Iowa Public Library Statistics, July 2005-June 2006

The 2005-2006 (FY06) edition of Iowa Public Library Statistics includes information on income, expenditures, collections, circulation, and other measures, including staff. Each section is arranged by size code, then alphabetically by city. The totals and percentiles for each size code grouping are given immediately following the alphabetical listings. Totals for all reporting libraries are given at the end of each section. There are 542 libraries included in this publication; 10 did not report. The Table of Cities and Size Codes lists the libraries alphabetically and gives their size codes. The table allows a user of this publication to locate information about a specific library. The following table lists the size code designations, the population range in each size code, the number of libraries reporting in each size code, and the total population of the reporting libraries in each size code. The total population of the 542 libraries is 2,243,396. Population data is used to determine per capita figures used throughout the publication.

Towards storage and access of electronic theses: A proposal of its organisation for the Consortium of Catalan Libraries

Els objectius d'aquest informe són realitzar un estudi de la tècnica en la digitalització, l'emmagatzematge i l'accés a les tesis doctorals electròniques, per tal de fer una proposta d’organització al Consorci de Biblioteques Universitàries de Catalunya (CBUC). Actualment, tot i que existeixen diverses iniciatives a Europa, és als EUA on la digitalització de tesis doctorals s’ha desenvolupat més amb la creació de la Networked Digital Library for Theses and Dissertation (NDLTD), i ha estat qui ha definit els estàndards en aquest camp. En el següent informe es planteja i es recomana al CBUC l’adhesió institucional a l’NDLTD per poder gaudir de la seva experiència.

Cyberhealth serving to support individual intake of medication.

The Internet and new communication technologies are deeply affecting healthcare systems and the provision of care. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the possibility that cyberhealth, via the development of widespread easy access to wireless personal computers, tablets and smartphones, can effectively influence intake of medication and long-term medication adherence, which is a complex, difficult and dynamic behaviour to adopt and to sustain over time. Because of its novelty, the impact of cyberhealth on drug intake has not yet been well explored. Initial results have provided some evidence, but more research is needed to determine the impact of cyberhealth resources on long-term adherence and health outcomes, its user-friendliness and its adequacy in meeting e-patient needs. The purpose of such Internet-based interventions, which provide different levels of customisation, is not to take over the roles of healthcare providers; on the contrary, cyberhealth platforms should reinforce the alliance between healthcare providers and patients by filling time-gaps between visits and allowing patients to upload and/or share feedback material to be used during the visits. This shift, however, is not easily endorsed by healthcare providers, who must master new eHealth skills, but healthcare systems have a unique opportunity to invest in the Internet and to use this powerful tool to design the future of integrated care. Before this can occur, however, important issues must be addressed and resolved, for example ethical considerations, the scientific quality of programmes, reimbursement of activity, data security and the ownership of uploaded data.

New reference tables and user-friendly Internet application for predicted heart weights.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of normal heart weight ranges is important information for pathologists. Comparing the measured heart weight to reference values is one of the key elements used to determine if the heart is pathological, as heart weight increases in many cardiac pathologies. The current reference tables are old and in need of an update. AIMS: The purposes of this study are to establish new reference tables for normal heart weights in the local population and to determine the best predictive factor for normal heart weight. We also aim to provide technical support to calculate the predictive normal heart weight. METHODS: The reference values are based on retrospective analysis of adult Caucasian autopsy cases without any obvious pathology that were collected at the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne from 2007 to 2011. We selected 288 cases. The mean age was 39.2 years. There were 118 men and 170 women. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship of heart weight to body weight, body height, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA). RESULTS: The heart weight increased along with an increase in all the parameters studied. The mean heart weight was greater in men than in women at a similar body weight. BSA was determined to be the best predictor for normal heart weight. New reference tables for predicted heart weights are presented as a web application that enable the comparison of heart weights observed at autopsy with the reference values. CONCLUSIONS: The reference tables for heart weight and other organs should be systematically updated and adapted for the local population. Web access and smartphone applications for the predicted heart weight represent important investigational tools.

State Library of Iowa Strategic Plan FY08-FY11

Mission: The State Library advocates for Iowa libraries & promotes excellence & innovation in library services in order to provide statewide access to information for all Iowans.

Electronic journals, scholarly communication and libraries

The recent surge in scientific electronic journals began when libraries began having access to the WWW in the mid-1990s. The shift from paper to digital has affected the traditional alignment and role of the primary "stakeholders" -mainly authors, publishers, universities and libraries. The author offers a brief review of the history of the scholarly journal followed by the evolution of e-journals in during the past two decades. The article then focuses on the implications that these have had on traditional library processes and services such as selection, acquisitions, cataloguing, storage, preservation and user services. In the conclusion the author speculates on the long term effect of Web-based publishing on the format of the traditional scholarly journal as it has existed for over 300 years.

Automated scoring of AFLPs using RawGeno v 2.0, a free R CRAN library.

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) are a cheap and efficient protocol for generating large sets of genetic markers. This technique has become increasingly used during the last decade in various fields of biology, including population genomics, phylogeography, and genome mapping. Here, we present RawGeno, an R library dedicated to the automated scoring of AFLPs (i.e., the coding of electropherogram signals into ready-to-use datasets). Our program includes a complete suite of tools for binning, editing, visualizing, and exporting results obtained from AFLP experiments. RawGeno can either be used with command lines and program analysis routines or through a user-friendly graphical user interface. We describe the whole RawGeno pipeline along with recommendations for (a) setting the analysis of electropherograms in combination with PeakScanner, a program freely distributed by Applied Biosystems; (b) performing quality checks; (c) defining bins and proceeding to scoring; (d) filtering nonoptimal bins; and (e) exporting results in different formats.

Building the future: the Brazilian university library in 2010

Information technology will affect academic activities as well as the nature of the high education sector. This sector besides the need to assimilate these technologies will need to attend the requisites of market globalization and, as consequence, all theses changes will be reflected in the university library. Prospectives impacts will affect the structure (emphasis in user services, outsourcing of several services), in the financing aspect (growing of consortia in order to reduce costs), in services (electronic reference, support to long distance education programs, intelligent agents) and in the clientele (attending the great demand por high education which implies a diversity of people).

ETDs, NDLTD, and open access: a 5S perspective

Worldwide initiatives toward digital library (DL) support for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), facilitated by the work of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), are a key part of the move toward open access. When all graduate students learn to use openly available ETDs, and have experience with authoring and submission in connection with their own research results, it will be easy for them to continue these efforts through other contributions to open access. When all universities support ETD activities, they will be key participants in institutional repositories and open access, and will have engaged in discussion and infrastructure development supportive of further open access activities. Understanding of open access also can be facilitated through modeling of all of these efforts using the 5S framework, considering the key aspects of DL development: Societies, Scenarios, Spaces, Structures, and Streams.

Constructability in the Bridge Design Process, HR-320, 1991

In the United States many bridge structures have been designed without consideration for their unique construction problems. Many problems could have been avoided if construction knowledge and experience was utilized in the design process. A systematic process is needed to create and capture construction knowledge for use in the design process. This study was conducted to develop a system to capture construction considerations from field people and incorporate it into a knowledge-base for use by the bridge designers. This report presents the results of this study. As a part of this study a microcomputer-based constructability system has been developed. The system is a user-friendly microcomputer database which codifies construction knowledge, provides easy access to specifications, and provides simple design computation checks for the designer. A structure for the final database was developed and used in the prototype system. A process for collecting, developing and maintaining the database is presented and explained. The study involved a constructability survey, interviews with designers and constructors, and visits to construction sites to collect constuctability concepts. The report describes the development of the constructability system and addresses the future needs for the Iowa Department of Transportation to make the system operational. A user's manual for the system is included along with the report.

Liability and Traffic Control Considerations for Low Water Stream Crossings, HR-218, 1981

The current shortage of highway funds precludes the immediate replacement of most of the bridges that have been evaluated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete or both. A low water stream crossing (LWSC) affords an economical alternative to the replacement of a bridge with another bridge in many instances. However, the potential liability that might be incurred from the use of LWSCs has served as a deterrent to their use. Nor have guidelines for traffic control devices been developed for specific application to LWSCs. This research addressed the problems of liability and traffic control associated with the use of LWSCs. Input to the findings from this research was provided by several persons contacted by telephone plus 189 persons who responded to a questionnaire concerning their experience with LWSCs. It was concluded from this research that a significant potential for accidents and liability claims could result from the use of LWSCs. However, it was also concluded that this liability could be reduced to within acceptable limits if adequate warning of the presence of an LWSC were afforded to road users. The potential for accidents and liability could further be reduced if vehicular passage over an LWSC were precluded during periods when the road was flooded. Under these conditions, it is believed, the potential for liability from the use of an LWSC on an unpaved, rural road would be even less than that resulting from the continuing use of an inadequate bridge. The signs recommended for use in advance of an LWSC include two warning signs and one regulatory sign with legends as follows: FLOOD AREA AHEAD, IMPASSABLE DURING HIGH WATER, DO NOT ENTER WHEN FLOODED. Use of the regulatory sign would require an appropriate resolution by the Board of Supervisors having responsibility for a county road. Other recommendations include the optional use of either a supple mental distance advisory plate or an advisory speed plate, or both, under circumstances where these may be needed. It was also recommended HR-218 Liability & Traffic Control Considerations for Low Water Stream Crossings that LWSCs be used only on unpaved roads and that they not be used in locations where flooding of an LWSC would deprive dwelling places of emergency ground access.

New reference tables and user-friendly Internet application for predicted heart weights.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of normal heart weight ranges is important information for pathologists. Comparing the measured heart weight to reference values is one of the key elements used to determine if the heart is pathological, as heart weight increases in many cardiac pathologies. The current reference tables are old and in need of an update. AIMS: The purposes of this study are to establish new reference tables for normal heart weights in the local population and to determine the best predictive factor for normal heart weight. We also aim to provide technical support to calculate the predictive normal heart weight. METHODS: The reference values are based on retrospective analysis of adult Caucasian autopsy cases without any obvious pathology that were collected at the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne from 2007 to 2011. We selected 288 cases. The mean age was 39.2 years. There were 118 men and 170 women. Regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship of heart weight to body weight, body height, body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA). RESULTS: The heart weight increased along with an increase in all the parameters studied. The mean heart weight was greater in men than in women at a similar body weight. BSA was determined to be the best predictor for normal heart weight. New reference tables for predicted heart weights are presented as a web application that enable the comparison of heart weights observed at autopsy with the reference values. CONCLUSIONS: The reference tables for heart weight and other organs should be systematically updated and adapted for the local population. Web access and smartphone applications for the predicted heart weight represent important investigational tools.

Browsing a component library using Non-functional Information

This paper highlights the role of non-functional information when reusing from a component library. We describe a method for selecting appropriate implementations of Ada packages taking non-functional constraints into account; these constraints model the context of reuse. Constraints take the form of queries using an interface description language called NoFun, which is also used to state non-functional information in Ada packages; query results are trees of implementations, following the import relationships between components. We define two different situations when reusing components, depending whether we take the library being searched as closed or extendible. The resulting tree of implementations can be manipulated by the user to solve ambiguities, to state default behaviours, and by the like. As part of the proposal, we face the problem of computing from code the non-functional information that determines the selection process.

La gestión de los libros electrónicos en la Biblioteca Virtual de la UOC

El texto que se presenta muestra cómo se lleva a cabo la gestión de los libros electrónicos en la Biblioteca Virtual (en adelante BV) de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (en adelante UOC). La BV pone especial énfasis en la adquisición de libros digitales para mejorar el acceso de los usuarios a los recursos y a lascolecciones de una universidad caracterizada por su virtualidad. El documento presenta, en primer lugar, el entorno en el que se adquieren y se utilizan los libros electrónicos: se describen los distintos escenarios de adquisición en los que se puede encontrar la BV y se definen los circuitos internos que permiten su gestión, así como los procesos técnicos de los documentos. A continuación, se muestran las distintas opciones de acceso y consulta de libros electrónicos que actualmente se ofrecen desde la BV y se exponenlos análisis de uso de dichos documentos. Por último, se presentan las conclusiones a las que llega la BV sobre el nuevo contexto de libros electrónicos.