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Racist systems, policies, and institutions subvert the quality of life for minoritized individuals and groups, across all indicators, from education and employment, to health, to community safety. Reforms to address systemic racism may be accelerated with greater support from allies who identify with the dominant groups that derive advantage from such systems. Although enhancing empathy and compassion for impacted individuals and groups may foster greater allyship with and support of minoritized communities, little work to date has assessed the relationships among compassion, empathy, and allyship. After reviewing current work in the area, this perspective offers insights into the utility and specific components of a compassion-based framework that can be used to combat racism, using findings from a survey study in which we investigated the relationship between validated psychometric measures of compassion and allyship with minoritized communities. Several subdomains of compassion, as measured among individuals identifying as non-Black, correlate significantly with levels of felt allyship with Black or African American communities. These findings inform recommendations for compassion-focused research, including development and testing of interventions to promote allyship, advocacy, and solidarity with minoritized groups, and support efforts to undo longstanding structural racisms that have patterned inequality in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: During the pandemic, the number of United States adults reporting clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression sky-rocketed, up from 11% in 2020 to more than 40% in 2021. Our current mental healthcare system cannot adequately accommodate the current crisis; it is therefore important to identify opportunities for public mental health interventions. Objective: Assess whether modifiable emotional factors may offer a point of intervention for the mental health crisis. Design, setting, and participants: From January 13 to 15, 2022, adults living in the United States were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an anonymous survey. Main outcomes and measures: Linear regressions tested whether the primary outcomes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (depressive and anxiety symptoms, burnout) were associated with hypothesized modifiable risk factors (loneliness and need for closure) and hypothesized modifiable protective factors (the ability to perceive emotions and connect with others emotionally; emotion-regulation efficacy; and resilience, or the ability to "bounce back" after negative events). Results: The sample included 1,323 adults (mean [SD] age 41.42 [12.52] years; 636 women [48%]), almost half of whom reported clinically significant depressive (29%) and/or anxiety (15%) symptoms. Approximately 90% of participants indicated feeling burned out at least once a year and nearly half of participants (45%) felt burned out once a week or more. In separate analyses, depressive symptoms (Model A), anxiety symptoms (Model B), and burnout (Model C) were statistically significantly associated with loneliness (βModel A, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.33-0.43; βModel B, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.26-0.36; βModel C, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.28-0.41), need for closure (βModel A, 0.09; 95% CI, 1.03-1.06; βModel B, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.97-0.17; βModel C, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.07-0.16), recent stressful life events (βModel A, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.10-0.17; βModel B, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.11-0.18; βModel C, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.06-0.15), and resilience (βModel A, -0.10; 95% CI, -0.15 to -0.05; βModel B, -0.18; 95% CI, -0.23 to -0.13; βModel C, -0.11; 95% CI, -0.17 to -0.05). In addition, depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with emotional self-efficacy (βModel A, -0.17; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.12; βModel B, -0.11; 95% CI, -0.17 to -0.06), and beliefs about the malleability of emotions (βModel A, -0.08; 95% CI, -0.12 to -0.03; βModel B, -0.09; 95% CI, -0.13 to -0.04). Associations between loneliness and symptoms were weaker among those with more emotional self-efficacy, more endorsement of emotion malleability beliefs, and greater resilience, in separate models. Analyses controlled for recent stressful life events, optimism, and social desirability. Conclusion and relevance: Public mental health interventions that teach resilience in response to negative events, emotional self-efficacy, and emotion-regulation efficacy may protect against the development of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and burnout, particularly in the context of a collective trauma. Emotional self-efficacy and regulation efficacy may mitigate the association between loneliness and mental health, but loneliness prevention research is also needed to address the current mental health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to growing concerns regarding mosquito-borne diseases, scientists are developing novel systems of vector control. Early examples include Oxitec's OX513A genetically-engineered mosquito and MosquitoMate's Wolbachia-infected mosquito, and systems using 'gene-drive' are in development. Systems based on genetic engineering are controversial and institutions around the world are grappling with the question of who should have a say in how such technologies are field-tested and used. Based on media coverage and public records, we created comparative timelines of the efforts of Oxitec and MosquitoMate to navigate federal and local governance and bring their products to market in the United States. We analyze these timelines with particular attention to the role of public input in technology governance. These cases illustrate how governance of technology in the US is diverse, complex, and opaque. Further, the public response to proposed field trials of the Oxitec product highlights inconsistencies between public expectations for governance and actual practice. As gene-drive mosquito control products develop, both federal and local agencies will find their legitimacy tested without a better procedure for transparently integrating public input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the need for libraries to pursue partnerships that provide gateways to other library collections. Lost art of collection development; Cooperative collection development program of the Champaign, Illinois-based Center for Research Libraries; Emergence of librarians as transformational leaders of the Information Age.

Mycobacterium africanum is endemic to West Africa and causes tuberculosis (TB). We reviewed reported cases of TB in the United States during 2004-2013 that had lineage assigned by genotype (spoligotype and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit variable number tandem repeats). M. africanum caused 315 (0.4%) of 73,290 TB cases with lineage assigned by genotype. TB caused by M. africanum was associated more with persons from West Africa (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 253.8, 95% CI 59.9-1,076.1) and US-born black persons (aOR 5.7, 95% CI 1.2-25.9) than with US-born white persons. TB caused by M. africanum did not show differences in clinical characteristics when compared with TB caused by M. tuberculosis. Clustered cases defined as >2 cases in a county with identical 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit genotypes, were less likely for M. africanum (aOR 0.1, 95% CI 0.1-0.4), which suggests that M. africanum is not commonly transmitted in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We used race-corrected data and comprehensive diagnostic codes to better compare HIV and tuberculosis (TB) mortality from 1999 to 2009 between American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and Whites, Methods. National Vital Statistics Surveillance System mortality data were adjusted for AI/AN racial misclassification through linkage with Indian Health Service registration records. We compared average annual 1990 to 2009 HIV and TB death rates (per 100 000 people) for AI/AN persons with those for Whites; Hispanics were excluded. Results. Although death rates from HIV in AI/AN persons were significantly lower than those in Whites from 1990 to 1998 (4,2 vs 7,0), they were significantly higher than those in Whites from 1999 to 2009 (3,6 vs 2,0), Death rates from TB in AI/AN persons were significantly higher than those in Whites, with a significant disparity during both 1990 to 1998 (3,3 vs 0,3) and 1999 to 2009 (1,5 vs 0,1), Conclusions. The decrease in death rates from HIV and TB was greater among Whites, and death rates remained significantly higher among AI/AN individuals. Public health interventions need to be prioritized to reduce the TB and HIV burden and mortality in AI/AN populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now recognized that a number of cognitive, behavioral, and mental health outcomes across the lifespan can be traced to fetal development. Although the direct mediation is unknown, the substantial variance in fetal growth, most commonly indexed by birth weight, may affect lifespan brain development. We investigated effects of normal variance in birth weight on MRI-derived measures of brain development in 628 healthy children, adolescents, and young adults in the large-scale multicenter Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics study. This heterogeneous sample was recruited through geographically dispersed sites in the United States. The influence of birth weight on cortical thickness, surface area, and striatal and total brain volumes was investigated, controlling for variance in age, sex, household income, and genetic ancestry factors. Birth weight was found to exert robust positive effects on regional cortical surface area in multiple regions as well as total brain and caudate volumes. These effects were continuous across birth weight ranges and ages and were not confined to subsets of the sample. The findings show that (i) aspects of later child and adolescent brain development are influenced at birth and (ii) relatively small differences in birth weight across groups and conditions typically compared in neuropsychiatric research (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, schizophrenia, and personality disorders) may influence group differences observed in brain parameters of interest at a later stage in life. These findings should serve to increase our attention to early influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We examined trends and epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) across racial/ethnic groups to better understand TB disparities in the United States, with particular focus on American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders (NH/PIs). Methods. We analyzed cases in the U.S. National Tuberculosis Surveillance System and calculated TB case rates among all racial/ethnic groups from 2003 to 2008. Socioeconomic and health indicators for counties in which TB cases were reported came from the Health Resources and Services Administration Area Resource File. Results. Among the 82,836 TB cases, 914 (1.1%) were in AI/ANs and 362 (0.4%) were in NH/PIs. In 2008, TB case rates for AI/ANs and NH/PIs were 5.9 and 14.7 per 100,000 population, respectively, rates that were more than five and 13 times greater than for non-Hispanic white people (1.1 per 100,000 population). From 2003 to 2008, AI/ANs had the largest percentage decline in TB case rates (-27.4%) for any racial/ethnic group, but NH/PIs had the smallest percentage decline (-3.5%). AI/ANs were more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to be homeless, excessively use alcohol, receive totally directly observed therapy, and come from counties with a greater proportion of people living in poverty and without health insurance. A greater proportion of NH/PIs had extrapulmonary disease and came from counties with a higher proportion of people with a high school diploma. Conclusions. There is a need to develop flexible TB-control strategies that address the social determinants of health and that are tailored to the specific needs of AI/ANs and NH/PIs in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increasing emphasis on counter-terrorism and transnational crime threats, US lawmakers and courts have changed the scope of police surveillance authority. As a result, a new privacy paradigm has emerged where police power to gather information in criminal investigations has expanded. This paper examines the factors, legal doctrines, federal statutes, and operational practices that have enabled the police to widen their surveillance activities. As police utilize more technology and surveillance in crime control, their escalating search authority has led to a diminution in personal privacy safeguards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years U.S. police have been given greater surveillance powers in response to perceived threats from crime, drugs, and terrorism. Several legal and criminal events have facilitated a reevaluation of the balance between police surveillance authority and civil privacy protection. In the post-9/11 era, changes in federal law, court interpretation of privacy safeguards, and technological advances have expanded the circumstances and methods by which the police may engage in surveillance of civil activities. This paper examines the factors contributing to the escalation in police surveillance and its effects on privacy rights and civil life. The analysis suggests that increasing police surveillance has diminished individual privacy protections and impacted aspects of civil life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Database Of Library Licensed Electronic Resources (DOLLeR) is a relational database developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago Library as the management tool for electronic resource subscriptions and the associated licensing activity. The history of DOLLeR is presented, along with detailed discussions of the most important aspects of the database functionality. The paper focuses on those features that make DOLLeR an efficient management tool, such as its simple and robust functional structure, its tables, its user-friendly interface, its e-mail gateway allowing easy communication among authorized users, its capabilities of generating a variety of reports, and its security mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a workshop on the history, projects and goals of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in Champaign, Illinois. Ideas shared on consortia development; Reasons for the existence of consortia; Library projects developed by CRL; Affiliation of CRL with library cooperatives; Improvement of capability to scan material and use of delivery mechanisms.

Focuses on the development of a single National Information Standards Organization (NISO) standard for holdings statements of bibliographic items in the United States. Accounts of the history of the US standards for holdings; Provisions under the NISO standard; Issues affecting the development of the NISO standards.

Features the ASK, a database for the analysis of serials costs, developed by Chicago, Illinois-based University of Illinois. Development of ASK; Using ASK; Fiscal analyses; Other collection management uses; Limitations of the database.

The article presents a report from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention regarding the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) cases reported in the U.S. Statistics show a 3.8% decline in the number of TB cases between 2007 and 2008. The 4.2 cases per 100,000 people are the lowest on record. The data was collected by the National TB Surveillance System. Foreign born persons and ethnic minorities continue to bear a disproportionate burden of TB cases in the U.S. Trends in the number of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) cases are analyzed.

Offers rules in managing relations with in-house counsel in the United States. Way to develop good relations with in-house counsel; Maintenance of a formalized work assignment system; Importance of clear communication.

Discusses several aspects of the economic cost of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Differences among cost estimates of FAS; Estimating lifetime costs of FAS; Research by Abel and Sokol (1987, 1991a, and 1991b) ; Research by Rice et al (1990); Research by Harwood and Napolitano (1985).