Television report [on USDA'S television research project under title II, Research and Marketing Act]

Cover title.

Address list, regional and subregional libraries for the blind and physically handicapped /

Description based on: Mar. 1981; title from cover.

Five-year report of library services through Major Urban Resource Libraries (MURLs) and metropolitan public libraries serving as national or regional resource centers, fiscal year 1984-fiscal year 1988 /

Item 461-D-5

Codon-precise, synthetic, antibody fragment libraries built using automated hexamer codon additions and validated through next generation sequencing

We have previously described ProxiMAX, a technology that enables the fabrication of precise, combinatorial gene libraries via codon-by-codon saturation mutagenesis. ProxiMAX was originally performed using manual, enzymatic transfer of codons via blunt-end ligation. Here we present Colibra™: an automated, proprietary version of ProxiMAX used specifically for antibody library generation, in which double-codon hexamers are transferred during the saturation cycling process. The reduction in process complexity, resulting library quality and an unprecedented saturation of up to 24 contiguous codons are described. Utility of the method is demonstrated via fabrication of complementarity determining regions (CDR) in antibody fragment libraries and next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of their quality and diversity.

Workshop: E-Books and e-Lending in Libraries – Challenges and Opportunities

The proposed event is part of the 2013 program of IFLA (International Federation of Library Association) as well IFLA – CLM Committee on eBooks and e-lending. The proposed event is also part of the activities of a research project with international participation "Copyright Policies of libraries and other cultural institutions” (2012-2014), (financed by National Science Fund of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Youth and Science, Contract No ДФНИ-К01/0002-21.11.2012).

May the Giant Be With You: Twin Peaks Season Two, Episode One and the Television Auteur

The premiere of Season Two of Twin Peaks garnered some of the highest ratings of the series, with celebrated filmmaker and co-creator David Lynch stepping back into the director’s chair. Yet, within this episode many traditional television conventions are flouted, and in response the following week the ratings dropped dramatically. From its slow-paced opening scenes in which an old man admonishes the wounded, bleeding protagonist to drink his warm milk before it gets cold, followed by a vision of a giant speaking in riddles, this episode not only tested its audience’s patience but also seemed to set out to deliberately confuse them. In this essay I will explore how this episode is an example of auteur television, an episode in which the director expresses a consistency of style and theme that is similar to their other work, as well as examine how Lynch’s approach to televisual aesthetics has influenced the way that contemporary film directors have crossed over into the television medium. However, when taking into account the differences in the two media of film and television notions of authorship, with regards to the position of the director, become complicated, especially when considering contemporary television and the rise of the showrunner as key creative force. Even when looking back at Lynch’s contribution to Twin Peaks it becomes clear that the series was deeply collaborative, with Lynch absent during parts of the filming. Yet, when examining the extensive material that has been written about Twin Peaks there is still a continuing tendency to place Lynch as the sole author. The placement of Lynch as author can be argued in relation to the episodes he directed (as will be explored below in relation to the first episode of Season Two), but cannot be attributed to him alone when considering the series as a whole. Finally, I will discuss how the figure of the television auteur has become a central element of television reception rather than production, an integral part of a viewer’s search for narrative meaning in a medium where complexity and mystery are now expected and enjoyed. Just as fans scrambled to uncover the many secrets and mysteries of Twin Peaks by looking to Lynch’s other works for answers, a similar process is experienced by fans of television shows existing today.

Impact of Commercial Search Engines and International Databases on Engineering Teaching and Research

For the last three decades, the engineering higher education and professional environments have been completely transformed by the "electronic/digital information revolution" that has included the introduction of personal computer, the development of email and world wide web, and broadband Internet connections at home. Herein the writer compares the performances of several digital tools with traditional library resources. While new specialised search engines and open access digital repositories may fill a gap between conventional search engines and traditional references, these should be not be confused with real libraries and international scientific databases that encompass textbooks and peer-reviewed scholarly works. An absence of listing in some Internet search listings, databases and repositories is not an indication of standing. Researchers, engineers and academics should remember these key differences in assessing the quality of bibliographic "research" based solely upon Internet searches.

Sources of information about HIV/AIDS and perceived risk of infection among heterosexual young adults: 1989 and 1994

This paper reports a study of sources of information about HIV/AIDS and trust of the sources among heterosexuals in 1989 (113 females and 91 males) and 1994 (185 females and 66 males). We also examined whether perceived personal risk of HIV infection was predicted by sources of information about HIV/AIDS, trust of the sources, how informed about AIDS people believed they were, and perceived risk of infection to others, as well as whether there was a relationship between perceived personal risk and safe sex behaviour Participants received most of their information about AIDS/HIV from magazines, newspapers, and television, but placed most trust on sources such as doctors and HIV/AIDS organisations. Perceived personal risk was influenced most by perceived risk to friends and to people with the same sexual practices. In the 1994 sample, perceived personal risk was correlated with the amount of condom use among participants with sexual experience. These results indicate ther has been. relative stability across a five-year period. They also point to the continuing discrepancy among young heterosexuals between the most-used and most-trusted sources of information, as well as to the importance of peer influence on perceptions of personal risk of HIV infection.

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells obtained from diverse human tissues share functional properties and gene-expression profile with CD146(+) perivascular cells and fibroblasts

Objective. The relationship of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) with pericytes and fibroblasts has not been established thus far, although they share many markers of primitive marrow stromal cells and the osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation potentials. Materials and Methods. We compared MSCs from adult or fetal tissues, MSC differentiated in vitro, fibroblasts and cultures of retinal pericytes obtained either by separation with anti-CD146 or adhesion. The characterizations included morphological, immunophenotypic, gene-expression profile, and differentiation potential. Results. Osteogenic, adipocytic, and chondrocytic differentiation was demonstrated for MSC, retinal perivascular cells, and fibroblasts. Cell morphology and the phenotypes defined by 22 markers were very similar. Analysis of the global gene expression obtained by serial analysis of gene expression for 17 libraries and by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction of 39 selected genes from 31 different cell cultures, revealed similarities among MSC, retinal perivascular cells, and hepatic stellate cells. Despite this overall similarity, there was a heterogeneous expression of genes related to angiogenesis, in MSC derived from veins, artery, perivascular cells, and fibroblasts. Evaluation of typical pericyte and MSC transcripts, such as NG2, CD146, CD271, and CD140B on CD146 selected perivascular cells and MSC by real-time polymerase chain reaction confirm the relationship between these two cell types. Furthermore, the inverse correlation between fibroblast-specific protein-1 and CD146 transcripts observed on pericytes, MSC, and fibroblasts highlight their potential use as markers of this differentiation pathway. Conclusion. Our results indicate that human MSC and pericytes are similar cells located in the wall of the vasculature, where they function as cell sources for repair and tissue maintenance, whereas fibroblasts are more differentiated cells with more restricted differentiation potential. (C) 2008 ISEH - Society for Hematology and Stem Cells. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Overweight and obesity in Australia: The 1999-2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab)

Objective: To measure the prevalence of obesity in Australian adults and to examine the associations of obesity with socioeconomic and lifestyle factors. Design: AusDiab, a cross-sectional study conducted between May 1999 and December 2000, involved participants from 42 randomly selected districts throughout Australia. Participants: Of 20 347 eligible people aged greater than or equal to 25 years who completed a household interview, 11247 attended the physical examination at local survey sites (response rate, 55%). Main outcome measures: Overweight and obesity defined by body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (cm); sociodemographic factors (including smoking, physical activity and television viewing time). Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI greater than or equal to 25.0 kg/m(2); waist circumference greater than or equal to 80.0 cm [women] or greater than or equal to 94.0 cm [men]) in both sexes was almost 60%, defined by either BMI or waist circumference. The prevalence of obesity was 2.5 times higher than in 1980. Using waist circumference, the prevalence of obesity was higher in women than men (34.1% v 26.8%; P < 0.01). Lower educational status, higher television viewing time and lower physical activity time were each strongly associated with obesity, with television viewing time showing a stronger relationship than physical activity time. Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Strong positive associations between obesity and each of television viewing time and lower physical activity time confirm the influence of sedentary lifestyles on obesity, and underline the potential benefits of reducing sedentary behaviour, as well as increasing physical activity, to curb the obesity epidemic.

TV Recommendation and Personalization Systems: Integrating Broadcast and Video On-demand Services

he expansion of Digital Television and the convergence between conventional broadcasting and television over IP contributed to the gradual increase of the number of available channels and on demand video content. Moreover, the dissemination of the use of mobile devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets on everyday activities resulted in a shift of the traditional television viewing paradigm from the couch to everywhere, anytime from any device. Although this new scenario enables a great improvement in viewing experiences, it also brings new challenges given the overload of information that the viewer faces. Recommendation systems stand out as a possible solution to help a watcher on the selection of the content that best fits his/her preferences. This paper describes a web based system that helps the user navigating on broadcasted and online television content by implementing recommendations based on collaborative and content based filtering. The algorithms developed estimate the similarity between items and users and predict the rating that a user would assign to a particular item (television program, movie, etc.). To enable interoperability between different systems, programs characteristics (title, genre, actors, etc.) are stored according to the TV-Anytime standard. The set of recommendations produced are presented through a Web Application that allows the user to interact with the system based on the obtained recommendations.

Supporting On-Line Distributed Monitoring and Debugging

Monitoring systems have traditionally been developed with rigid objectives and functionalities, and tied to specific languages, libraries and run-time environments. There is a need for more flexible monitoring systems which can be easily adapted to distinct requirements. On-line monitoring has been considered as increasingly important for observation and control of a distributed application. In this paper we discuss monitoring interfaces and architectures which support more extensible monitoring and control services. We describe our work on the development of a distributed monitoring infrastructure, and illustrate how it eases the implementation of a complex distributed debugging architecture. We also discuss several issues concerning support for tool interoperability and illustrate how the cooperation among multiple concurrent tools can ease the task of distributed debugging.

State Library of Iowa Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan, 2002

The Iowa Commission of Libraries, the State Library’s governing board, convened the Library Services Task Force in August 2000. This group consisted of 46 Iowans from across the state, including librarians from all types of libraries, library trustees, legislators, members of Iowa Regional Library system (now called Library Service Areas) and Area Education Agencies, and citizens. Their mission was to make recommendations to the Commission on positioning libraries to effectively and efficiently meet the future needs of Iowans. Needs and expectations of Iowa Library customers and funding authorities were identified and examined by the Task Force, and are reflected in its recommendations. The Commission received the Task Force recommendations in December 2000, carefully studied them, solicited input from the Iowa library community, and with a few changes, forwarded the recommendations to the Governor and the Iowa General Assembly. These recommendations are now known as Iowa Commission of Libraries priorities and serve as a blueprint for future development of the Iowa library system.

FY04 Enrich Iowa: State Funding for Iowa Libraries, 2004

In accordance with 2004 IOWA ACTS Chapter 182 (5)(5)(b), the State Library of Iowa submits this report on the uses and impact of state funding provided to Iowa libraries through the Enrich Iowa Program.

State Library of Iowa Library Services and Technology Act Five-Year Plan, 2002

The Iowa Commission of Libraries, the State Library’s governing board, convened the Library Services Task Force in August 2000. This group consisted of 46 Iowans from across the state, including librarians from all types of libraries, library trustees, legislators, members of Iowa Regional Library system (now called Library Service Areas) and Area Education Agencies, and citizens. Their mission was to make recommendations to the Commission on positioning libraries to effectively and efficiently meet the future needs of Iowans. Needs and expectations of Iowa Library customers and funding authorities were identified and examined by the Task Force, and are reflected in its recommendations. The Commission received the Task Force recommendations in December 2000, carefully studied them, solicited input from the Iowa library community, and with a few changes, forwarded the recommendations to the Governor and the Iowa General Assembly. These recommendations are now known as Iowa Commission of Libraries priorities and serve as a blueprint for future development of the Iowa library system.