Impact of Early Postnatal Androgen Exposure on Voice Development

Background: the impact of early postnatal androgen exposure on female laryngeal tissue may depend on certain characteristics of this exposure. We assessed the impact of the dose, duration, and timing of early androgen exposure on the vocal development of female subjects who had been treated for adrenocortical tumor (ACT) in childhood.Methods: the long-term effects of androgen exposure on the fundamental vocal frequency (F0), vocal pitch, and final height and the presence of virilizing signs were examined in 9 adult (age, 18.4 to 33.5 years) and 10 adolescent (13.6 to 17.8 years) female ACT patients. We also compared the current values with values obtained 0.9 years to 7.4 years after these subjects had undergone ACT surgery, a period during which they had shown normal androgen levels.Results: of the 19 subjects, 17 (89%) had been diagnosed with ACT before 4 years of age, 1 (5%) at 8.16 years, and 1 (5%) at 10.75 years. Androgen exposure (2 to 30 months) was sufficiently strong to cause pubic hair growth in all subjects and clitoromegaly in 74% (14/19) of the subjects, but did not reduce their height from the target value. Although androgen exposure induced a remarkable reduction in F0 (132 Hz) and moderate pitch virilization in 1 subject and partial F0 virilization, resulting in F0 of 165 and 169 Hz, in 2 subjects, the majority had normal F0 ranging from 189 to 245 Hz.Conclusions: Female laryngeal tissue is less sensitive to androgen exposure between birth and adrenarche than during other periods. Differential larynx sensitivity to androgen exposure in childhood and F0 irreversibility in adulthood are age-, concentration-, duration-, and timing-dependent events that may also be affected by exposure to inhibitory or stimulatory hormones. Further studies are required to better characterize each of these factors.

Reader development and ICT: an overview of projects in Welsh public libraries

Bird, A.,& Tedd, L. (2004). Reader development and ICT: an overview of projects in Welsh public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 36(4), 159-174.

Evaluating SWICE-R (South West Information for Clinical Effectiveness - Rural). Final report for South West Workforce Development Confederations (Knowledge Resources Development Unit)

Yeoman, A., Durbin, J. & Urquhart, C. (2004). Evaluating SWICE-R (South West Information for Clinical Effectiveness - Rural). Final report for South West Workforce Development Confederations, (Knowledge Resources Development Unit). Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: South West WDCs (NHS)

Evaluation of the Specialist Libraries/Communities of Practice. Report for National Library for Health

Cooper, J., Spink, S., Thomas, R. & Urquhart, C. (2005). Evaluation of the Specialist Libraries/Communities of Practice. Report for National Library for Health. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Sponsorship: National Library for Health (NLH)

The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project

Yeoman, A. J., Cooper, J. M., Urquhart, C. J. & Tyler, A. (2003). The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 91(4), 426-433. Sponsorship: Resource

Moving Communities of Practice forward: the challenge for the National electronic Library for Health and its Virtual Branch Libraries

Yeoman, A., Urquhart, C. & Sharp, S. (2003). Moving Communities of Practice forward: the challenge for the National electronic Library for Health and its Virtual Branch Libraries. Health Informatics Journal, 9(4), 241-252. Previously appeared as a conference paper for the iSHIMR2003 conference (Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on Health Information Management Research, June 1-3, 2003, Boras, Sweden) Sponsorship: NHS Information Authority/National electronic Library for Health

Developing communities of practice in the NeLH (National electronic Library for Health)

Urquhart, C., Yeoman, A., Sharp, S. (2003). Developing communities of practice in the NeLH (National electronic Library for Health). In Proceedings of the UKAIS (UK Academy for Information Systems) annual conference, University of Warwick, April 2003. Sponsorship: NHS Information Authority/National electronic Library for Health

Developing a toolkit for assessing the impact of health library services on patient care

Urquhart,C., Spink, S., Thomas, R. & Weightman, A. (2007). Developing a toolkit for assessing the impact of health library services on patient care. Report to LKDN (Libraries and Knowledge Development Network). Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University. Sponsorship: Libraries and Knowledge Development Network/ NHS

Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK

Urquhart, C. J., Cox, A. M.& Spink, S. (2007). Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK. Interlending & Document Supply, 35(3), 164-170. Sponsorship: JISC, LKDN

Best practices for competency development and assessment in higher education

The main objective of this article is to present the results of a study aimed at determining, classifying and evaluating practices of interest for general competency development and assessment in undergraduate programmes. The study encompassed the following phases: (1) focus group in order to establish a starting point regarding competency development and assessment, counting on the opinion of some of the best-rated teachers belonging to the participating universities; (2) collection of best practices; (3) design and validation of a scale for the assessment of best practices; and (4) scale administration (evaluation of good practices) and data analysis.

Towards the identification of the common features of bacterial biofilm development

UPNa. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología. Laboratorio de Biofilms Microbianos

Cloud-sourcing Research Collections: Managing Print in the Mass-digitized Library Environment

A report of key findings of the Cloud Library project, an effort jointly designed and executed by OCLC Research, the HathiTrust, New York University's Elmer Bobst Library, and the Research Collections Access & Preservation (ReCAP) consortium, with support from the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The objective of the project was to examine the feasibility of outsourcing management of low-use print books held in academic libraries to shared service providers, including large-scale print and digital repositories.

Participation in Self-Collection of Maternal and Infant DNA in a Case-Control Study on Clubfoot

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD051804)

Participation by place-based community organisations in local development: case studies from East Cork

The past two decades have witnessed concerted efforts by theorists and policy-makers to place civil society at the centre of social, economic and environmental development processes. To this end, policies grounded in a Third Way approach have sought to forge stronger linkages between the state and voluntary community-based organisations. Concepts such as active citizenship, social capital, partnership and sustainability have underpinned this political philosophy, which reflects a movement in development theory and political science away from notions of state-led development and unfettered neo-liberalism. In the Irish context, a series of initiatives have given expression to this new policy agenda, the foremost amongst them the publication of a White Paper in 2000. New local governance structures and development schemes have multiplied since the early 1990s, while the physical planning system has also been modified. All this has taken place against the backdrop of unprecedented economic development and social change precipitated by the ‘Celtic Tiger’.This thesis examines the interaction between community organisations, state institutions and other actors in development processes in East Cork. It focuses upon place-based community organisations, who seek to represent the interests of their particular localities. A case study approach is employed to explore the realpolitik of local development and to gauge the extent to which grassroots community organisations wield influence in determining the development of their communities. The study concludes that the transfer of decision-making power to community organisations has been more illusory than real and that, in practical terms, such groups remain marginal in the circuits of power. However, the situation of community organisations operating in different geographical locales cannot be reduced to an overarching theoretical logic. The case studies show that the modus operandi of community groups varies considerably and can be influenced by specific local geographies, events and personalities.

Engaging with leadership development in Irish academic libraries: some reflections of the Future Leaders Programme (FLP)

Four librarians from Irish university libraries completed the U.K. Future Leaders Programme (FLP) in 2010. In this article they recount their experience and assess the effect of the programme on their professional practice and the value for their institutions. The programme is explored in the context of the Irish higher education environment, which is facing significant challenges due to the demise of the Celtic Tiger economy. A brief review of the literature relating to structured programmes to prepare librarians for senior positions, is presented. The structure and content of the FLP and the learning methodologies, theories, tools and techniques used throughout are discussed. The article suggests that the programme has real value for both individuals and institutions and that it can play a significant role in succession planning and the leadership development of librarians