What Have We Got to Lose? The Effect of Controlled Vocabulary on Keyword Searching Results

Using controlled vocabulary in the creation and searching of library catalogs has evoked much debate, because it is expensive to provide. Leading to this study were suggestions that because most users seem to search by keyword, subject headings could be removed from catalog records to save space and cost. This study asked, “What proportion of records retrieved by a keyword search has a keyword only in a subject heading field and thus would not be retrieved if there were no subject headings?” It was found that more than one third of records retrieved by successful keyword searches would be lost if subject headings were not present, and many individual cases exist in which 80%, 90%, and even 100% of the retrieved records would not be retrieved in the absence of subject headings

Still a Lot to Lose: The Role of Controlled Vocabulary in Keyword Searching

In their 2005 study, Gross and Taylor found that more than a third of records retrieved by keyword searches would be lost without subject headings. A review of the literature since then shows that numerous studies, in various disciplines, have found that a quarter to a third of records returned in a keyword search would be lost without controlled vocabulary. Other writers, though, have continued to suggest that controlled vocabulary be discontinued. Addressing criticisms of the Gross/Taylor study, this study replicates the search process in the same online catalog, but after the addition of automated enriched metadata such as tables of contents and summaries. The proportion of results that would be lost remains high

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Programmed death ligand-1 expression on donor T cells drives graft-versus-host disease lethality

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) interaction with PD-1 induces T cell exhaustion and is a therapeutic target to enhance immune responses against cancer and chronic infections. In murine bone marrow transplant models, PD-L1 expression on host target tissues reduces the incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). PD-L1 is also expressed on T cells; however, it is unclear whether PD-L1 on this population influences immune function. Here, we examined the effects of PD-L1 modulation of T cell function in GVHD. In patients with severe GVHD, PD-L1 expression was increased on donor T cells. Compared with mice that received WT T cells, GVHD was reduced in animals that received T cells from Pdl1–/– donors. PD-L1–deficient T cells had reduced expression of gut homing receptors, diminished production of inflammatory cytokines, and enhanced rates of apoptosis. Moreover, multiple bioenergetic pathways, including aerobic glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and fatty acid metabolism, were also reduced in T cells lacking PD-L1. Finally, the reduction of acute GVHD lethality in mice that received Pdl1–/– donor cells did not affect graft-versus-leukemia responses. These data demonstrate that PD-L1 selectively enhances T cell–mediated immune responses, suggesting a context-dependent function of the PD-1/PD-L1 axis, and suggest selective inhibition of PD-L1 on donor T cells as a potential strategy to prevent or ameliorate GVHD

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Teaching Authority Control [English version presented at the International Conference] = L’insegnamento dell’authority control [Versione italiana presentata alla Conferenza internazionale]

I believe we can say that the teaching of authority control in schools of library and information science is alive and well, even though it is not perceived this way by some former students. Many professors are fervently attempting to imbue the next generation of librarians with an understanding of the necessity for authority control. Unfortunately, they have to fight the nonunderstanding of colleagues, the lack of course time to be as thorough as desired, and the perception that information technology is uppermost in importance among courses to be taught. However, because the chaotic environment of the Web has brought attention to the need for authority control (e.g., the "semantic web"), we have a new opportunity to teach these concepts to a new generation of information professionals

The organization of information

A basic textbook for students of library and information studies, and a guide for practicing school library media specialists. Describes the impact of global forces and the school district on the development and operation of a media center, the technical and human side of management, programmatic activities, supportive services to students, and the quality and quantity of resources available to support programs.xxvii, 417 p. : ill. ; 27 cm

The organization of information

A basic textbook for students of library and information studies, and a guide for practicing school library media specialists. Describes the impact of global forces and the school district on the development and operation of a media center, the technical and human side of management, programmatic activities, supportive services to students, and the quality and quantity of resources available to support programs.xxvii, 417 p. : ill. ; 27 cm

Introduction to cataloging and classification

part I, introduction, includes chapters on the cataloging process, and the history of cataloging codes. Part II introduces electronic formatting with a chapter introducing the MARC bibliographic format. Part III we have continued the conceptual shift in description of resources that we put in place in the ninth edition.xviii, 589 hlm.; 22,5 cm