Chinese American Librarians in the 21st Century: Profile Update

There is an increasing need to understand the role of Chinese American librarians as one of the largest ethnic librarian groups in American library communities and a renewed interest to demonstrate and prove a critical role they play in the Library and Information Science profession. With first-hand insights, this study reports the current status of Chinese American librarians. It helps develop our knowledge about the Chinese American librarians in the 21st Century. A sequel study in a separate paper reports the findings of career development of Chinese American librarians and documents strategies they adapted to meet challenges and barriers facing the

Career Choices and Career Advancement: Chinese American Librarians in the 21st Century

There is an increasing need to understand Chinese American librarians as one of the largest ethnic librarian groups in American library communities and a renewed interest to demonstrate a critical role they play in the Library and Information Science profession. This paper documents some strategies Chinese American librarians have adopted to meet the challenges and barriers they face. It is hoped that this study will encourage Chinese American librarians to develop methods for analyzing their careers so as to reach higher career goals

A comparison of three emerging online government 3D printing resources: NASA 3D Resources, Smithsonian X3D, and the NIH 3D Print Exchange

United States governmental agencies, departments, and affiliates, are increasingly making 3D printable models available to the general public online. On March 20, 2014, a memorandum was sent out to United States executive departments and agencies about improving access to the government’s scientific collections (Holdren, 2014). This memorandum, from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), not only addressed physical collections, but specifically mentioned digital 3D models. On the White House’s blog, several reasons were given for making these collections more accessible including the idea that these collections are “… treasure troves of information ripe for exploration and learning” (Stebbins & Lieberman, 2014).Several areas of the United States government have begun making 3D models available to the general public or were already doing so at the time the memorandum was released. Three of the largest collections are from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Two of these, the NIH and NASA, are government agencies while the Smithsonian Institution is a Trust Instrumentality of the United States (Legal Nature, 2016). These sites offer downloadable, printable files in addition to educational resources. The Smithsonian’s website even states it is “the end of ‘do not touch.’” (Getting Started, 2016).This review focuses on the 3D printing sections of these three websites including the models, supplementary materials, and resources

Parenthood, Professorship, and Librarianship: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

A survey of tenure-track and tenured librarians at ARL libraries provides data on the relationship between parenthood and professorship. Results analyze the impact of the promotion and tenure process on child-bearing and child-rearing decisions. Discrepancies are found based on gender, tenure status, and family status

Scoping the Chinese American Librarians Association Services with a National Survey

The Assessment and Evaluation Committee of the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) designed an online survey for its members in order to elicit various types of information. The primary goals of this survey were to facilitate a stronger organization by serving its members more efficiently and effectively. This survey was distributed to all members through CALA’s discussion list and website. The thirty three survey questions in six categories corresponded to the six areas of the CALA 2020 Strategic Plan. This article is a comprehensive report and analysis of the survey results. The survey data and conclusions may assist the board in gauging the level of CALA members’ awareness, perception, and usage of the association’s policies and services. It will also provide an understanding of its members’ level of satisfaction with the services provided by CALA. The findings of the survey can be used as an important reference for the association to better develop its future strategic plan and long-term goals, such as launching innovative and quality programs and services; using cutting-edge technologies to recruit and engage CALA members; creating professional development networking platforms; and promoting leadership training and services. The article will share the findings and interpretation of this survey in order to increase the awareness of issues, difficulties, and challenges with respect to organizational development

Evolution of gene regulation in ruminants differs between evolutionary breakpoint regions and homologous synteny blocks

The role of chromosome rearrangements in driving evolution has been a long-standing question of evolutionary biology. Here we focused on ruminants as a model to assess how rearrangements may have contributed to the evolution of gene regulation. Using reconstructed ancestral karyotypes of Cetartiodactyls, Ruminants, Pecorans, and Bovids, we traced patterns of gross chromosome changes. We found that the lineage leading to the ruminant ancestor after the split from other cetartiodactyls was characterized by mostly intrachromosomal changes, whereas the lineage leading to the pecoran ancestor (including all livestock ruminants) included multiple interchromosomal changes. We observed that the liver cell putative enhancers in the ruminant evolutionary breakpoint regions are highly enriched for DNA sequences under selective constraint acting on lineage-specific transposable elements (TEs) and a set of 25 specific transcription factor (TF) binding motifs associated with recently active TEs. Coupled with gene expression data, we found that genes near ruminant breakpoint regions exhibit more divergent expression profiles among species, particularly in cattle, which is consistent with the phylogenetic origin of these breakpoint regions. This divergence was significantly greater in genes with enhancers that contain at least one of the 25 specific TF binding motifs and located near bovidae-to-cattle lineage breakpoint regions. Taken together, by combining ancestral karyotype reconstructions with analysis of cis regulatory element and gene expression evolution, our work demonstrated that lineage-specific regulatory elements colocalized with gross chromosome rearrangements may have provided valuable functional modifications that helped to shape ruminant evolution

Lysosomal integral membrane protein-2 (LIMP-2/SCARB2) is involved in lysosomal cholesterol export

The intracellular transport of cholesterol is subject to tight regulation. The structure of the lysosomal integral membrane protein type 2 (LIMP-2, also known as SCARB2) reveals a large cavity that traverses the molecule and resembles the cavity in SR-B1 that mediates lipid transfer. The detection of cholesterol within the LIMP-2 structure and the formation of cholesterol - like inclusions in LIMP-2 knockout mice suggested the possibility that LIMP2 transports cholesterol in lysosomes. We present results of molecular modeling, crosslinking studies, microscale thermophoresis and cell-based assays that support a role of LIMP-2 in cholesterol transport. We show that the cavity in the luminal domain of LIMP-2 can bind and deliver exogenous cholesterol to the lysosomal membrane and later to lipid droplets. Depletion of LIMP-2 alters SREBP-2-mediated cholesterol regulation, as well as LDL-receptor levels. Our data indicate that LIMP-2 operates in parallel with Niemann Pick (NPC)-proteins, mediating a slower mode of lysosomal cholesterol export.Peer reviewe

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049