Library impact, value and marketing: how do they fit together?

This article explores where marketing fits with the process of identifying and capturing the impact of libraries and demonstrating library value. It considers whether having a clear concept of marketing is useful in practice. Drawing on Value and Impact work in healthcare libraries it concludes that adopting marketing as a strategic management process may help make work capturing impact and demonstrating value become mainstream

ICT – a modern solution to the science teaching equation?

Outlines the progress made by a trainee teacher during her Post Graduate Certificate of Education year; from someone who was initially nervous of using the Internet to someone who could confidently use the resource both inside and outside the classroom to support her teaching

Directed Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis of alpha-Conotoxin MII

Conotoxins—short, disulfide-rich peptides found in the venom of cone snails—exhibit unprecedented receptor binding selectivity. α-Conotoxin MII (α-CTxMII) targets the α3β2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) isoform; studying the interaction of this peptide with nAChRs provides an understanding of binding determinants that may benefit therapeutic development for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Linear peptide was synthesized on solid support RINK resin by automated peptide synthesis followed by cleavage from resin and subsequent oxidative folding to form disulfide bridges. Mass spectral analysis validated proper synthesis and initial fold formation. QTOF-MS (m/z): [M + H]+ calculated for α-CTxMII, 1856.8; found, 928.9, 619.6 which correspond to the doubly and triply charged molecular ions. Next the peptide will be purified by chromatography and again verified using mass spectrometry. Finished product will be used to validate the applicability of PC-12 cells for expression of α3β2-nAChRs

The Energy System Challenge... Supply & Demand Working Together : A Demand-Side Energy Trilemma

The well known Energy Trilemma provides a useful framework for considering the three main broad objectives of energy policy, and the trade-offs involved in trying to address them all. It is however inherently supply focused with attention focused on what energy industry can do. What is missing is a focus on the individual needs and choices that form the demand side of the energy problem. We therefore propose the introduction of a demand side trilemma, which considers and illustrates the main drivers of the consumers' decisions regarding energy consumption

'I think it does just opens it up and ... you're not hiding it anymore': Trainee clinical psychologists' experiences of self-disclosing mental health difficulties

Self-disclosure of experiences of mental health difficulties is a complex process, particularly within the workplace. Research shows that a significant number of trainee clinical psychologists have lived experience of mental health difficulties and thus face the dilemma of whether to disclose and how to manage self-disclosure during doctoral training. Grounded theory methodology was used to explore trainee experiences of self-disclosure of mental health difficulties during training. Twelve trainee clinical psychologists from accredited doctoral programmes in the United Kingdom participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of disclosure. Six core categories emerged relating to ‘motivations’, ‘enablers’, ‘barriers’, ‘features of disclosure’, ‘responses’ and ‘impact’, each of which were comprised of several further sub-categories. The model that emerged is largely consistent with research on disclosure in healthcare professions and has implications for training programmes, supervisors and trainees when engaging in conversations about lived experience

High Passage MIN6 Cells Have Impaired Insulin Secretion with Impaired Glucose and Lipid Oxidation

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by the inability of beta-cells to secrete enough insulin to maintain glucose homeostasis. MIN6 cells secrete insulin in response to glucose and other secretagogues, but high passage (HP) MIN6 cells lose their ability to secrete insulin in response to glucose. We hypothesized that metabolism of glucose and lipids were defective in HP MIN6 cells causing impaired glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). HP MIN6 cells had no first phase and impaired second phase GSIS indicative of global functional impairment. This was coupled with a markedly reduced ATP content at basal and glucose stimulated states. Glucose uptake and oxidation were higher at basal glucose but ATP content failed to increase with glucose. HP MIN6 cells had decreased basal lipid oxidation. This was accompanied by reduced expressions of Glut1, Gck, Pfk, Srebp1c, Ucp2, Sirt3, Nampt. MIN6 cells represent an important model of beta cells which, as passage numbers increased lost first phase but retained partial second phase GSIS, similar to patients early in type 2 diabetes onset. We believe a number of gene expression changes occurred to produce this defect, with emphasis on Sirt3 and Nampt, two genes that have been implicated in maintenance of glucose homeostasis.These authors have no support or funding to report

Exploring patients' treatment journeys following randomisation in mental health trials to improve future trial conduct:a synthesis of multiple qualitative data sets

Abstract Background The way in which pragmatic trials are designed suggests that there are differences between the experiences of participants randomised to usual care and intervention arms. These potential differences relate not only to which treatment participants receive but also how they access and engage with their allocated treatment. Such differences could affect trial results. The aim of this study was to assess whether such differences exist and, if they do, to consider their implications for the design of future trials. Methods Interview transcripts were sampled from data sets gathered during three qualitative studies, all of which had been nested within large, primary care depression trials. Each study had explored trial participants’ views and experiences of treatments received following randomisation. Transcripts from 37 participants were purposefully sampled, 20 of which were from interviews held with individuals allocated to receive usual GP care. Data were analysed thematically. Results There was evidence of differences between trial arms across all three data sets. Intervention participants were willing and able to engage with the treatment to which they had been allocated. Randomisation had led to them embarking upon a clear treatment pathway and receiving care in a context where they felt comfortable discussing their mental health and had sufficient time to do so. Intervention participants also had continuity with and confidence in the practitioners they saw. A few usual-care participants talked about having continuity with and confidence in their GPs. However, most of the usual-care participants reported a reluctance to consult GPs about mental health, difficulties in securing treatment appointments, and little or no changes in care following randomisation. Additionally, most reported a lack of continuity of care and a lack confidence in the treatment available to them. Conclusions There are important differences between usual-care and intervention arms that go beyond treatment received, and they relate to how participants experience accessing and engaging with their allocated care. As these differences could affect trial results, researchers may want to measure or reduce them in order to fully appreciate or control for the range of factors that might affect treatment outcomes