Search

This article stresses the importance of building design above technology as a relatively inexpensive way to reduce energy costs for a library. Emphasis is placed on passive solar design for heat and daylighting, but also examines passive ventilation and cooling, green roofs, and building materials. Passive design is weighed against technologies that actively capture renewable energy. Best practice examples include new construction and retrofits. Active technologies for capturing renewable energies, such as photovoltaic panels, can be employed when passive solutions are not realistic due to limitations resulting from site selection. Building or remodeling an environmentally sustainable building is more costly than a conventional equivalent, but long-term savings in energy and maintenance can more than compensate for the initial investment. Passive solar heat is particularly compatible with library functionality because it invites natural light into living spaces and eliminates noise that would otherwise exist with forced-air HVAC systems. Practical suggestions for subtle improvements to existing buildings are offered in addition to more ambitious construction projects.

An overview is provided of available resources on the Holocaust accessible via the Internet. Highlights include: search engines; foreign countries; museums and research centers; libraries; archives; photographic archives; art; organizations; education (K-12 and academic); Holocaust denial; interviews with survivors; bibliographies; and Usenet groups. (AEF)

Microbes exist at and colonize mucosal surfaces striking a balance with the host immune system, so that these microbes can thrive on host tissues without causing pathology. Because of this, mucosal barrier-colonizing bacteria can be leveraged to act as long-term delivery vehicles for naturally derived therapeutics. Here, we use a mouse model of corneal wound healing to show that the eye-colonizing bacterium, Corynebacterium mastitidis (C. mast) can be engineered to produce and secrete bioactive murine anti-inflammatory interleukin (mIL)-10. Specifically, we used transposon mutagenesis to identify a native C. mast-specific secretion signal that was used to direct C. mast to secrete mIL-10. Mini-transposons were generated to deliver secretion capable mIL-10 to the bacterial genome. After screening, two isolates were identified that can: 1) colonize the eye, 2) produce and secrete mIL-10, and 3) enhance wound healing in an IL-10-dependent manner. This proof of concept illustrates that eye-colonizing bacteria can be engineered to deliver therapeutics to the ocular surface for the alleviation of ocular surface disease(s).