Because I Said So: Ten Tips for Finding Volunteers and Keeping Them Happy

Volunteers, interns and student workers are indispensable at local museums and archives in achieving their yearly goals. Teaching and managing the occasional quirks of this important group of people is as important as knowing how to sew a tag on an artifact. “Because I Said So” will provide ideas for how to work with volunteers of all ages doing collections management and archival tasks without tearing out your hair, or ruining any artifacts

Making Do With What You\u27ve Got: Improving Your Collections Storage Now

Don’t wait until that inventory grant money comes through, get started improving your collection storage today using things you have right now or can get without breaking the bank or begging the board! Come ready to share your ideas as well as learn from your presenters and colleagues in this informal discussion-style session. Attendees will leave the session with easily implemented and inexpensive ideas for storing, displaying, and rehousing objects of all shapes, sizes and materials

Telemonitoring for Seniors with Chronic Heart Failure: Patient Self-Care, Empowerment, and Adoption Factors

Telemonitoring (TM) represents a promising technology for the management of chronic diseases. It is of particular relevance to senior patients with heart failure (HF) condition. This study employs a longitudinal design, and involves three surveys of elderly HF patients (n=23) administered one week, three months, and six months after system adoption. The main constructs were assessed based on existing validated scales. The results show that senior patients perceived value in using TM, did not expect the technology to be difficult to use, and did not encounter barriers to adoption. The analysis of impacts on self-care revealed significant positive effects of TM on the confidence of senior patients in their self-care ability to evaluate their symptoms, address them, and evaluate the effectiveness of the measures they take. Significant positive effects were also observed on two measures of treatment implementation. TM may be leveraged to improve senior patients’ self-care skills, which will benefit their health condition

Identification Of A Regionally Coherent Subseasonal Signal Of Stable Isotopes In Tropical Andean Precipitation

Limited observations and the lack of comprehensive understanding of the controls on the isotopic content of precipitation severely limit paleoclimate reconstructions in the outer tropical Andes. This study examines four years of daily observations of stable isotopes in precipitation from ten sites in southern Peru and northern Bolivia and focuses on understanding the controls on the subseasonal spatiotemporal variability in isotopes during the wet season. These data provide new insights into modern isotope variability at high spatial and temporal scales. We identify a robust, regionally coherent subseasonal signal of isotopes in precipitation that occurs each year with a periodicity of around 15 days. This signal reflects variability in precipitation delivery driven by synoptic conditions, and closely relates to variations in the strength and direction of the South American Low Level Jet and moisture availability directly to the east of the Altiplano. Annual layer snowpacks on high Andean glaciers retain this subseasonal signal, allowing the development of snow-pit age models based on precipitation isotope measurements and demonstrating that region-wide synoptic signals are recorded in the snow. This result has implications for improving paleoclimate reconstructions from tropical Andean ice cores and other paleoclimate records

Using more healthcare areas for placements

The need for private, voluntary and independent placements in nursing programmes has become more important in recent years due to changes in where health services are delivered. These placements can be used effectively within nursing programmes to show students the realities of healthcare, and to challenge myths and attitudes. Dedicated time and resources need to be provided to discover and maintain these placements, and to ensure appropriate, high-quality learning opportunities. This article presents the findings of a national Higher Education Academy workshop, held at the University of Derby in November 2012. It explores three key issues discussed at the workshop: current practice and opportunities for learning; myths, attitudes and solutions; and maintaining the quality of placements. The use of PVI placements is seen as valuable and a set of recommendations are provided to assist in their use

Space Environment Effects on the Electron Yields of LDEF Thermal Control Coatings

Space-environment-induced degradation of white thermal control coatings from the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was investigated. Much of the exterior of the LDEF was painted with a white thermal control coating, Aeroglaze A276; and most of the interior was coated with a black thermal control coating, Aeroglaze Z306. Outgassing from these coatings and other LDEF materials interacted with the white surface when exposed to sunlight after volatile materials condensed on the LDEF surfaces. Surface morphology was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopies. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to identify the chemical compounds and elements present in the contamination film. Many material properties were modified due to the prolonged approximately six year low-Earth-orbit exposure, but electron yield (EY) was the focus of this study due to its dominance in spacecraft charging. Measurements showed an increase in maximum EY with increased contamination, with the maximum EY more than doubling in some cases. The NASA Charging Analyzer Program simulations for simplified models of the LDEF showed the impact of the degradation on spacecraft charging under different environmental conditions; equilibrium surface potentials varied by more than 100% in some cases

Cloning, Expression, and Purification of a Nitric Oxide Synthase-Like Protein from Bacillus cereus

The nitric oxide synthase-like protein from Bacillus cereus (bcNOS) has been cloned, expressed, and characterized. This small hemeprotein (356 amino acids in length) has a mass of 43 kDa and forms a dimer. The recombinant protein showed similar spectral shifts to the mammalian NOS proteins and could bind the substrates L-arginine and NG-hydroxy-L-arginine as well as the ligand imidazole. Low levels of activity were recorded for the hydrogen peroxide-dependent oxidation of NG-hydroxy-L-arginine and L-arginine by bcNOS, while a reconstituted system with the rat neuronal NOS reductase domain showed no activity. The recombinant bcNOS protein adds to the complement of bacterial NOS-like proteins that are used for the investigation of the mechanism and function of NO in microorganisms

Exploring Whether the Electronic Optimization of Routine Health Assessments Can Increase Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections and Provider Acceptability at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service: Mixed Methods Evaluation

BACKGROUND: In the context of a syphilis outbreak in neighboring states, a multifaceted systems change to increase testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young Aboriginal people aged 15 to 29 years was implemented at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) in New South Wales, Australia. The components included electronic medical record prompts and automated pathology test sets to increase STI testing in annual routine health assessments, the credentialing of nurses and Aboriginal health practitioners to conduct STI tests independently, pathology request forms presigned by a physician, and improved data reporting. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether the systems change increased the integration of STI testing into routine health assessments by clinicians between April 2019 and March 2020, the inclusion of syphilis tests in STI testing, and STI testing uptake overall. We also explored the understandings of factors contributing to the acceptability and normalization of the systems change among staff. METHODS: We used a mixed methods design to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of the systems change implemented in 2019. We calculated the annual proportion of health assessments that included tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, as well as an internal control (blood glucose level). We conducted an interrupted time series analysis of quarterly proportions 24 months before and 12 months after the systems change and in-depth semistructured interviews with ACCHS staff using normalization process theory. RESULTS: Among 2461 patients, the annual proportion of health assessments that included any STI test increased from 16% (38/237) in the first year of the study period to 42.9% (94/219) after the implementation of the systems change. There was an immediate and large increase when the systems change occurred (coefficient=0.22; P=.003) with no decline for 12 months thereafter. The increase was greater for male individuals, with no change for the internal control. Qualitative data indicated that nurse- and Aboriginal health practitioner-led testing and presigned pathology forms proved more difficult to normalize than electronic prompts and shortcuts. The interviews identified that staff understood the modifications to have encouraged cultural change around the role of sexual health care in routine practice. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for the first time that optimizing health assessments electronically is an effective and acceptable strategy to increase and sustain clinician integration and the completeness of STI testing among young Aboriginal people attending an ACCHS. Future strategies should focus on increasing the uptake of health assessments and promote whole-of-service engagement and accountability

Integrating testing for sexually transmissible infections into annual health assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people: a cross-sectional analysis

Background In the context of an expanding syphilis epidemic, we assessed the integration of sexually transmissible infection (STI) testing within annual health assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people aged 16–29 years in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services between 2018 and 2020. Methods Using routinely collected electronic medical record data from a national sentinel surveillance system (ATLAS), we performed a cross-sectional analysis to calculate the proportion of assessments that integrated any or all of the tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and HIV. We used logistic regression to identify correlates of integration of any STI test. Results Of the13 892 assessments, 23.8% (95% CI 23.1, 24.6) integrated a test for any STI and 11.5% (95% CI 10.9, 12.0) included all four STIs. Of assessments that included a chlamydia/gonorrhoea test, 66.9% concurrently included a syphilis test. Integration of any STI test was associated with patients aged 20–24 years (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.4) and 25–29 years (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0–1.2) compared to 16–19 years and patients residing in very remote (OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.7–4.8), remote (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.1–2.8), and regional areas (OR 2.5, 95% CI 2.2–2.8) compared to metropolitan areas. There was no association with patient sex. Conclusions Integration of STI testing into annual health assessments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people was higher in remote areas where disease burden is greatest. Integration is similar in men and women, which contrasts with most studies that have found higher testing in women

Open educational resources: Barriers and benefits in LIS education

Around the world, the cost of textbooks is prohibitive for aspiring scholars. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2016) indicates college textbook prices rose 88% between 2006 and 2016, approximately triple the rate of the Consumer Price Index (27%). Open Educational Resources (OER) can mitigate the textbook affordability problem and encourage student learning and success. This research explores benefits and barriers to OER and the OER use practice in LIS education, covering international trends and issues. Data regarding seven commonly-used English-language OER development platforms are discussed to inform professors’ creation and adoption of OER in LIS or cognate disciplines