Secrets of Success: Identifying Success Factors in Institutional Repositories

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Conference PresentationsDate: 2009-05-19 08:30 AM – 09:30 AMThere is little agreement on which factors lead to successful institutional repositories. Researchers primarily cite content recruitment and services as key factors; however, there has also been discussion of measuring IR success in terms of how well the IR furthers the overall goals of the library. This paper examines the topic of IRs and success. Our findings are based on a comparative case study of five IRs in colleges and universities. We argue that success should be measured by both internal (e.g., content or services) as well as external factors - how well the IR fulfills or brings the library closer to achieving its long-term goals in terms of service to the academic community.Institute of Museum and Library Service

A small synthetic molecule functions as a chloride–bicarbonate dual-transporter and induces chloride secretion in cells

A C2 symmetric small molecule composed of L-phenylalanine and isophthalamide was found to function as a Cl−/HCO3− dual transporter and self-assemble into chloride channels. In Ussing-chamber based short-circuit current measurements, this molecule elicited chloride-dependent short-circuit current (Isc) increase in both Calu-3 cell and CFBE41o-cell (with F508del mutant CFTR) monolayers.postprin

Relative impacts of global changes and regional watershed changes on the inorganic carbon balance of the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is a large coastal-plain estuary that has experienced considerable anthropogenic changeover the past century. At the regional scale, land-use change has doubled the nutrient input from rivers and led to an increase in riverine carbon and alkalinity. The bay has also experienced global changes, including the rise of atmospheric temperature and CO2. Here we seek to understand the relative impact of these changes on the inorganic carbon balance of the bay between the early 1900s and the early 2000s. We use a linked land–estuarine–ocean modeling system that includes both inorganic and organic carbon and nitrogen cycling. Sensitivity experiments are performed to isolate the effect of changes in (1) atmospheric CO2, (2) temperature,(3) riverine nitrogen loading and (4) riverine carbon and alkalinity loading. Specifically, we find that over the past century global changes have increased ingassing by roughly the same amount (∼30 Gg-C yr−1) as has the increased riverine loadings. While the former is due primarily to increases in atmospheric CO2, the latter results from increased net ecosystem production that enhances ingassing. Interestingly, these increases in ingassing are partially mitigated by increase temperatures and increased riverine carbon and alkalinity in-puts, both of which enhance outgassing. Overall, the bay has evolved over the century to take up more atmospheric CO2 and produce more organic carbon. These results suggest that over the past century, changes in riverine nutrient loads have played an important role in altering coastal carbon budgets, but that ongoing global changes have also substantially affected coastal carbonate chemistry

Phase II study of bevacizumab and erlotinib in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients with sorafenib-refractory disease

Background The combination of bevacizumab (B) and erlotinib (E) has shown promising clinical outcomes as the first-line treatment of advanced HCC patients. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of using combination of B + E in treating advanced HCC patients who had failed prior sorafenib treatment. Methods Eligible advanced HCC patients with documented radiological evidence of disease progression with sorafenib treatment were recruited. All patients received bevacizumab(B) at 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks with erlotinib(E) at 150 mg daily for a maximum of 6 cycles. Response assessments using both RECIST and modified RECIST criteria were performed after every 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was clinical benefit (CB) rate and a Simon two-stage design was employed. Results The trial was halted in the first stage according to the pre-set statistical criteria with 10 patients recruited. The median age was 47 years (range, 28-61) and all patients were in ECOG performance status 1. Eighty percent of patients were chronic hepatitis B carriers and all patients had Child A cirrhosis. Among these 10 patients, none of the enrolled patients achieved response or stable disease. The median time-to-progression was 1.81 months (95 % confidence interval [C.I.], 1.08-1.74 months) and overall survival was 4.37 months (95 % C.I., 1.08-11.66 months). Rash (70 %), diarrhea (50 %) and malaise (40 %) were the most commonly encountered toxicities. Conclusion The combination of B + E was well tolerated but had no activity in an unselected sorafenib-refractory advanced HCC population. Condensed abstract The combination of bevacizumab and erlotinib had no clinical activity in sorafenib-refractory HCC population. © 2012 The Author(s).published_or_final_versio

Complementary biomarker-based methods for characterising Arctic sea ice conditions: A case study comparison between multivariate analysis and the PIP<inf>25</inf>index

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd The discovery of IP 25 as a qualitative biomarker proxy for Arctic sea ice and subsequent introduction of the so-called PIP 25 index for semi-quantitative descriptions of sea ice conditions has significantly advanced our understanding of long-term paleo Arctic sea ice conditions over the past decade. We investigated the potential for classification tree (CT) models to provide a further approach to paleo Arctic sea ice reconstruction through analysis of a suite of highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) biomarkers in ca. 200 surface sediments from the Barents Sea. Four CT models constructed using different HBI assemblages revealed IP 25 and an HBI triene as the most appropriate classifiers of sea ice conditions, achieving a > 90% cross-validated classification rate. Additionally, lower model performance for locations in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) highlighted difficulties in characterisation of this climatically-sensitive region. CT model classification and semi-quantitative PIP 25 -derived estimates of spring sea ice concentration (SpSIC) for four downcore records from the region were consistent, although agreement between proxy and satellite/observational records was weaker for a core from the west Svalbard margin, likely due to the highly variable sea ice conditions. The automatic selection of appropriate biomarkers for description of sea ice conditions, quantitative model assessment, and insensitivity to the c-factor used in the calculation of the PIP 25 index are key attributes of the CT approach, and we provide an initial comparative assessment between these potentially complementary methods. The CT model should be capable of generating longer-term temporal shifts in sea ice conditions for the climatically sensitive Barents Sea

Estuarine Dissolved Organic Carbon Flux From Space: With Application to Chesapeake and Delaware Bays

This study uses a neural network model trained with in situ data, combined with satellite data and hydrodynamic model products, to compute the daily estuarine export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the mouths of Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Delaware Bay (DB) from 2007 to 2011. Both bays show large flux variability with highest fluxes in spring and lowest in fall as well as interannual flux variability (0.18 and 0.27 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2010 for CB; 0.04 and 0.09 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2011 for DB). Based on previous estimates of total organic carbon (TOCexp) exported by all Mid‐Atlantic Bight estuaries (1.2 Tg C/year), the DOC export (CB + DB) of 0.3 Tg C/year estimated here corresponds to 25% of the TOCexp. Spatial and temporal covariations of velocity and DOC concentration provide contributions to the flux, with larger spatial influence. Differences in the discharge of fresh water into the bays (74 billion m3/year for CB and 21 billion m3/year for DB) and their geomorphologies are major drivers of the differences in DOC fluxes for these two systems. Terrestrial DOC inputs are similar to the export of DOC at the bay mouths at annual and longer time scales but diverge significantly at shorter time scales (days to months). Future efforts will expand to the Mid‐Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine, and its major rivers and estuaries, in combination with coupled terrestrial‐estuarine‐ocean biogeochemical models that include effects of climate change, such as warming and CO2 increase

Enhancing the efficacy of cytotoxic agents for cancer therapy using photochemical internalisation.

Photochemical internalisation (PCI) is a technique for improving cellular delivery of certain bioactive agents which are prone to sequestration within endolysosomes. There is a wide range of agents suitable for PCI-based delivery including toxins, oligonucleotides, genes and immunoconjugates which demonstrates the versatility of this technique. The basic mechanism of PCI involves triggering release of the agent from endolysosomes within the target cells using a photosensitiser which is selectively retained with the endolysosomal membranes. Excitation of the photosensitiser by visible light leads to disruption of the membranes via photooxidative damage thereby releasing the agent into the cytosol. This treatment enables the drugs to reach their intended subcellular target more efficiently and improves their efficacy. In this review we summarise the applications of this technique with the main emphasis placed on cancer chemotherapy

Properties of Light Flavour Baryons in Hypercentral quark model

The light flavour baryons are studied within the quark model using the hyper central description of the three-body system. The confinement potential is assumed as hypercentral coulomb plus power potential ($hCPP_\nu$) with power index $\nu$. The masses and magnetic moments of light flavour baryons are computed for different power index, $\nu$ starting from 0.5 to 1.5. The predicted masses and magnetic moments are found to attain a saturated value with respect to variation in $\nu$ beyond the power index $\nu>$ 1.0. Further we computed transition magnetic moments and radiative decay width of light flavour baryons. The results are in good agreement with known experimental as well as other theoretical models.Comment: Accepted in Pramana J. of Physic

Generation of three-dimensional multiple spheroid model of olfactory ensheathing cells using floating liquid marbles

We describe a novel protocol for three-dimensional culturing of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), which can be used to understand how OECs interact with other cells in three dimensions. Transplantation of OECs is being trialled for repair of the paralysed spinal cord, with promising but variable results and thus the therapy needs improving. To date, studies of OEC behaviour in a multicellular environment have been hampered by the lack of suitable three-dimensional cell culture models. Here, we exploit the floating liquid marble, a liquid droplet coated with hydrophobic powder and placed on a liquid bath. The presence of the liquid bath increases the humidity and minimises the effect of evaporation. Floating liquid marbles allow the OECs to freely associate and interact to produce OEC spheroids with uniform shapes and sizes. In contrast, a sessile liquid marble on a solid surface suffers from evaporation and the cells aggregate with irregular shapes. We used floating liquid marbles to co-culture OECs with Schwann cells and astrocytes which formed natural structures without the confines of gels or bounding layers. This protocol can be used to determine how OECs and other cell types associate and interact while forming complex cell structuresJSJ was funded by a grant from the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation; NTN was funded from Griffith University through a start-up grant and a grant from the Griffith University Research Infrastructure Program; JAK was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant DP150104495; JT was funded by an Eskitis Institute scholarship; CO was funded by a Griffith Sciences scholarship; RV was funded by a Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarshi

Ocean Circulation Causes Strong Variability in the Mid-Atlantic Bight Nitrogen Budget

Understanding of nitrogen cycling on continental shelves, a critical component of global nutrient cycling, is hampered by limited observations compared to the strong variability on a wide range of time and space scales. Numerical models have the potential to partially alleviate this issue by filling spatiotemporal data gaps and hence resolving annual area-integrated nutrient fluxes. In this study, a three-dimensional biogeochemical-circulation model was implemented to simulate the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) nitrogen budget. Model results demonstrate that, on average, MAB net community production (NCP) was positive (+0.27 Tg N/year), indicating net autotrophy. Interannual variability in NCP was strong, with annual values ranging between 0.19 and 0.41 Tg N/year. Along-shelf and across-shelf horizontal transport fluxes were the other dominant terms in the nitrogen budget and were primarily responsible for this NCP variability. The along-shelf current transported nitrogen from the north (0.65 Tg N/year) into the MAB, supplementing the nitrogen entering from terrestrial inputs (0.27 Tg N/year). However, NCP was highest in the year when total water volume transport and inorganic nitrogen input was strongest across the continental slope in the southern MAB, rather than when terrestrial inputs were greatest. Interannual variability of NCP appears to be linked to changes in the positions of the Gulf Stream and Slope Water Gyre. Overall, the strong spatiotemporal variability of the nitrogen fluxes highlights the importance of observations throughout all seasons and multiple years in order to accurately resolve the current status and future changes of the MAB nitrogen budget