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Genomic Tracking of Market-Derived Bull Shark Fins Back to Source Population of Origin.

International trade of shark fins remains difficult to monitor because products are rarely labelled to species and are often highly processed, resulting in severely degraded DNA. For several shark species listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), this limits external verification of source populations supplying global trade hubs. Here, we assess whether nuclear genomic approaches can be applied to market-derived bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) fins to determine their population of origin. We analysed dried fin trimmings collected from retail vendors in Hong Kong SAR, one of the world's largest dried shark fin trade hubs, using a targeted DArTcap single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel, originally developed for population genomic studies of this species. Despite substantial DNA degradation, genomic libraries were successfully obtained for most samples, yielding sufficient SNP data to perform robust provenance and sex assignment. Using a Bayesian mixed-stock analysis, most fin samples were assigned to the Indo-West Pacific (71.4%), with smaller contributions from the western Atlantic (22.6%) and eastern Pacific (3.0%). Genetic sex assignment revealed twice as many males as females, although results indicated a conservative bias towards male assignment due to the limited number of X-linked markers available in degraded samples. Our results demonstrate that genome-wide targeted approaches can be effectively applied to highly processed shark fin products to infer population sources and sex composition. This study provides proof-of-concept for integrating genomics into shark trade monitoring, highlighting its potential to improve traceability, support CITES implementation and inform conservation and fisheries management, particularly for species with well-resolved population structure.

Animals

Information needs of rural health care practitioners in Hawaii.

Rural health care workers need a wide range of specialized information but have difficulties locating and accessing information resources. The information needs of Hawaii's rural health care practitioners and their methods of accessing information were studied through interviews and mailed questionnaires. The following barriers to information access were identified: lack of funds, inadequate hardware, infrastructure problems, and insufficient knowledge about information sources and how to use them. Although many (85%) reported having computers, only a minority (30%) have modems, and even fewer use online resources or the free electronic databases at public and university libraries. Most reported that journal articles were the information source that best met their needs and that personal files or a colleague's collection were the most common places for accessing needed materials. Recommendations for solving some of the information problems include development of a State of Hawaii rural health information clearinghouse; better identification, training, and use of available services; and, most importantly, the establishment of rural health care information agents (modeled on agriculture extension agents) on each major island.

Hawaii

A handy database for culture collections worldwide: CCINFO-PC.

Culture collections are reservoirs of cultivable microbes, cell lines and gene libraries. Their role and duty are to supply biological resources to biomedical communities; nevertheless, their visibility from the public is low because most culture collections still have poor accesses via the Internet. Therefore the WFCC World Data Center on Micro-organisms (WDCM) developed a database that runs on IBM PCs and compatibles, which are the most popular computer and will be as powerful as workstations. The database includes various information: activities of 484 culture collections from 58 countries; an integrated list of their holdings of bacteria, fungi and yeast; and data entry system for culture collections.

Bacteria

Information needs of practicing dentists.

Dentists, as health professionals, need access to information. As in other health sciences, the increase in the rate and volume of published information has made it more difficult for them to keep up with new developments. Five hundred randomly selected dentists in Louisiana were surveyed to determine what information dentists seek and what sources they prefer. Responses indicated that dentists need information on new techniques in dentistry and that preferred sources are professional colleagues and personal journal collections. Libraries were found to be used only infrequently as sources for information. Implications for planning libraries for applications- and technique-oriented professions are discussed.

Dentists

Estimates of mRNA abundance in the mouse blastocyst based on cDNA library analysis.

Studies of gene expression during blastocyst formation in mouse preimplantation development have been limited by the amount of RNA available per embryo. Our present approach to this problem has been to construct a large, representative, blastocyst cDNA library in lambda gt11. Random hexadeoxynucleotides were used as primers with total blastocyst RNA serving as template. RNA collected from 4,100 32-64 cell embryos was used to generate a library with an initial size of 30 X 10(6) recombinants. By using clone frequency as a measure of relative mRNA abundance, our data support previous work on the relative and absolute amounts of actin, histone H2a, and intracisternal A particle. Furthermore, we provide estimates for the abundance of cytokeratin endo A, cytokeratin endo B, and beta-tubulin from clone frequency data. Insert sizes for isolated clones range from 200 bp to 3.6 kb with full-length or near-full-length insert sizes for selected clones, indicating that random primer methods generate cDNAs which can represent a significant portion of the mRNA. We have so far characterized products whose abundance is equal to or greater than 0.002% of total RNA. This library offers the potential for the analyses of presumptive regulatory gene products in the mouse preimplantation embryo which are represented as low abundance (less than 1% of mRNA) RNAs.

Actins

A human chromosome 7 yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) resource: construction, characterization, and screening.

The paradigm of sequence-tagged site (STS)-content mapping involves the systematic assignment of STSs to individual cloned DNA segments. To date, yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) represent the most commonly employed cloning system for constructing STS maps of large genomic intervals, such as whole human chromosomes. For developing a complete YAC-based STS-content map of human chromosome 7, we wished to utilize a limited set of YAC clones that were highly enriched for chromosome 7 DNA. Toward that end, we have assembled a human chromosome 7 YAC resource that consists of three major components: (1) a newly constructed library derived from a human-hamster hybrid cell line containing chromosome 7 as its only human DNA; (2) a chromosome 7-enriched sublibrary derived from the CEPH mega-YAC collection by Alu-polymerase chain reaction (Alu-PCR)-based hybridization; and (3) a set of YACs isolated from several total genomic libraries by screening for > 125 chromosome 7 STSs. In particular, the hybrid cell line-derived YACs, which comprise the majority of the clones in the resource, have a relatively low chimera frequency (10-20%) based on mapping isolated insert ends to panels of human-hamster hybrid cell lines and analyzing individual clones by fluorescence in situ hybridization. An efficient strategy for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based screening of this YAC resource, which totals 4190 clones, has been developed and utilized to identify corresponding YACs for > 600 STSs. The results of this initial screening effort indicate that the human chromosome 7 YAC resource provides an average of 6.9 positive clones per STS, a level of redundancy that should support the assembly of large YAC contigs and the construction of a high-resolution STS-content map of the chromosome.

Animals

Design and implementation of the Indianapolis Network for Patient Care and Research.

We are creating a health care information network that will link a large community medical record system to three hospital emergency departments, fifty community pharmacies, ten clinics, four health-maintenance organization (HMO) offices, and twelve homeless care sites in Indianapolis, Indiana. This project will test the feasibility of linking care providers across organizational boundaries and measure the benefits of such a network. The network will supply three kinds of information services: a "mini-medical library," patient medical record information, and a citywide prescription database incorporating a computer-based prescription-writing system. The use of medical resources, the cost of care, provider time spent giving care, and providers' opinions of the services will be used as outcomes in randomized clinical trials. Through this project, we hope to expand the information base available to the target care sites; reduce unnecessary testing and increase the efficiency of care in emergency departments; improve emergency department, office, and clinic prescribing patterns; enlarge the consortium of health care providers connected by the network; and develop strategies for successfully implementing a comprehensive city medical record resource.

Ambulatory Care Facilities

Computerized graphic display of physiological data collected during human stereotactic surgery.

An on-line computerized graphic display has been developed for use during stereotactic operations. This depicts in the form of figurine charts and alph-numeric symbols, appropriately oriented on saggital brain diagrams, the results of serial threshold stimulation of the brain. The display facilitates choice of target sites and the data can be stored in a tape library from which search-and-plot programs can be activated for any type or combination of types of response.

Brain

Imperatives for continuing research education: results of a Medical Library Association survey.

This paper reports the results of a survey assessing the interest of Medical Library Association (MLA) members in acquiring or improving research skills through continuing education (CE). It describes respondents' educational preparation for research and selected research activities, reviews MLA's experiences with offering CE courses on research topics, and discusses MLA's role in providing education to prepare members for research. The paper includes recommendations for improving research skills through CE and other professional activities. Topics of greatest interest to MLA members were survey development, problem identification, evaluation and cost studies, survey methodology, and methods of data collection. Many respondents preferred local courses. Academic health sciences librarians, as a group, were found to be more productive publishers than hospital librarians. Many respondents reported the availability of free or subsidized research-support services, but more than half did not. More than 90% of respondents indicated that MLA should actively encourage, require, or offer research education. A comprehensive plan for obtaining research skills through CE, along with individual self-assessment and counseling, is recommended.

Education, Continuing

The Twins Foundation: twins take up the challenge.

Revelations about twins are abundant, but the information often is inaccessible. Therefore, The Twins Foundation, a multifaceted, international, nonprofit agency has been formed. Through development of a Research Library, Museum and Hall of Fame, it will provide archival and research support to the growing number of disciplines involved in twin studies; provide a central respository and clearing house of information about twins for the general public; enlist twin achievers to act as role models for adolescent twins; and collect information about the contributions twins have made to their societies in order to dispel still prevalent negative stereotypes about multiples.

Female

Identification of new genes by systematic analysis of cDNAs and database construction.

The large-scale collection of partial cDNA sequences is becoming a powerful tool in biology. Similarity or motif searches in DNA databases using these partial cDNA sequences have facilitated the discovery of new genes of interest. By collecting and registering large numbers of partial sequences with a well designed non-biased cDNA library, an expression profile of active genes in a particular tissue can be obtained. Tissue-specific or stage-specific genes can be discovered by comparing the profiles from different tissues or from a tissue at different stages of development, respectively. The compilation of such expression profiles enables genes to be mapped to the tissue(s) where they are actively transcribed. The large-scale collation of gene sequences actively expressed in the body into databases complements efforts directed towards the structural analysis of the genome, with the ultimate aim of decoding all the genetic information carried in the human genome. This cDNA strategy is also being widely applied to organisms other than man.

Animals

A computer system to monitor radiology department activity: a management tool to improve patient care.

A microcomputer system has been developed and installed at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology to monitor the moment-to-moment activity in a radiology department. Data about department performances are collected, summarized, and displayed in graphs and tables on terminals at stations throughout the department. The system is currently used to monitor a wide variety of functions including patient waiting time, report production time, film-library operations, equipment maintenance, and room use. Since the displays are updated in real-time, it is possible to identify and address problems as they occur, thereby providing a method of evaluation that leads to improved performance as related to patient care.

Appointments and Schedules

Assembly and analysis of cosmid contigs in the CEA-gene family region of human chromosome 19.

The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-like genes are members of a large gene family which is part of the immunoglobulin superfamily. The CEA family is divided into two major subgroups, the CEA-subgroup and the pregnancy-specific glycoprotein (PSG)-subgroup. In the course of an effort to develop a set of overlapping cosmids spanning human chromosome 19, we identified 245 cosmids in a human chromosome 19 cosmid library (6-7X redundant) by hybridization with an IgC-like domain fragment of the CEA gene. A fluorescence-based restriction enzyme digest fingerprinting strategy was used to assemble 212 probe-positive cosmids, along with 115 additional cosmids from a collection of approximately 8,000 randomly selected cosmids, into five contigs. Two of the contigs contain CEA-subgroup genes while the remaining three contigs contain PSG-subgroup genes. These five contigs range in size from 100 kb to over 300 kb and span an estimated 1 Mb. The CEA-like gene family was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization to map in the q13.1-q13.2 region of human chromosome 19. Analysis of the two CEA-subgroup contigs provided verification of the contig assembly strategy and insight into the organization of 9 CEA-subgroup genes.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen

Faculty input in book selection: a comparison of alternative methods.

In an era of tight funding, academic medical center libraries need to determine their users' needs in order to provide cost-effective resource collections. Although faculty input is valuable, it is impractical to impose such ongoing responsibility on faculty members. This study tested an alternative method by comparing faculty preferences in discipline-specific subjects with faculty choices on corresponding discipline-specific, new-book approval slips from a vendor. Collection development librarian selections, based on formal selection criteria, were evaluated against both measures of faculty preferences. It was found that faculty members' subject ratings did not accurately predict their book choices. Implications of this and the other findings are discussed.

Book Selection

The impact of the Northlands Regional Medical Program Library Services.

The most essential components of the former Northlands Regional Medical Program Library Services are reviewed. Their impact is assessed through interpretation of responses to a questionnaire sent to rural institutions that had borrowed one of the NRMP demonstration core libraries. Although the NRMP had thoroughly promoted the need for these institutions to provide information services beyond their own collection, many of them were not ready to support an alternative means of educating library personnel, and had not made use of the extension services provided through either the University of Minnesota Biomedical Library or the Mayo Medical Library. A gradual change was anticipated, however, and some general recommendations are made as an outcome of this study regarding the direction of further efforts towards medical library development in the non-metropolitan areas of Minnesota.

Education, Medical, Continuing

Artificial intelligence-driven advancements in agricultural biotechnology.

The need for faster and more informative data processing for better decision-making is driving the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the agricultural sector. Thanks to recent advancements in computer science and the increase in computational powers of modern computers, AI is not only augmenting traditional solutions, but also helping in developing novel solutions to existing challenging matters. AI-driven models have an exceptional ability to identify patterns and combine a diverse collection of data together and make inference. The increasing pressure on farmlands posed by the growing global population and climate change is lessening growth, yield, and productivity ultimately posing risk to food security worldwide. Incorporation of AI in agriculture has the potential to drive farming efficiency to new heights. This comprehensive review critically evaluates the evolution of AI in agricultural biotechnology from a theoretical concept to a global phenomenon. A comprehensive literature search was performed using major scientific databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Lens and the Cochrane Library. In this review, we empirically demonstrate the fields advancement toward more capable AI systems and discuss the current applications of AI across crop improvement and precision agriculture such as crop improvement and genetic engineering, genomic selection and plant breeding, pest and disease detection, precision agriculture and smart farming, soil health and nutrient management, climate resilient crop development, livestock biotechnology, challenges and ethical considerations in AI based agricultural biotechnology. Furthermore, this review addresses the exponential growth of commercial intellectual property in the field and contrast it with academic publication outputs. Finally, we critically assess the ethical challenges impeding equitable adoption of AI including data sovereignty and digital divide, while projecting future frontiers involving quantum computing. This review will help build sustainable agricultural systems capable of adapting to climate change, contribute to the development of climate-resilient and high-yielding crops, and address global food security challenges.

Agriculture

Microcomputer system for automatic identification of the Cryptococcus neoformans and its clinical application.

In this study, microcomputer image processing and pattern recognition technology, and the knowledge of morphology and optical characteristics of Cryptococcus neoformans were used for identification of Cryptococcus neoformans. Four groups of mice were lethally infected with standard strain, Wuhan strain, American B-2643 strain and Var. Shanghainesis of the Cryptococcus neoformans. The samples collected included mice brain, lung, kidney, liver, small intestine tissue and were observed under a light microscope. More than 600 images of the fungus were input into a microcomputer. A system of computer for automatic identification of the Cryptococcus neoformans was developed. The technique involved image preprocessing, image segmenting, coding of line-length on the edge, curve fitting, extracting of image feature, building of image library and feature data bank etc.. And then, 768 images of the clinical samples and other fungus samples whose morphological features tend to be confused with Cryptococcus neoformans were input into microcomputer and subjected to automatic identification. The Cryptococcus neoformans was accurately identified within 15 min, and the consistency rate with results of routine culture was 98%.

Animals

Cytoplasmic tutor: a program for teaching interpretation of a microscope-based laboratory test.

Antibodies to cytoplasmic antigens can be identified with a microscope-based indirect immunofluorescence assay that uses a mouse stomach-kidney substrate. The antibodies are diagnostic markers in chronic active hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, pernicious anemia, and other autoimmune diseases. We describe the development and features of an image-based computer program for teaching medical technologists and other health care workers the proper interpretation of cytoplasmic fluorescence staining patterns. The program, called Cytoplasmic Tutor, is written in Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows and runs on an 80486 microcomputer. it is based on a library of digital images, with key features described by overlays of text. The images were collected and processed with a computer-based fluorescence video microscopy system assembled in our laboratory.

Animals