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Distal symmetrical axonal polyneuropathy (DSP) is due to injury to peripheral sensory, motor, and autonomic nerve fibers, resulting in distal predominant sensory loss, pain, and gait instability. DSP occurs as a complication of multiple medical conditions including diabetes or HIV, or following exposure to various toxins such as chemotherapy. It affects at least 10% of the United States population. Few treatments for DSP are approved by regulatory agencies. Reliable and responsive outcome measures are integral to developing new DSP treatments. Multiple clinician-rated measures that incorporate neuropathy signs exist, however, it is not clear which of these measures performs best for various DSP phenotypes. This systematic review summarizes the content of 18 published measures of DSP identified using PubMed and from personal archives of the authors. The relative percentage of scoring dedicated to motor, reflex, large and small fiber sensory, and autonomic domains varied considerably among measures. The most common neurologic examination items included in the scales were (1) vibration perception (n = 18, 100%), (2) reflexes (n = 16, 89%), (3) pinprick perception (n = 14, 78%), (4) muscle strength (n = 11, 61%), (5) touch-pressure perception (n = 9, 50%), and (6) joint position perception (n = 8, 44%). This review can be used to inform decisions regarding which of the available clinician-rated sign outcome measures would be most appropriate for use in a particular DSP population, based on the domains most affected by that neuropathy or on the domains most likely to be affected by a particular experimental therapy.

The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a Cold Classical Kuiper Belt Object, a class of objects that have never been heated by the Sun and are therefore well preserved since their formation. Here we describe initial results from these encounter observations. MU69 is a bi-lobed contact binary with a flattened shape, discrete geological units, and noticeable albedo heterogeneity. However, there is little surface color and compositional heterogeneity. No evidence for satellites, ring or dust structures, gas coma, or solar wind interactions was detected. By origin MU69 appears consistent with pebble cloud collapse followed by a low velocity merger of its two lobes., Comment: 43 pages, 8 figure

The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the outer Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a cold classical Kuiper Belt object approximately 30 kilometers in diameter. Such objects have never been substantially heated by the Sun and are therefore well preserved since their formation. We describe initial results from these encounter observations. MU69 is a bilobed contact binary with a flattened shape, discrete geological units, and noticeable albedo heterogeneity. However, there is little surface color or compositional heterogeneity. No evidence for satellites, rings or other dust structures, a gas coma, or solar wind interactions was detected. MU69's origin appears consistent with pebble cloud collapse followed by a low-velocity merger of its two lobes.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in person-centred, ‘living well’ approaches to dementia, often taking the form of important efforts to engage people with dementia in a range of creative, arts-based interventions such as dance, drama, music, art and poetry. Such practices have been advanced as socially inclusive activities that help to affirm personhood and redress the biomedical focus on loss and deficit. However, in emphasizing more traditional forms of creativity associated with the arts, more mundane forms of creativity that emerge in everyday life have been overlooked, specifically as regards how such creativity is used by people living dementia and by their carers and family members as a way of negotiating changes in their everyday lives. In this paper, we propose a critical approach to understanding such forms of creativity in this context, comprised of six dimensions: everyday creativity; power relations; ways to operationalise creativity; sensory and affective experience; difference; and reciprocity. We point towards the potential of these dimensions to contribute to a reframing of debates around creativity and dementia.

Introduction: No treatments for axonal peripheral neuropathy are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although patient- and clinician-reported outcomes are central to evaluating neuropathy symptoms, they can be difficult to assess accurately. The inability to identify efficacious treatments for peripheral neuropathies could be due to invalid or inadequate outcome measures. Methods: This systematic review examined the content validity of symptom-based measures of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, HIV neuropathy, and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Results: Use of all FDA-recommended methods to establish content validity was only reported for 2 of 18 measures. Multiple sensory and motor symptoms were included in measures for all 3 conditions; these included numbness, tingling, pain, allodynia, difficulty walking, and cramping. Autonomic symptoms were less frequently included. Conclusions: Given significant overlap in symptoms between neuropathy etiologies, a measure with content validity for multiple neuropathies with supplemental disease-specific modules could be of great value in the development of disease-modifying treatments for peripheral neuropathies. Muscle Nerve 55: 366–372, 2017.

This essay explores the kind of cultural and ideological work effected by the concept of dementia in contemporary popular culture in the global north through a critical reading of three ‘genre’ texts: Renny Harlin’s action movie meets sci-fi, Deep Blue Sea (1999), Vernor Vinge’s speculative fiction Rainbows End (2007) and Rupert Wyatt’s sci-fi drama, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), all of which engage with the possibility of neural regeneration and a cure for dementia. Dominant epistemologies of dementia and ageing often focus on the potentially unsustainable social and economic burden presented by an ageing population and the obligation to meet the needs of older people living with impairments. Exploring the articulation of these economic and political arguments alongside an analysis of the promissory discourses of bio-gerontology and neuroscience , this essay thus explores the ways in which dementia has emerged as an over-determined point of tangency upon which particular ideas about ageing, mortality, human value, sustainability and futurity are played out. The analysis of the cultural texts presented here exposes the limits of market and individual oriented responses to dementia and ageing within the broader context of what Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams have described as the ‘emerging crisis of work and surplus populations’. This paper argues that an exploration of the ideological fault-lines, imaginary resolutions and forms of wish fulfilment that emerge in the films and novel, enable us to identify the ideological limitations of the neoliberal discourses that circumscribe the ways in which we currently understand dementia and our imaginative investments in the promise of its cure.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the methodological developments of the sexual health items included in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study since their mandatory inclusion in the study in 2002. The current methodological, ethical and pedagogical challenges in measuring young people's sexual health behaviours are discussed along with the issues associated with the sexual health items introduced to the HBSC study in 2002. The development and piloting of new cross-national items for use in the 2013/14 HBSC data collection are presented and discussed.METHODS: An international pilot study was undertaken to determine the impact of these proposed changes. Questionnaires and classroom discussion groups were conducted in five pilot countries in 2012/2013 (France, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Romania) with a total of 612 school-aged children (age M = 15.55 years, SD = 0.95).RESULTS: The majority of participants in each country provided positive feedback about the appropriateness of the questions. Some small cross-national differences were found in the self-reported quantitative data relating to the appropriateness of the questions (χ2 = 22.831, df = 9, p = .007, V = .117). Qualitative feedback suggests that for the vast majority of students the phrasing and age-targeting of the questions were considered appropriate. With the exception of a small number of respondents who commented on the clarity and/or personal nature of the content, no specific issues with the questions were identified.CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide guidance on the answerability (including the extent of missing and inconsistent data), understandability, acceptability (including in different cultures) and relevance of questions to potential participants. The findings from the pilot study suggest that in general, the questions are understandable, acceptable, and of a high priority to the target population, and that the simplification has significantly reduced the proportion of miss, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This paper offers an analysis of the documentary film, Una Vida Sin Palabras [A life without words] (2011). The film follows a short period in the lives of a campesino family living in a rural area of Nicaragua as a teacher of Nicaraguan sign language, working for a local NGO, endeavours to teach three deaf siblings how to sign. Bringing together the critical practices of Disability and Subaltern studies in the specific context of contemporary Nicaragua, the paper argues: (1) that the film ultimately re-inscribes and reinforces the subalternity of the disabled subjects it sets out to portray; and (2) that the hierarchy it produces between its object – the deaf family – and its implied educated, metropolitan audience replays some influential (but, we would argue, politically limited) critiques of the failure of the first Sandinista Government (1979-1990) and other broad based radical political movements to represent the national popular. In so doing, the paper also makes a case for the political and intellectual importance of bringing a Critical Disability Studies perspective to the field of Subaltern Studies, and argues that an engagement with the problems that are presented by this film at the level of both form and content raise some important questions for both fields of enquiry.

How are individual and social ideas of late-onset dementia shaped and negotiated in film, literature, the arts, and the media?

This paper considers what is at stake in telling the story of another’s illness and in taking on the history of another’s dementia as part of one’s own life narrative. Through a close analysis of Michael Ignatieff’s Scar Tissue, it explores the ways in which writing about the experience of caring for a parent with dementia speaks to the intersubjective dimensions of selfhood but also complicates the ways in which the very concept of intersubjectivity is often evoked within scholarship on personhood. It argues that an engagement with this kind of narrative is illuminating in this context because it exposes some of the emotional, memorial, and ethical difficulties that attend the experience of writing for and about another person when he or she is no longer able to do so.

Dysplastic nevi (DN) is a strong risk factor for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), and it frequently occurs in melanoma-prone families. To identify genetic variants for DN, we genotyped 677 tagSNPs in 38 melanoma candidate genes that are involved in pigmentation, DNA repair, cell cycle control, and melanocyte proliferation pathways in a total of 504 individuals (310 with DN, 194 without DN) from 53 melanoma-prone families (23 CDKN2A mutation positive and 30 negative). Conditional logistic regression, conditioning on families, was used to estimate the association between DN and each single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) separately, adjusted for age, sex, CMM, and CDKN2A status. P-values for SNPs in the same gene were combined to yield gene-specific P-values. Two genes, CDK6 (cyclin-dependent kinase 6) and XRCC1, were significantly associated with DN after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing (P=0.0001 and 0.00025, respectively), whereas neither gene was significantly associated with CMM. Associations for CDK6 SNPs were stronger in CDKN2A mutation-positive families (rs2079147, Pinteraction=0.0033), whereas XRCC1 SNPs had similar effects in mutation-positive and -negative families. The association for one of the associated SNPs in XRCC1 (rs25487) was replicated in two independent data sets (random-effect meta-analysis: P<0.0001). Our findings suggest that some genetic variants may contribute to DN risk independently of their association with CMM in melanoma-prone families.

Biobank Ireland Trust (BIT) was established in 2004 to promote and develop an Irish biobank network to benefit patients, researchers, industry, and the economy. The network commenced in 2008 with two hospital biobanks and currently consists of biobanks in the four main cancer hospitals in Ireland. The St. James's Hospital (SJH) Biobank coordinates the network. Procedures, based on ISBER and NCI guidelines, are standardized across the network. Policies and documents - Patient Consent Policy, Patient Information Sheet, Biobank Consent Form, Sample and Data Access Policy (SAP), and Sample Application Form have been agreed upon (after robust discussion) for use in each hospital. An optimum sequence for document preparation and submission for review is outlined. Once consensus is reached among the participating biobanks, the SJH biobank liaises with the Research and Ethics Committees, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, The National Cancer Registry (NCR), patient advocate groups, researchers, and other stakeholders. The NCR provides de-identified data from its database for researchers via unique biobank codes. ELSI issues discussed include the introduction of prospective consent across the network and the return of significant research results to patients. Only 4 of 363 patients opted to be re-contacted and re-consented on each occasion that their samples are included in a new project. It was decided, after multidisciplinary discussion, that results will not be returned to patients. The SAP is modeled on those of several international networks. Biobank Ireland is affiliated with international biobanking groups - Marble Arch International Working Group, ISBER, and ESBB. The Irish government continues to deliberate on how to fund and implement biobanking nationally. Meanwhile BIT uses every opportunity to promote awareness of the benefits of biobanking in events and in the media. Copyright © 2013, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2013.

The relationship between telomeres, nevi and melanoma is complex. Shorter telomeres have been found to be associated with many cancers and with number of nevi, a known risk factor for melanoma. However, shorter telomeres have also been found to decrease melanoma risk. We performed a systematic analysis of telomere-related genes and tagSNPs within these genes, in relation to the risk of melanoma, dysplastic nevi, and nevus count combining data from four studies conducted in Italy. In addition, we examined whether telomere length measured in peripheral blood leukocytes is related to the risk of melanoma, dysplastic nevi, number of nevi, or telomere-related SNPs. A total of 796 cases and 770 controls were genotyped for 517 SNPs in 39 telomere-related genes genotyped with a custom-made array. Replication of the top SNPs was conducted in two American populations consisting of 488 subjects from 53 melanoma-prone families and 1,086 cases and 1,024 controls from a case-control study. We estimated odds ratios for associations with SNPs and combined SNP P-values to compute gene region-specific, functional group-specific, and overall P-value using an adaptive rank-truncated product algorithm. In the Mediterranean population, we found suggestive evidence that RECQL4, a gene involved in genome stability, RTEL1, a gene regulating telomere elongation, and TERF2, a gene implicated in the protection of telomeres, were associated with melanoma, the presence of dysplastic nevi and number of nevi, respectively. However, these associations were not found in the American samples, suggesting variable melanoma susceptibility for these genes across populations or chance findings in our discovery sample. Larger studies across different populations are necessary to clarify these associations.

The higher harmonic components available from large-amplitude Fourier-transformed alternating current (FT-ac) voltammetry enable the surface active state of a copper electrode in basic media to be probed in much more detail than possible with previously used dc methods. In particular, the absence of capacitance background current allows low-level Faradaic current contributions of fast electron-transfer processes to be detected; these are usually completely undetectable under conditions of dc cyclic voltammetry. Under high harmonic FT-ac voltammetric conditions, copper electrodes exhibit well-defined and reversible premonolayer oxidation responses at potentials within the double layer region in basic 1.0 M NaOH media. This process is attributed to oxidation of copper adatoms (Cu*) of low bulk metal lattice coordination numbers to surface-bonded, reactive hydrated oxide species. Of further interest is the observation that cathodic polarization in 1.0 M NaOH significantly enhances the current detected in each of the fundamental to sixth FT-ac harmonic components in the Cu*/Cu hydrous oxide electron-transfer process which enables the underlying electron transfer processes in the higher harmonics to be studied under conditions where the dc capacitance response is suppressed; the results support the incipient hydrous oxide adatom mediator (IHOAM) model of electrocatalysis. The underlying quasi-reversible interfacial Cu*/Cu hydrous oxide process present under these conditions is shown to mediate the reduction of nitrate at a copper electrode, while the mediator for the hydrazine oxidation reaction appears to involve a different mediator or active state redox couple. Use of FT-ac voltammetry offers prospects for new insights into the nature of active sites and electrocatalysis at the electrode/solution interface of Group 11 metals in aqueous media.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal mortality is an important indicator of obstetric and newborn care services. Although the vast majority of global perinatal mortality is estimated to occur in developing countries, there is a critical paucity of reliable data at the local level to inform health policy, plan health care services, and monitor their impact. This paper explores the utility of information from village health registers to measure perinatal mortality at the sub district level in a rural area of Indonesia. METHODS: A retrospective pregnancy cohort for 2007 was constructed by triangulating data from antenatal care, birth, and newborn care registers in a sample of villages in three rural sub districts in Central Java, Indonesia. For each pregnancy, birth outcome and first week survival were traced and recorded from the different registers, as available. Additional local death records were consulted to verify perinatal mortality, or identify deaths not recorded in the health registers. Analyses were performed to assess data quality from registers, and measure perinatal mortality rates. Qualitative research was conducted to explore knowledge and practices of village midwives in register maintenance and reporting of perinatal mortality. RESULTS: Field activities were conducted in 23 villages, covering a total of 1759 deliveries that occurred in 2007. Perinatal mortality outcomes were 23 stillbirths and 15 early neonatal deaths, resulting in a perinatal mortality rate of 21.6 per 1000 live births in 2007. Stillbirth rates for the study population were about four times the rates reported in the routine Maternal and Child Health program information system. Inadequate awareness and supervision, and alternate workload were cited by local midwives as factors resulting in inconsistent data reporting. CONCLUSIONS: Local maternal and child health registers are a useful source of information on perinatal mortality in rural Indonesia. Suitable training, supervision, and quality control

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of rituximab plus methotrexate (MTX) compared with MTX alone on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with active early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) previously untreated with MTX. METHODS: Patients with active early RA were randomized to groups receiving placebo, rituximab 500 mg, or rituximab 1,000 mg. Rituximab was given by intravenous infusion on days 1 and 15. From week 24, patients with a Disease Activity Score in 28 joints-erythrocyte sedimentation rate of ≥2.6 were eligible for retreatment. Physical function was assessed by Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index (DI) and Short Form 36 (SF-36) scores. Patients achieving a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for PROs were determined. Additional PROs, including fatigue and pain, were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 748 patients were randomized and received the study drug. Patient characteristics were well balanced. At week 52, treatment with rituximab in both dose groups showed significant improvements in the HAQ DI compared to the MTX alone group (-0.905 and -0.916 in the rituximab 500 mg plus MTX and 1,000 mg plus MTX groups, respectively, versus -0.628 in the MTX alone group; P < 0.0001). Higher proportions of patients achieved MCID in the HAQ DI in the rituximab plus MTX groups compared to MTX alone. Treatment with rituximab plus MTX led to a significant reduction in the SF-36 physical component summary for both rituximab dose groups, but did not show statistically significant differences in the SF-36 mental component summary. Compared to the MTX alone group, both doses of rituximab plus MTX were associated with significant reductions in the patient global assessment of disease activity and pain, and a significantly higher improvement in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scores from baseline to 52 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Rituximab plus MTX was associated with significant improvement in p

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the management function of second tier posts in both Australia and the UK university libraries, including the identification of trends about their demography and responsibility range. The study aims to examine the major managerial challenges they face as individuals as well as the challenges for the wider university library. Various aspects of the skills needed by second tier university library manager are to be explored. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered using an online questionnaire completed by second tier university library managers in both Australia and the UK. Findings – Various trends are shown about the age, length of time in post and intended retirement age of second tier mangers as well as the range of their responsibilities. Key challenges are determined for them as individuals as well as those for the wider university library. Research limitation/implications – The study demonstrates how effective research can be done across countries relying solely on information and communication technologies (ICT) for data collection and project communication/management. Practical implications – Clear direction and guidance is provided by the outcomes of the study into the development of future second tier university library managers. Originality/value – No other study has been published in this area for over ten years and very little has taken place before then. It is also the first cross-national investigation on second tier roles

Recent advances in social cognitive neuroscience and related fields have rejuvenated scholarly research into intuition. This article considers the implications of these developments for understanding managerial and organizational decision making. Over the past two decades, researchers have made considerable progress in distinguishing intuition from closely-related constructs such as instinct and insight and the interplay between these non-conscious forms of cognition and explicit reasoning processes is now better understood. In the wake of significant theoretical and methodological convergence centred on dual-process theories of reasoning, judgment and social cognition, supported by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, several of the foundational assumptions underpinning classic theories and frameworks in strategic management and entrepreneurship research are being called into question. Old models based on a simplistic left brain/right brain dichotomy are giving way to more sophisticated conceptions, in which intuitive and analytical approaches to decision making are underpinned by complex neuropsychological systems. In the light of these advances, the authors offer their reflections on what this all means for the assessment, development and management of intuition in the workplace.

Recent advances in social cognitive neuroscience and related fields have rejuvenated scholarly research into intuition. This article considers the implications of these developments for understanding managerial and organizational decision making. Over the past two decades, researchers have made considerable progress in distinguishing intuition from closely-related constructs such as instinct and insight and the interplay between these non-conscious forms of cognition and explicit reasoning processes is now better understood. In the wake of significant theoretical and methodological convergence centred on dual-process theories of reasoning, judgment and social cognition, supported by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, several of the foundational assumptions underpinning classic theories and frameworks in strategic management and entrepreneurship research are being called into question. Old models based on a simplistic left brain/right brain dichotomy are giving way to more sophisticated conceptions, in which intuitive and analytical approaches to decision making are underpinned by complex neuropsychological systems. In the light of these advances, the authors offer their reflections on what this all means for the assessment, development and management of intuition in the workplace.

This article reports on a project which was undertaken in 2006 to investigate the current modes and methods for delivering reference services in Australian academic libraries. The project included a literature review to assist in providing a definition of reference services as well as a snapshot of statistics showing staff and patron numbers from 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. These statistics provide a context within which Australian academic libraries deliver reference services. A survey of the 40 Australian university libraries was also conducted. This article explores how the delivery and model of reference services in Australian academic libraries has changed in recent decades. It concludes with an assessment as to whether reference services will continue to form part of academic library services into the 21st century.

The authors describe a collaborative study at two universities, one in Australia and the other in the UK. The main objectives of the study were to gain an understanding of the factors that influence a student's choice of location when using computing facilities, what applications they use, and how adequate various services and facilities provided by the two universities were.

Polycrystalline gold electrodes of the kind that are routinely used in analysis and catalysis in aqueous media are often regarded as exhibiting relatively simple double-layer charging/discharging and monolayer oxide formation/ removal in the positive potential region. Application of the large amplitude Fourier transformed alternating current (FT-ac) voltammetric technique that allows the faradaic current contribution of fast electron-transfer processes to be emphasized in the higher harmonic components has revealed the presence of well-defined faradaic (premonolayer oxidation) processes at positive potentials in the double-layer region in acidic and basic media which are enhanced by electrochemical activation. These underlying quasi-reversible interfacial electron-transfer processes may mediate the course of electrocatalytic oxidation reactions of hydrazine, ethylene glycol, and glucose on gold electrodes in aqueous media. The observed responses support key assumptions associated with the incipient hydrous oxide adatom mediator (IHOAM) model of electrocatalysis.

The challenge for the Reid Library at The University of Western Australia was the transformation of a 1960s building into a welcoming space with services and facilities appropriate for a more technologically demanding generation. A key issue was how to balance the continuing need for access to physical collections with the rapidly expanding demand for new kinds of learning spaces and facilities oriented towards on-line and collaborative learning and research. This paper outlines the approach taken to identify client needs (both physical and virtual), define and propose new service models, and transform learning spaces while maintaining access to physical collections.

Students’ learning experiences and expectations in higher education have been transformed across the world in recent years. A major driver has been the impact of information and communication technologies. These trends have occurred alongside the increased provision of computers in university environments and the improved technological skills on the part of students. The rapid changes in technology suggest that within a few years, providing large numbers of computers may not be what students want or need. In order to plan for appropriate services and support, university departments need to develop a deeper understanding of where and why students use computing facilities. At La Trobe University in Australia and Loughborough University in the UK, the main places students use computing facilities are the library, a faculty-provided computer lab, or a centralised computer lab provided by the University IT department. Library staff from both universities initiated a research project to gather data in this area. The authors will report on the results of the survey which was conducted during 2005 at both institutions. The survey investigated where students chose to use computing facilities and the types of factors which influenced their decision such as opening hours, availability of technical support, wireless facilities, and the range of software applications available. The authors will also report on the experience of conducting a collaborative research project across two hemispheres and will explore the differences and similarities experienced by the two universities in conducting the project. They will also explore the experience of collaborating with colleagues within their respective universities as without the involvement of the IT departments, the survey would not have been possible.

Traditionally the academic library has had a central place or role within the university. It has long been considered an important - and relatively unchanging - part of campus life. The building housed books that students borrowed and the staff provided similar services from year to year. There was no real need for the library to market itself to the university community and beyond. The nature of the information services environment is changing dramatically. Developments in information technology have transformed the way people search for and locate information. The higher education sector has also changed dramatically with universities now competing for federally funded local students and full fee paying international students studying both on-shore and off-shore. Pedagogical theory has also changed resulting in the need for different types of library spaces and services. University students are a totally new breed; libraries now need to engage the ‘Google generation’. To remain relevant, academic libraries need to reflect the vibrancy of the environment in which they operate. The University of Western Australia Library is meeting this challenge by embracing both intellectually and culturally the need for a customer focus and strategic marketing. This has resulted in: •the formation of a new dedicated Marketing Team that reports to the Library Executive •recognising that the Library is more than what is contained within the four walls •actively engaging with user groups and being driven more by their feedback •developing mechanisms to share the Library’s response to feedback •refining long standing policies and procedures in order to become more ‘yes’ than ‘no’

The library and information services profession faces many challenges in developing leaders and leadership potential. Such challenges can be particularly confronting to those living and working in geographically remote regions. This paper uses examples from a geographically remote region in Australia to outline possible approaches to attracting, retaining and developing leaders. The author fills a senior leadership role at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Library in Perth, one of the most remote capital cities in the world. Attracting, retaining and developing leaders in the library profession in Perth can be challenging. In response to the challenge of geographic remoteness, the author describes an initiative adopted by the UWA Library to develop leadership. In a fast changing and demanding environment, it is essential that all managers be forward thinking, pro-active and ready to lead others. 'Taking the Lead' is a programme designed to provide continuing professional development opportunities for senior library staff in leadership positions. The author also outlines some of the strategies adopted by the library professional association in Western Australia. The author is convenor of one of the local groups which coordinates and communicates strategic professional issues and organises continuing professional development activities state-wide and sector-wide.

The authors detail the trial and piloting of a telephone enquiry service (TES) at the Bundoora Campus Library at La Trobe University in order to attempt to resolve the balance between telephone and face-to-face enquiries at the library service desk. They investigated various options throughout 2001 and 2002 and settled on a centralised service model where telephone calls are redirected to a central number. This model was trialled and piloted in 2003 and 2004 before being implemented as a permanent feature of the library’s service in 2005.

Earlier this year the author conducted a research project which aimed to define "reference services" within the context of the academic library and determine if the delivery and model of reference services in Australian academic libraries has changed in recent decades. The project used a survey, conducted under the auspices of the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), to gauge the model and delivery of reference services currently in place in Australian academic libraries. Within the context of shrinking numbers of library staff and a shifting student population which now incorporates significant numbers of mature age, part-time, international and postgraduate students, the project explores questions such as: 1 What are the services which comprise "reference services" in today's academic library in Australia? 2 Are Australian academic libraries continuing to deliver the same reference services but using new technologies e.g. email, chat, text services? 3 Are libraries developing new reference services using the new technologies available? 4 Has the focus on the delivery of reference services altered in recent decades i.e. from an emphasis on the Reference Desk to a greater involvement in information literacy and learning and teaching? 5 Is there a continuing place for the delivery of reference services in academic libraries of the 21st century? The author will use results of the survey to indicate trends which will assist library managers in planning reference services of the future and to assist recruitment activities, highlighting the skills and knowledge required by reference librarians in the 21st century library.

Metastable, active, or nonequilibrium states due to the presence of abnormal structures and various types of defects are well known in metallurgy. The role of such states at gold surfaces in neutral aqueous media (an important electrode system in the microsensor area) was explored using cyclic voltammetry. It was demonstrated that, as postulated in earlier work from this laboratory, there is a close relationship between premonolayer oxidation, multilayer hydrous oxide reduction and electrocatalytic behaviour in the case of this and other metal electrode systems. Some of the most active, and therefore most important, entities at surfaces (e.g., metal adatoms) are not readily imageable or detectable by high resolution surface microscopy techniques. Cyclic voltammetry, however, provides significant, though not highly specific, information about such species. The main conclusion is that further practical and theoretical work on active states of metal surfaces is highly desirable as their behaviour is not simple and is of major importance in many electrocatalytic processes.

As pan of an investigation to determine the feasibility of HSTSS telemetry techniques in EM launchers, a series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of magnetic shields. The magnetic field was measured at several positions along the bore centerline of the MCL under stationary operation, and comparable EMAP3D calculations were performed. The qualitative agreement between experimental and computational results was very good. Hollow, metallic cylindrical shields were considered for their capacity to suppress the transient magnetic fields. One, comprised of A17075, weighed 130 g; the other, of ETP Cu, weighed 430 g. The copper shield was observed to reduce the induced peak voltages by more than 80%, which occurred at the earliest stages of the current rise. However, after 250 microsec, the induced voltages were no longer attenuated by the shield. Improved shielding may be obtained with thicker or more electrically conductive cylindrical shells. If the induced fields are found to be problematic in actual EM launches, a more sophisticated shield design will be needed since the significant weight added to a 200-g launch package by this design would render its use impractical., Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the feasibility of microwave telemetry for conveying diagnostic information collected during and after launch from an electromagnetic (EM) gun. The study focused on extending the Hardened Subminiature Telemetry Sensor Systems (HSTSS) technology for use in EM launch environments. While HSTSS technology has already been successfully demonstrated in high-g, high-pressure launch environments in conventional gun systems, it has not yet been tested in an EM gun environment, where the launch accelerations are generally higher and where the projectile can be exposed to high magnetic fields and EM transients. In this work, ultra high frequency (UHF) telemetry measurements were made at fixed locations in the magnetized bore of the Medium Caliber Launcher (MCL) at the IAT to assess the effect of the EM environment on telemetry and the HSTSS-like components. The data show that UHF FM signals can both propagate and be received in this non-optimal environment. Signals were received with minimal loss after propagating along the entire bore as well as through the containment wall. To examine the effect of high, transient magnetic fields on HSTSS-like components, the telemetry package was located both ahead of and behind a stationary armature, with the latter case simulating the higher fields in an EM launch with a muzzle shunt. The results showed that, in an EM launch without a muzzle shunt, the telemetry package could be positioned far enough ahead of the armature such that there would be no interference in the received telemetry signals. However, when a muzzle shunt was simulated, there were momentary disruptions in the transmitted signal coincident with fast rising, transient magnetic fields. The use of a thick metallic cylindrical shield surrounding the telemetry components reduced the induced voltages due to transient magnetic fields somewhat and slightly improved the observed telemetry signal., This article is from ADA404787 10th U.S. Army Gun Dynamics Symposium Proceedings

The cyclic voltammetry behaviour of gold in aqueous media is often regarded in very simple terms as a combination of two distinct processes, double layer charging/discharging and monolayer oxide formation/removal. This view is questioned here on the basis of both the present results and earlier independent data by other authors. It was demonstrated in the present case that both severe cathodization or thermal pretreatment of polycrystalline gold in acid solution resulted in the appearance of substantial Faradaic responses in the double layer region. Such anamolous behaviour, as outlined recently also for other metals, is rationalized in terms of the presence of active metal atoms (which undergo premonolayer oxidation) at the electrode surface. Such behaviour, which is also assumed to correspond to that of active sites on conventional gold surfaces, is assumed to be of vital importance in electrocatalysis; in many instances the latter process is also quite marked in the double layer region.

Under the Hardened Subminiature Telemetry and Sensor Systems (HSTSS) program, the U.S. Army has been developing gun-hardened telemetry devices and subsystems for the testing of smart-weapon systems. These devices will be able to withstand accelerations in excess of 100,000 g and radial accelerations in excess of 25,000 g. Under this program, rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery technology and primary lithium manganese dioxide technology are being developed for ballistic telemetry applications. To date, prototypes of these batteries have survived accelerations well over 100,000 g. This report provides the currents status of these developments and reviews the battery designs and testing regimes.

The Hardened Subminiature Telemetry and Sensor System (HSTSS) program has been a joint effort involving TECOMs Yuma Proving Ground and ARL's Weapons Technology Directorate. This effort centered on the identification and demonstration of a new generation of technologies to Support airborne, gun launched munition test measurements. Funding was provided under the Test Technology Development & Demonstration (TDD&D) program. Presently, the HSTSS effort has progressed into an acquisition cycle where the team has been expanded to include personnel from STRICOM's Program Manager for Instrumentation, Targets, & Threat Simulators. This report documents the status of various technologies at the end of the TTD&D funded portion of the program. This report also serves as a basis and guide for System Engineering/Analysis (SA/E) studies that are to be performed prior to Milestone I/II decision.

Modern artillery projectiles often carry submunitions. The flight behavior of these submunitions once released from the projectile carrier are often poorly known. A program was conducted to measure the spin of an M42 anti-personnel grenade. A launcher system was assembled using a modified 4.2-inch mortar tube mounted to a 105mm howitzer carriage. A sabot/pusher and charge system were developed. An instrumentation and telemetry system was developed and three units were fabricated. Improper functioning of the howitzer/mortar firing mechanism produced delays in the firing sequence and batteries discharged prior to firing. Hence, no data were received. Subsequently, problems with the firing mechanism have been corrected. Additionally, rechargeable batteries have been procured and will allow for unusual test sequences or occurrences. New circuit devices and assembly procedures have also been established. These instrumentation procedures could be applied to most types of small bursting submunitions.... Telemeter Systems, Grenades, Subminiature Electrical Equipment.

Rotational barriers and conformational energy differences have been calculated for 2-chlorobutane and 1,3,5,7,9,11-hexachlorododecane. These are considered as model compounds for syndiotactic poly vinyl chloride. The theoretical methods include high level ab initio SCF and configuration interaction methods. Accessability to gauche and gauche states in the polymer are in light of these model compounds.

Involucrin, a protein subunit of keratinocyte cross-linked envelopes, is a distinctive marker for suprabasal differentiation in stratified squamous epithelium. Immunoperoxidase staining for involucrin was used to evaluate paraffin sections of tissue obtained by colposcopically directed biopsies of infectious, metaplastic, and dysplastic lesions of the cervix and vagina. Areas of normal squamous epithelium, papillary and flat condyloma acuminatum, and mature and immature squamous metaplasia showed positive staining in 99 per cent of samples lacking significant inflammation and in 60 per cent of those with moderate or severe inflammation. In contrast, only 19 per cent of the squamous cell dysplasias, even those without much inflammation, showed positive staining, and no area with moderate or severe inflammation showed positive staining. These findings indicate that expression of involucrin is modulated by ceIIular pathologic features and microenvironment. We suggest that immunoperoxidase staining for involucrin may be useful in distinguishing mild dysplasia from immature metaplasia and flat condyloma in some biopsy specimens in which routine histologic examination yields an indeterminate diagnosis.

Involucrin, a protein subunit of keratinocyte cross-linked envelopes, is a distinctive marker for suprabasal differentiation in stratified squamous epithelium. Immunoperoxidase staining for involucrin was used to evaluate paraffin sections of tissue obtained by colposcopically directed biopsies of infectious, metaplastic, and dysplastic lesions of the cervix and vagina. Areas of normal squamous epithelium, papillary and flat condyloma acuminatum, and mature and immature squamous metaplasia showed positive staining in 99 per cent of samples lacking significant inflammation and in 60 per cent of those with moderate or severe inflammation. In contrast, only 19 per cent of the squamous cell dysplasias, even those without much inflammation, showed positive staining, and no area with moderate or severe inflammation showed positive staining. These findings indicate that expression of involucrin is modulated by cellular pathologic features and microenvironment. We suggest that immunoperoxidase staining for involucrin may be useful in distinguishing mild dysplasia from immature metaplasia and flat condyloma in some biopsy specimens in which routine histologic examination yields an indeterminate diagnosis.

The study was conducted at an underground stone mine in southwestern Pennsylvania where excessive levels of horizontal stress were known to exist and had been observed to cause roof falls. Both a traditional room-and-pillar layout and a new layout for stress control were in use. The ability of these two layouts to control ground was assessed by mapping of roof falls and roof damage areas and by microseismic monitoring using a 12-channel system. Findings to date show that the stress control layout provides more stable conditions and a safer working environment. This layout has headings and cross-cuts driven at favourable orientations to the stress directions, offset cross-cuts to create more stable intersections, and a wedge-shaped mining front maintained parallel to the maximum horizontal stress field. The work is part of a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) programme to identify and control horizontal stress in underground stone mines., The study was conducted at an underground stone mine in southwestern Pennsylvania where excessive levels of horizontal stress were known to exist and had been observed to cause roof falls. Both a traditional room-and-pillar layout and a new layout for stress control were in use. The ability of these two layouts to control ground was assessed by mapping of roof falls and roof damage areas and by microseismic monitoring using a 12-channel system. Findings to date show that the stress control layout provides more stable conditions and a safer working environment. This layout has headings and cross-cuts driven at favourable orientations to the stress directions, offset cross-cuts to create more stable intersections, and a wedge-shaped mining front maintained parallel to the maximum horizontal stress field. The work is part of a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) programme to identify and control horizontal stress in underground stone mines.