Subject searching requirements : the HILT II experience

The HILT Phase II project aimed to develop a pilot terminologies server with a view to improving cross-sectoral information retrieval. In order to inform this process, it was first necessary to examine how a representative group of users approached a range of information-related tasks. This paper focuses on exploratory interviews conducted to investigate the proposed ideal and actual strategies of a group of 30 users in relation to eight separate information tasks. In addition, users were asked to give examples of search terms they may employ and to describe how they would formulate search queries in each scenario. The interview process undertaken and the results compiled are outlined, and associated implications for the development of a pilot terminologies server are discussed

User evaluation of a pilot terminologies server for a distributed multi-scheme environment

The present paper reports on a user-centred evaluation of a pilot terminology service developed as part of the High Level Thesaurus (HILT) project at the Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR) in the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The pilot terminology service was developed as an experimental platform to investigate issues relating to mapping between various subject schemes, namely Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), the Unesco thesaurus, and the MeSH thesaurus, in order to cater for cross-browsing and cross-searching across distributed digital collections and services. The aim of the evaluation reported here was to investigate users' thought processes, perceptions, and attitudes towards the pilot terminology service and to identify user requirements for developing a full-blown pilot terminology service

How Customer Engagement and Customer Participation Translate Across High-Involvement Purchases (Like Higher Education)

Previous research suggested that customer participation resulted in greater customer satisfaction for the service provider. Specifically, earlier research differentiated Service Customer Engagement (CE) from Service Customer Participation (CP), where the former was ideation and the latter was practical application/execution. In other words, CE was more psychological, where customers think, feel, and trust. Conversely, CP was more behavioral, or physical, where customers act and do. The point of this research is to translate previous learning to other high-involvement purchases. Research indicates that services high in credence, high contact, as well as high-involvement (Sharma and Patterson 1999) seem to be particularly relevant and responsive to customer participation and customer co-production of value (Plé, Lecocq, and Angot, 2010). This study works to translate learning from the service industry to higher education where the professor is service provider and the student is customer/co-producer. Three propositions are posited. Conclusions and future research are also discussed

Nitration of Substituted Phenols by Different Efficient Heterogeneous Systems

Nitration of substituted phenols were carried out by the mixture of sodium nitrite and wet SiO2 (50% w/w) in the presence of four different efficient heterogeneous systems: 1) oxalic acid dihydrate (I), 2) sodium hydrogen sulphate (II), 3) aluminum hydrogen sulphate (III) and 4) silica sulphuric acid (IV) in CH2Cl2 at room  temperature and high yields. Optimum conditions for theses systems and the regioselectivities of the reactions are reported.KEYWORDS: Nitration, nitrophenols, sodium nitrate, oxalic acid dihydrate, sodium hydrogen sulphate, aluminum hydrogen sulphate, silica sulphuric acid, wet SiO2

How Customer Engagement and Customer Participation Translate Across High-Involvement Purchases (Like Higher Education)

Previous research suggested that customer participation resulted in greater customer satisfaction for the service provider. Specifically, earlier research differentiated Service Customer Engagement (CE) from Service Customer Participation (CP), where the former was ideation and the latter was practical application/execution. In other words, CE was more psychological, where customers think, feel, and trust. Conversely, CP was more behavioral, or physical, where customers act and do. The point of this research is to translate previous learning to other high-involvement purchases. Research indicates that services high in credence, high contact, as well as high-involvement (Sharma and Patterson 1999) seem to be particularly relevant and responsive to customer participation and customer co-production of value (Plé, Lecocq, and Angot, 2010). This study works to translate learning from the service industry to higher education where the professor is service provider and the student is customer/co-producer. Three propositions are posited. Conclusions and future research are also discussed

Dimethyl Fumarate Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis, through the Activation of Nrf2-Mediated Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Pathways.

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation play critical roles in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). A previous study has demonstrated that dimethyl fumarate (DMF) protects mice from dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis via its potential antioxidant capacity, and by inhibiting the activation of the NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. This study aims to clarify the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant responsive element (Nrf2/ARE) pathway pharmacological activation and anti-inflammatory effect by DMF, through focusing on other crucial antioxidant enzymes and inflammatory mediator, including glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), in a DSS-induced colitis mouse model. The oral administration of DMF attenuated the shortening of colons and alleviated colonic inflammation. Furthermore, the expression of key antioxidant enzymes, including GCLC and GPX, in the colonic tissue were significantly increased by DMF administration. In addition, protein expression of the inflammatory mediator, COX-2, was reduced by DMF administration. Our results suggest that DMF alleviates DSS-induced colonic inflammatory damage, likely via up-regulating GCLC and GPX and down-regulating COX-2 protein expression in colonic tissue

Examining cognitive risk and protective factors involved in liability to depression

Major depressive disorder is characterized by emotion dysregulation and an imbalance between negative and positive affect. Cognitive impairments may underlie the difficulties with emotion regulation shown in depression. However, additional studies are needed to explore cognitive risk and protective factors for depression, especially with regard to cognitive processes involved in information processing that are assessed using performance based measures. This thesis explored three areas of cognitive processes that have been highlighted as potential risk and protective factors: executive functions, specificity of autobiographical memory and reward processing. These were examined with a focus on individuals at familial risk for depression. First, the protective role of executive functioning was explored for adolescent offspring of depressed parents. This examination found that in the presence of a current depressive episode in the parent, adolescents with better executive functions had fewer depressive symptoms. Second, specificity in retrieval of autobiographical memory was examined as a predictor of mental health resilience and social functioning in the same high risk sample. This revealed that impairment in retrieving specific memories was associated with lower mood resilience and poorer social functioning over time. Third, associations between reward learning behavior in a social context and indices of familial risk, anhedonia, depressive symptoms and social functioning were examined in a sample of young adult offspring of parents with and without a history of depression. The findings suggested that familial risk, anhedonia and social functioning were associated with specific patterns of reward learning behavior. Finally, due to a lack of measures evaluating reward processing in adolescents, particularly in a social context, I developed and validated a novel measure to assess sensitivity to social rewards in adolescents. Altogether, the findings presented in the thesis advance understanding of cognitive risk and protective factors in depression, especially in the context of individuals at familial risk for depression

SPEIR: Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research. Final Project Report: Elements and Future Development Requirements of a Common Information Environment for Scotland

The SPEIR (Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research) project was funded by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). It ran from February 2003 to September 2004, slightly longer than the 18 months originally scheduled and was managed by the Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR). With SLIC's agreement, community stakeholders were represented in the project by the Confederation of Scottish Mini-Cooperatives (CoSMiC), an organisation whose members include SLIC, the National Library of Scotland (NLS), the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU), the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), regional cooperatives such as the Ayrshire Libraries Forum (ALF)1, and representatives from the Museums and Archives communities in Scotland. Aims; A Common Information Environment For Scotland The aims of the project were to: o Conduct basic research into the distributed information infrastructure requirements of the Scottish Cultural Portal pilot and the public library CAIRNS integration proposal; o Develop associated pilot facilities by enhancing existing facilities or developing new ones; o Ensure that both infrastructure proposals and pilot facilities were sufficiently generic to be utilised in support of other portals developed by the Scottish information community; o Ensure the interoperability of infrastructural elements beyond Scotland through adherence to established or developing national and international standards. Since the Scottish information landscape is taken by CoSMiC members to encompass relevant activities in Archives, Libraries, Museums, and related domains, the project was, in essence, concerned with identifying, researching, and developing the elements of an internationally interoperable common information environment for Scotland, and of determining the best path for future progress

Pneumococcal disease : a systematic review of health utilities, resource use, costs, and economic evaluations of interventions

Background Pneumococcal diseases cause substantial mortality, morbidity, and economic burden. Evidence on data inputs for economic evaluations of interventions targeting pneumococcal disease is critical. Objectives To summarize evidence on resource use, costs, health utilities, and cost-effectiveness for pneumococcal disease and associated interventions to inform future economic analyses. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EconLit, and Cochrane databases for peer-reviewed studies in English on pneumococcal disease that reported health utilities using direct or indirect valuation methods, resource use, costs, or cost-effectiveness of intervention programs, and summarized the evidence descriptively. Results We included 383 studies: 9 reporting health utilities, 131 resource use, 160 economic costs of pneumococcal disease, 95 both resource use and costs, and 178 economic evaluations of pneumococcal intervention programs. Health state utility values ranged from 0 to 1 for both meningitis and otitis media and from 0.3 to 0.7 for both pneumonia and sepsis. Hospitalization was shortest for otitis media (range: 0.1-5 days) and longest for sepsis/septicemia (6-48). The main categories of costs reported were drugs, hospitalization, and household or employer costs. Resource use was reported in hospital length of stay and number of contacts with general practitioners. Costs and resource use significantly varied among population ages, disease conditions, and settings. Current vaccination programs for both adults and children, antibiotic use and outreach programs to promote vaccination, early disease detection, and educational programs are cost-effective in most countries. Conclusion This study has generated a comprehensive repository of health economic evidence on pneumococcal disease that can be used to inform future economic evaluations of pneumococcal disease intervention programs