammatory parameters predict etiologic patterns but do not allow for individual prediction of etiology in patients with CAP – Results from the German competence network CAPNETZ

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of inflammatory markers procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocyte count (WBC) with microbiological etiology of CAP.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We enrolled 1337 patients (62 ± 18 y, 45% f) with proven CAP. Extensive microbiological workup was performed. In all patients PCT, CRP, WBC and CRB-65 score were determined. Patients were classified according to microbial diagnosis and CRB-65 score.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In patients with typical bacterial CAP, levels of PCT, CRP and WBC were significantly higher compared to CAP of atypical or viral etiology. There were no significant differences in PCT, CRP and WBC in patients with atypical or viral etiology of CAP. In contrast to CRP and WBC, PCT markedly increased with severity of CAP as measured by CRB-65 score (p < 0.0001). In ROC analysis for discrimination of patients with CRB-65 scores > 1, AUC for PCT was 0.69 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.71), which was higher compared to CRP and WBC (p < 0.0001). CRB-65, PCT, CRP and WBC were higher (p < 0.0001) in hospitalised patients in comparison to outpatients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PCT, CRP and WBC are highest in typical bacterial etiology in CAP but do not allow individual prediction of etiology. In contrast to CRP and WBC, PCT is useful in severity assessment of CAP.</p