The Winter Issue 2023

This 2023 winter issue features stories of the first female archivist of the United States, Dr. Coleen Shogun and the new SLIS faculty, Kaeli Gretter. In the spotlights section, the pioneer library service with the WPA pack horse library project is retold. In addition, miscellaneous events and activities of SMSA are covered including the past and incoming archival conferences and a list of recipients of the graduate archival certificate.https://aquila.usm.edu/fondsandfeathers/1002/thumbnail.jp

Standardless, automated determination of Chlorine-35 by 35Cl nuclear magnetic resonance

A robust, fully automated, walk-up method is reported to quantify chloride in samples using 35Cl nuclear magnetic resonance. Minimal user input is required, no standards are acquired at the time of analysis; and the submission, acquisition, processing, and production of results are seamlessly integrated within existing software. The method demonstrated good linearity with R2 = 0.999 over three orders of magnitude of analyte concentration. The results were highly independent of analyte functionality, and the stability of instrument response was sufficient that analyses of additional standards were not required for a period of several months. At a nominal sample concentration of 10 mg/ml in D2O at 400 MHz, detection and quantitation limits of 0.1 and 0.5% (w/w) were achieved in a 1-h analysis time. Robust methodology was achieved by applying a rigorous approach to method development and validation to determine and evaluate fully the time- and sample-dependent factors that affect quantitation in these measurements

A systematic review of ethnic minority women’s experiences of perinatal mental health conditions and services in Europe

Background Women from ethnic minority groups are at greater risk of developing mental health problems. Poor perinatal mental health impacts on maternal morbidity and mortality and can have a devastating impact on child and family wellbeing. It is important to ensure that services are designed to meet the unique needs of women from diverse backgrounds. Aim The aim of the review was to explore ethnic minority women's experiences of perinatal mental ill health, help-seeking and perinatal mental health services in Europe. Data sources Searches included CINAHL, Maternity and Infant Care, MEDLINE and PsycINFO with no language or date restrictions. Additional literature was identified by searching reference lists of relevant studies. Design This was a mixed method systematic review. Study selection, appraisal and data extraction were conducted by two researchers independently. A convergent approach was adopted for the analysis and the data were synthesised thematically. Results The 15 eligible studies included women from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds and were all undertaken in the United Kingdom (UK). Seven overarching themes were identified; awareness and beliefs about mental health, isolation and seeking support, influence of culture, symptoms and coping strategies, accessing mental health services, experiences of mental health services and what women want. Conclusion Lack of awareness about mental ill health, cultural expectations, ongoing stigma, culturally insensitive and fragmented health services and interactions with culturally incompetent and dismissive health providers all impact on ethnic minority women's ability to receive adequate perinatal mental health support in the UK. Future research should focus on in-depth exploration of the experiences of these women across multiple European settings and interventions to reduce health inequalities among vulnerable mothers and families affected by perinatal mental ill health

Gynecological trials frequently exclude people based on their symptoms rather than their condition: a systematic review of Cochrane reviews and their component trials

ObjectivesTo identify strategies used in recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and their associated Cochrane Reviews where patients with the same gynecological condition present with different symptoms but would plausibly benefit from a common intervention.Study design and settingWe searched the Cochrane library (February 2022) for reviews in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. Reviews were included if the intervention was intended to treat all condition-specific symptoms. For each trial we recorded the strategy used and the number of potentially eligible participants excluded as a direct result of the chosen strategy. For each review we recorded the numbers of RCTs and participants excluded on the basis of symptoms experienced.ResultsThere were 89 distinct PCOS trials in 13 reviews, and 13 Endometriosis trials in 11 reviews. Most trials restricted their eligibility to participants with specific symptoms (55% PCOS, 46% endometriosis). The second most common strategy was to measure and analyze clinical outcomes that were not relevant to all participants (38% PCOS, 31% endometriosis). Reviews excluded 27% of trials in participants evaluating the same intervention in participants experiencing the same condition based on the outcomes measured in the trials.ConclusionMost gynecological trials exclude patients who could benefit from treatment or measure outcomes not relevant to all participants. We introduce a taxonomy to describe trial design strategies for conditions with heterogeneous symptoms

London Schools Excellence Fund: Final Report: Enhancing the teaching of STEM through Design and Technology

London Schools Excellence Fund: Final Report: Enhancing the teaching of STEM through Design and Technolog

The effectiveness of mobile-health technology-based health behaviour change or disease management interventions for health care consumers: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Mobile technologies could be a powerful media for providing individual level support to health care consumers. We conducted a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of mobile technology interventions delivered to health care consumers. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We searched for all controlled trials of mobile technology-based health interventions delivered to health care consumers using MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Global Health, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, UK NHS HTA (Jan 1990-Sept 2010). Two authors extracted data on allocation concealment, allocation sequence, blinding, completeness of follow-up, and measures of effect. We calculated effect estimates and used random effects meta-analysis. We identified 75 trials. Fifty-nine trials investigated the use of mobile technologies to improve disease management and 26 trials investigated their use to change health behaviours. Nearly all trials were conducted in high-income countries. Four trials had a low risk of bias. Two trials of disease management had low risk of bias; in one, antiretroviral (ART) adherence, use of text messages reduced high viral load (>400 copies), with a relative risk (RR) of 0.85 (95% CI 0.72-0.99), but no statistically significant benefit on mortality (RR 0.79 [95% CI 0.47-1.32]). In a second, a PDA based intervention increased scores for perceived self care agency in lung transplant patients. Two trials of health behaviour management had low risk of bias. The pooled effect of text messaging smoking cessation support on biochemically verified smoking cessation was (RR 2.16 [95% CI 1.77-2.62]). Interventions for other conditions showed suggestive benefits in some cases, but the results were not consistent. No evidence of publication bias was demonstrated on visual or statistical examination of the funnel plots for either disease management or health behaviours. To address the limitation of the older search, we also reviewed more recent literature. CONCLUSIONS: Text messaging interventions increased adherence to ART and smoking cessation and should be considered for inclusion in services. Although there is suggestive evidence of benefit in some other areas, high quality adequately powered trials of optimised interventions are required to evaluate effects on objective outcomes

Overthickening of sedimentary sequences by igneous intrusions

This study was part of a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen, Siccar Point Energy Ltd and Integrated Geochemical Interpretation (IGI). Siccar Point Energy Ltd are thanked for giving the author permission to publish. Karolina Harvie and Kevin Ward from Petrosys are thanks for their support during the mapping process of the project. The lead author’s PhD is funded by JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited as part of the Volcanic Margin Research Consortium Phase 2. PGS are thanked for allowing the author access to the MegaSurveyPlus and PGS/TGS FSB 2011-12 MultiClient GeoStreamer data and for granting permission to publish this work. Seismic interpretation was carried out using Schlumberger Petrel software. Well log analysis was carried out using Schlumberger Techlog software. Dave Ellis and Victoria Pease are thanked for the comments which greatly improved the revisions of this paper. Well data was obtained from the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) Common Data Access (CDA).Peer reviewedPostprin

Mild hypohydration increases the frequency of driver errors during a prolonged, monotonous driving task

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of mild hypohydration on performance during a prolonged, monotonous driving task. Methods: Eleven healthy males (age 22 ± 4 y) were instructed to consume a volume of fluid in line with published guidelines (HYD trial) or 25% of this intake (FR trial) in a crossover manner. Participants came to the laboratory the following morning after an overnight fast. One hour following a standard breakfast, a 120 min driving simulation task began. Driver errors, including instances of lane drifting or late breaking, EEG and heart rate were recorded throughout the driving task. Results: Pre-trial bodymass (P=0.692), urine osmolality (P=0.838) and serumosmolality (P=0.574)were the same on both trials. FR resulted in a 1.1±0.7% reduction in bodymass, compared to−0.1±0.6% in the HYD trial (P = 0.002). Urine and serum osmolality were both increased following FR (P b 0.05). There was a progressive increase in the total number of driver errors observed during both the HYD and FR trials, but significantly more incidents were recorded throughout the FR trial (HYD 47 ± 44, FR 101 ± 84; ES = 0.81; P = 0.006). Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that mild hypohydration, produced a significant increase in minor driving errors during a prolonged, monotonous drive, compared to that observed while performing the same task in a hydrated condition. The magnitude of decrement reported,was similar to that observed following the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage resulting in a blood alcohol content of approximately 0.08% (the current UK legal driving limit), or while sleep deprived