Librarians as Partners: Moving from Research Supporters to Research Partners

Academic libraries have long been discussing the need to remain relevant and demonstrate value to their institutions. This paper explores how academic libraries can expand the concept of embedded librarianship to create research partnerships at universities. Such partnerships will enhance value to the institutional research output, as well as increase the visibility of unique librarian skills and library resources. Using a case study from a public research I university, the author discusses innovative roles for librarians on research teams. Embedding academic librarians fully into the research enterprise recognizes the significant contributions that librarians can make as research partners.National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Researc

Examining the Relationship between Parental Educational Expectations and a Community-Based Children’s Savings Account Program

Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program and parents’ educational expectations for their children. We examine survey data collected as part of the rollout and implementation of The Promise Indiana CSA program. Although results differ by parental income and education, results using the full sample suggest that parents are more likely to expect their elementary school-age children to attend college if they have a 529 account or were exposed to the additional aspects of the Promise Indiana program (i.e., the marketing campaign, college and career classroom activities, information about engaging champions, trip to a University, and the opportunity to enroll into The Promise). Parents who were both exposed to the additional aspects of the Promise Indiana program and have a 529 account are over three times more likely to expect their child to attend college than others, increasing to 13 times more likely among parents with no college education. Overall, results suggest a community-based CSA program – Promise Indiana – is associated with nontrivial benefits for families

Critical Issues for Psychiatric Medication Shared Decision Making With Youth and Families

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4135The primary aims of this article are to describe the current context for youth shared decision making (SDM) within the U.S. children’s mental health system and to identify important considerations for the development of this approach as a research and service domain. The notion is substantiated in the literature that participation in treatment decisions can prepare youth for making their own decisions as adults, can be therapeutic, and can have positive effects on their self-confidence and self-esteem. Still, the complex youth–family–provider dynamic raises important issues that need to be addressed before SDM can be successfully implemented

Ibrutinib inhibits BTK-driven NF-κB p65 activity to overcome bortezomib-resistance in multiple myeloma

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a haematologic malignancy characterized by the accumulation of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow. Over the last 10-15 y the introduction of the proteasome-inhibitor bortezomib has improved MM prognosis, however relapse due to bortezomib-resistance is inevitable and the disease, at present, remains incurable. To model bortezomib-resistant MM we generated bortezomib-resistant MM cell lines (n = 4 ) and utilised primary malignant plasma cells from patients relapsing after bortezomib treatment (n = 6 ). We identified enhanced Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) activity in bortezomib-resistant MM cells and found that inhibition of BTK, either pharmacologically with ibrutinib (0.5 μM) or via lenti-viral miRNA-targeted BTK interference, re-sensitized previously bortezomib-resistant MM cells to further bortezomib therapy at a physiologically relevant concentration (5 nM). Further analysis of pro-survival signaling revealed a role for the NF-κB p65 subunit in MM bortezomib-resistance, thus a combination of BTK and NF-κB p65 inhibition, either pharmacologically or via further lenti-viral miRNA NF-κB p65 interference, also restored sensitivity to bortezomib, significantly reducing cell viability (37.5 ± 6 .9 %, ANOVA P ≤ 0 .001). Accordingly, we propose the clinical evaluation of a bortezomib/ibrutinib combination therapy, including in patients resistant to single-agent bortezomib

Attitudes of healthcare workers in U.S. hospitals regarding smallpox vaccination

BACKGROUND: The United States is implementing plans to immunize 500,000 hospital-based healthcare workers against smallpox. Vaccination is voluntary, and it is unknown what factors drive vaccine acceptance. This study's aims were to estimate the proportion of workers willing to accept vaccination and to identify factors likely to influence their decisions. METHODS: The survey was conducted among physicians, nurses, and others working primarily in emergency departments or intensive care units at 21 acute-care hospitals in 10 states during the two weeks before the U.S. national immunization program for healthcare workers was announced in December 2002. Of the questionnaires distributed, 1,165 were returned, for a response rate of 81%. The data were analyzed by logistic regression and were adjusted for clustering within hospital and for different number of responses per hospital, using generalized linear mixed models and SAS's NLMIXED procedure. RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of respondents said they would definitely or probably be vaccinated, while 39% were undecided or inclined against it. Fifty-three percent rated the risk of a bioterrorist attack using smallpox in the United States in the next two years as either intermediate or high. Forty-seven percent did not feel well-informed about the risks and benefits of vaccination. Principal concerns were adverse reactions and the risk of transmitting vaccinia. In multivariate analysis, four variables were associated with willingness to be vaccinated: perceived risk of an attack, self-assessed knowledge about smallpox vaccination, self-assessed previous smallpox vaccination status, and gender. CONCLUSIONS: The success of smallpox vaccination efforts will ultimately depend on the relative weight in people's minds of the risk of vaccine adverse events compared with the risk of being exposed to the disease. Although more than half of the respondents thought the likelihood of a bioterrorist smallpox attack was intermediate or high, less than 10% of the group slated for vaccination has actually accepted it at this time. Unless new information about the threat of a smallpox attack becomes available, healthcare workers' perceptions of the vaccine's risks will likely continue to drive their ongoing decisions about smallpox vaccination

Can modeling of HIV treatment processes improve outcomes? Capitalizing on an operations research approach to the global pandemic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mathematical modeling has been applied to a range of policy-level decisions on resource allocation for HIV care and treatment. We describe the application of classic operations research (OR) techniques to address logistical and resource management challenges in HIV treatment scale-up activities in resource-limited countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We review and categorize several of the major logistical and operational problems encountered over the last decade in the global scale-up of HIV care and antiretroviral treatment for people with AIDS. While there are unique features of HIV care and treatment that pose significant challenges to effective modeling and service improvement, we identify several analogous OR-based solutions that have been developed in the service, industrial, and health sectors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HIV treatment scale-up includes many processes that are amenable to mathematical and simulation modeling, including forecasting future demand for services; locating and sizing facilities for maximal efficiency; and determining optimal staffing levels at clinical centers. Optimization of clinical and logistical processes through modeling may improve outcomes, but successful OR-based interventions will require contextualization of response strategies, including appreciation of both existing health care systems and limitations in local health workforces.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The modeling techniques developed in the engineering field of operations research have wide potential application to the variety of logistical problems encountered in HIV treatment scale-up in resource-limited settings. Increasing the number of cross-disciplinary collaborations between engineering and public health will help speed the appropriate development and application of these tools.</p

A cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of environmental tobacco smoke preventive care provision by child health services in Australia

Background: Despite the need for a reduction in levels of childhood exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) being a recognised public health goal, the delivery of ETS preventive care in child health service settings remains a largely unstudied area. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of ETS preventive care in child health services; differences in the provision of care by type of service; the prevalence of strategies to support such care; and the association between care support strategies and care provision. Method: One-hundred and fifty-one (83%) child health service managers within New South Wales, Australia completed a questionnaire in 2002 regarding the: assessment of parental smoking and child ETS exposure; the provision of parental smoking cessation and ETS-exposure reduction advice; and strategies used to support the provision of such care. Child health services were categorised based on their size and case-mix, and a chi-square analysis was performed to compare the prevalence of ETS risk assessment and ETS prevention advice between service types. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between the existence of care support strategies and the provision of ETS risk assessment and ETS exposure prevention advice. Results: A significant proportion of services reported that they did not assess parental smoking status (26%), and reported that they did not assess the ETS exposure (78%) of any child. Forty four percent of services reported that they did not provide smoking cessation advice and 20% reported they did not provide ETS exposure prevention advice. Community based child and family health services reported a greater prevalence of ETS preventive care compared to other hospital based units. Less than half of the services reported having strategies to support the provision of ETS preventive care. The existence of such support strategies was associated with greater odds of care provision. Conclusions: The existence of major gaps in recommended ETS preventive care provision suggests a need for additional initiatives to increase such care delivery. The low prevalence of strategies that support such care delivery suggests a potential avenue to achieve this outcome

Detecting Instability in Animal Social Networks: Genetic Fragmentation Is Associated with Social Instability in Rhesus Macaques

The persistence of biological systems requires evolved mechanisms which promote stability. Cohesive primate social groups are one example of stable biological systems, which persist in spite of regular conflict. We suggest that genetic relatedness and its associated kinship structure are a potential source of stability in primate social groups as kinship structure is an important organizing principle in many animal societies. We investigated the effect of average genetic relatedness per matrilineal family on the stability of matrilineal grooming and agonistic interactions in 48 matrilines from seven captive groups of rhesus macaques. Matrilines with low average genetic relatedness show increased family-level instability such as: more sub-grouping in their matrilineal groom network, more frequent fighting with kin, and higher rates of wounding. Family-level instability in multiple matrilines within a group is further associated with group-level instability such as increased wounding. Stability appears to arise from the presence of clear matrilineal structure in the rhesus macaque group hierarchy, which is derived from cohesion among kin in their affiliative and agonistic interactions with each other. We conclude that genetic relatedness and kinship structure are an important source of group stability in animal societies, particularly when dominance and/or affilative interactions are typically governed by kinship

VERITAS discovery of very high energy gamma-ray emission from S3 1227+25 and multiwavelength observations

We report the detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the blazar S3 1227+25 (VER J1230+253) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). VERITAS observations of the source were triggered by the detection of a hard-spectrum GeV flare on May 15, 2015 with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). A combined five-hour VERITAS exposure on May 16th and May 18th resulted in a strong 13$\sigma$ detection with a differential photon spectral index, $\Gamma$ = 3.8 $\pm$ 0.4, and a flux level at 9% of the Crab Nebula above 120 GeV. This also triggered target of opportunity observations with Swift, optical photometry, polarimetry and radio measurements, also presented in this work, in addition to the VERITAS and Fermi-LAT data. A temporal analysis of the gamma-ray flux during this period finds evidence of a shortest variability timescale of $\tau_{obs}$ = 6.2 $\pm$ 0.9 hours, indicating emission from compact regions within the jet, and the combined gamma-ray spectrum shows no strong evidence of a spectral cut-off. An investigation into correlations between the multiwavelength observations found evidence of optical and gamma-ray correlations, suggesting a single-zone model of emission. Finally, the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution is well described by a simple one-zone leptonic synchrotron self-Compton radiation model.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ