Core Library Research Articles

National Virtual Core Library HyLogging data and Ni–Co laterites: a mineralogical model for resource exploration, extraction and remediation

ABSTRACTThe National Virtual Core Library (NVCL) HyLogging core-scanning system generates mineralogical information from visible, short-wave infrared and thermal infrared spectroscopic data. Currently, HyLogging data are freely available for more than 1500 drill holes via the AuScope Discovery Portal and various Geological Survey websites. With any new technology, there is commonly a lag between provision and take-up by users that can be aided by the publication of case studies in the scientific literature. This paper uses the Mt Davies nickel–cobalt (Ni–Co) laterite deposits, located in northwest South Australia, as a case study to assess the accessibility and representation of HyLogger data and provides an example of its application to all aspects of resource mining: exploration, extraction and processing, and remediation. In this study, we combine HyLogger-derived scalars indicating Fe-oxide and clay mineralogy with historical geological logs and assay data. In general, background Ni grades (<0.1 wt%) are linked to the presence of montmorillonite + hematite ± goethite, moderate grades (0.1–1.0 wt%) are associated with goethite ± nontronite ± saponite ± kaolinite ± montmorillonite, and higher grades (1.0–2.0 wt%) are coincident with goethite and minimal clay alteration, suggesting that goethite hosts Ni mineralisation. Gibbsite, where it occurs, is found immediately above zones of moderate to high Ni grades and may be an important proximal indicator mineral of nickeliferous laterite. Such a case study serves to suggest opportunities for further data modelling and search and query functionality that could facilitate increased use of this important digital geoscience data resource by the Australian minerals industry for all aspects of resource exploitation: exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental remediation.

Uncovering the mineralogy of the Australian Continent: the AuScope National Virtual Core Library. A national hyperspectrally derived drill-core archive

Uncovering the mineralogy of the Australian Continent: the AuScope National Virtual Core Library. A national hyperspectrally derived drill-core archive

From Committees of RUSA: Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States

The Reference and User Services Association, acting for the American Library Association in its adoption of this code, recognizes that the sharing of material between libraries is a core library service and believes it to be in the public interest to encourage such an exchange.In the interest of providing quality service, libraries have an obligation to obtain material to meet the informational needs of users when local resources do not meet those needs. Interlibrary loan (ILL), a mechanism for obtaining material, is essential to the vitality of all libraries.The effectiveness of the national interlibrary loan system depends upon participation of libraries of all types and sizes.This code establishes principles that facilitate the requesting of material by a library and the provision of loans or copies in response to those requests.

Tending the Garden of Learning: Lifelong Learning as Core Library Value

Lifelong Learning is enshrined in the professional practice of librarians through the American Library Association’s “Core Values of Librarianship” (2004). As a Core Value, the term is extremely vague. What do we mean by lifelong learning, and why does the term have such a powerful hold on the imaginations of educators? This paper works to understand the term by looking at one of the earliest conflicts in American educational history and philosophy: the choice between student-centered schools and employment-centered schools. During the first decades of the twentieth century, America was struggling to define its national core values. Educational theory was seen as a key way to articulate and pass on these values. One pedagogical approach involved developing schools to educate individuals to become thinking and informed citizens; another administrative approach involved creating schools as vocational institutions to educate individuals to become skilled employees. After a brief debate, employment-centered schools emerged as the clear winner. Since that time American schools have been viewed almost exclusively through a vocational lens. The implications of this decision for libraries, schools, and learning are explored.

The Paradox of Privacy: Revisiting a Core Library Value in an Age of Big Data and Linked Data

Protecting user privacy and confidentiality is fundamental to the ethics and practice of librarianship, and such protection constitutes one of eleven values in the American Library Association’s “Core Values of Librarianship” (2004). This paper addresses the concerns of protecting privacy in the library as they relate to library users who are defining, exploring, and negotiating their sexual identities with the help of the library’s information, programming, and physical facilities. In so doing, we enlist the aid of Garret Keizer, who, in Privacy (2012), articulates a fresh theory of the concept in light of American social life in the twenty-first century. Using Keizer’s theory, we examine these concerns within the context of the rise of big data systems and social media on the one hand, and linked data and new cataloging standards on the other. In so doing, we suggest that linked data technologies, with their ability to lead searchers through self-directed, open inquiry, are superior to big data technologies in the navigation of the paradox between openness and secrecy. In this way they offer a greater potential to support the needs of queer library users: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ).

Ether Today, Gone Tomorrow: 21st Century Sound Recording Collection in Crisis

Today’s music industry increasingly favors online-only, direct-to-consumer distribution. No longer can librarians expect to collect recordings on tangible media where first-sale doctrine applies. Instead, at an ever-increasing rate, librarians are discovering that music recordings are available only via such online distribution sites as iTunes or Amazon.com . These distributors require individual purchasers to agree to restrictive end-user license agreements (EULAs) that explicitly forbid institutional ownership and such core library functions as lending. What does this mean for the future of music libraries? The coauthors present an overview of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project tasked with investigating the issue, and recommend a series of next steps designed to build our professional capacity toward addressing the challenge.

Design and implementation of WiMesh: A tool for the performance evaluation of multi-radio wireless mesh networks

In this paper we present WiMesh, a software tool we developed during the last few years of research conducted in the field of multi-radio wireless mesh networks. WiMesh serves two main purposes: (i) to evaluate and compare different algorithms for the static configuration of a wireless mesh network (assignment of channels, transmission rate and power to the available network radios, explicit routing); (ii) to automatically setup and run packet level simulations (by using the ns-3 network simulator) based on the network configuration returned by such algorithms. WiMesh consists of a core library, three libraries dedicated to distinct functionalities of WiMesh and three corresponding utilities that allow us to easily conduct experiments. To ensure ease of use and flexibility, all such utilities accept as input an XML configuration file where various options and parameters can be specified. WiMesh is freely available to the research community as open source software, with the purpose of easing the development of new algorithms and the verification of their performances. In this paper, we first present the architecture of WiMesh and its features and capabilities by illustrating the design and the usage of each of the provided utilities. Then, to the benefit of those willing to implement their own solution within WiMesh or extend its functionalities, we illustrate the design of the WiMesh libraries. Finally, we report some of the results, which we were able to show in previous research work thanks to the use of WiMesh.

Implementing record and refinement for debugging timing-dependent communication

Distributed applications are hard to debug because timing-dependent network communication is a source of non-deterministic behavior. Current approaches to debug non-deterministic failures include post-mortem debugging as well as record and replay. However, the first impairs system performance to gather data, whereas the latter requires developers to understand the timing-dependent communication at a lower level of abstraction than they develop at. Furthermore, both approaches require intrusive core library modifications to gather data from live systems.In this paper, we present the Peek-At-Talk debugger for investigating non-deterministic failures with low overhead in a systematic, top-down method, with a particular focus on tool-building issues in the following areas: First, we show how our debugging framework Path Tools guides developers from failures to their root causes and gathers run-time data with low overhead. Second, we present Peek-At-Talk, an extension to our Path Tools framework to record non-deterministic communication and refine behavioral data that connects source code with network events. Finally, we scope changes to the core library to record network communication without impacting other network applications.

Crossing the Bridge from the Education Campus Island to the Community: Will we Walk or do we Learn to Swim?

As we move through the second decade of the twenty-first century, health professional education is increasingly being evaluated through a social accountability lens [1]. The WHO defines social accountability in medical education as “the obligation to orient education, research, and service activities towards priority health concerns of the local communities, the region and/or nation one has a mandate to serve. These priorities are jointly defined by government, health service organisations, and the public” [2]. This lens is evident in position statements by organisations such as the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) [3], the World Federation for Medical Education [4], and the Global Consensus on Social Accountability in Medical Education [5], and by the Association for Medical Education in Europe including social accountability as one of only three categories for their awards for excellence in medical education (the ASPIRE initiative [6]). As an example, I see social accountability being played out in our school through a team of paediatric medical scientists and clinicians who are educating our MD students in an environment bathed by research that is impacting our community, in this case, a group focused on discovering and implementing new approaches to the basic scientific understanding and treatment of bronchiolitis, the most common reason in our community for infants to be separated from their homes and families. These scientists and clinicians are inspirational mentors to MD students eager to adopt positive role models. In clinical education, this social accountability lens has resulted in a sometimes radical shift of clinical teaching out of the traditional single tertiary hospital campus and into multiple community settings, particularly in underserved regions [7, 8]. This has been supported by the disruptive technology of longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs), a relationship-based pedagogy where medical students undertake an entire academic year of clinical study based in community settings, often with an emphasis on primary care teachers, rather than undertaking tertiary hospital rotations through the traditional specialist disciplines [9]. Many medical schools base LICs in multiple dispersed sites and use blended eLearning approaches to assist students to be able to access core learning materials and library resources. Schools have developed LICs based in underserved communities because of the known association with an increased likelihood that graduates of these programs will choose careers based in these community settings [10, 11]. Additional research has demonstrated that the academic results [12] achieved by students in these settings are at least equivalent to their traditional campus peers and, in the areas of professionalism, there appear to be significant additional benefits [13]. With some notable exceptions [14, 15], however, the basic science teaching in health profession courses has remained * Paul Worley paul.worley@flinders.edu.au

A Framework to Simplify Combined Sampling Strategies in Rosetta.

A core task in computational structural biology is the search of conformational space for low energy configurations of a biological macromolecule. Because conformational space has a very high dimensionality, the most successful search methods integrate some form of prior knowledge into a general sampling algorithm to reduce the effective dimensionality. However, integrating multiple types of constraints can be challenging. To streamline the incorporation of diverse constraints, we developed the Broker: an extension of the Rosetta macromolecular modeling suite that can express a wide range of protocols using constraints by combining small, independent modules, each of which implements a different set of constraints. We demonstrate expressiveness of the Broker through several code vignettes. The framework enables rapid protocol development in both biomolecular design and structural modeling tasks and thus is an important step towards exposing the rich functionality of Rosetta’s core libraries to a growing community of users addressing a diverse set of tasks in computational biology.

Finding “Diversity Levers” in the Core Library and Information Science Curriculum: A Social Justice Imperative

In this exploratory study, the researchers examined the core library and information science (LIS) curriculum, looking for diversity levers, or conceptual access points, where transformative academic knowledge related to diversity and social justice could be meaningfully integrated. Multicultural curriculum reform, conceptualized as a social justice approach, was the guiding framework for the research design and analysis. The researchers began by establishing what constitutes the core curriculum and essential knowledge taught across thirty-six ALA-accredited master’s of library and information science degree programs. These data were then used to construct a survey that went to one hundred LIS faculty at ALA institutions who provided pedagogical knowledge, ideas, and resources for infusing diversity and social justice into the core curriculum. The findings suggest that there are certain core LIS courses that have explicit diversity levers, or areas where there are natural connections to diversity and social justice content, while others have emergent or implicit diversity levers. The differences among these types of diversity levers are explained, and some of the pedagogical resources that were shared by the survey respondents are included. The Information Technology core course shows the most promise for integrating diversity and social justice pedagogies.

Prediction of MgO volume fraction in an ADS fresh fuel for the scenario code CLASS

Subcritical reactors, also called Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS), are specifically studied for their capacity in transmuting Minor Actinides (MA). Nuclear fuel cycle scenarios involving MA transmutation in ADS are widely researched. The nuclear fuel cycle simulation tool code CLASS (Core Library for Advanced Scenarios Simulations) is dedicated to the inventory evolution calculation induced by a complex nuclear fleet. For managing reactors, the code CLASS includes physic models. Loading models aim to provide the fuel composition at beginning of cycle according to the stocks isotopic composition and the reactors requirements. A cross section predictor aims to provide mean cross sections needed for solving Bateman equations. Physic models are built from reactors calculation set ahead of the scenario calculation. An ADS standard composition at BOC is a mixture of plutonium and MA oxide. The high number of fissile isotopes present in the subcritical core leads to an issue for building an ADS fuel loading model. A high number of isotopic vector at BOC is needed to get an exhaustive simulation set. Also, ADS initial reactivity is adjusted with an inert matrix which induces an additional degree of freedom. The building of an ADS fuel loading model for CLASS requires two steps. For any heavy nuclide composition at beginning of cycle, the core reactivity must be imposed at a subcritical level. Also, the reactivity coefficient evolution should be maintained during the irradiation. In this work, the MgO volume fraction is adjusted to reach the first requirement. The methodology based on a set of reactor simulations and neural network utilization to predict the MgO volume fraction needed to reach a wanted keff for any initial composition is presented. Also, a complete neutronic study is done that highlight the effect on MgO on neutronic parameters. Reactor simulations are done with the transport code MCNP6 (Monte Carlo N particle transport code). The ADS geometry is based on the EFIT (European Facility for Industrial-Scale Transmutation) concept. The simulation set is composed of more than 8000 randomized runs from which a neural network has been built. The resulting MgO prediction method allows reaching a keff at 0.96 and the distribution standard deviation is around 200 pcm.

FYI for FYE: 20-minute instruction for library orientation

Purpose – This paper aims to provide an understanding of the experience of developing instruction to first-year-experience (FYE) students by introducing multiple library resources in 20 minutes. Design/methodology/approach – Introduce FYE students to library resources using activity-based learning models. Using activity-based learning models, FYE students at Cal Poly Pomona, in Pomona, California, were introduced to multiple library resources that were woven into major library resources that fulfilled FYE competencies. Findings – This paper demonstrates that librarians can effectively conduct library instruction to introduce FYE students to the core library resources in a 20-minute breakout session without the use of written assessments. Originality/value – This paper would be beneficial for academic librarians developing library instruction for FYE students. The instruction designed within this paper provides useful examples for teaching information literacy for limited time, one-shot sessions and semester-long library instruction courses, using active teaching and learning methods that call for student participation and engagement.

Integrated core selection and mapping for mesh based Network-on-Chip design with irregular core sizes

Network-on-Chip (NoC) has been proposed to replace traditional bus based System-on-Chip (SoC) architecture to address the global communication challenges in nanoscale technologies. A major challenge in NoC based system design is to select Intellectual Property (IP) cores for implementing tasks and associate the selected cores to the routers to optimize cost and performance. These are commonly known as the process of core selection and application mapping respectively. In this paper, integrated core selection and mapping problem has been addressed. Mesh architecture has been considered for experimentation. The integrated core selection and mapping problem takes as input the application task graph, topology graph and a core library. It outputs the selected cores for the tasks and their mapping onto the topology graph, such that, all communication requirements of the application are satisfied. The cores present in a core library may perform more than one task and have non-uniform sizes. For this, a technique based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) has been proposed to select cores from the given core library and map the resultant core graph onto mesh based architectures. An efficient heuristic for mapping has also been proposed, which maps the selected cores onto mesh based architectures, considering non-uniform core sizes. Comparisons have been carried out with step-by-step core selection and mapping approach and also with mapping algorithms that exist in the literature. Significant reductions have been observed in terms of communication cost over all the cases. Area comparisons have also been made. On average, improvement of 13.05% in communication cost and 2.07% in area have been observed. The proposed approach has also been compared in dynamic environment and significant reductions in the average network latency could be observed. On average, improvement of 5.48% in average network latency and 15.68% in network throughput has been observed. Comparison of energy consumption has also been done in both the cases.

Emerging Trends of Acquisition in Public Libraries of Pakistan: Challenges and Issues

Acquiring material in public libraries is a core library activity to fulfill the unique needs of the reader's community. The present study aims to explore the trends of monograph acquisition in public libraries. The population consists of the four major public libraries of Lahore. A case study approach has been used to achieve the objectives of the study. Research is based on primarily the personal visits of the researcher to the acquisition departments of these libraries in order to collect data. Structured interviews were carried out with acquisition librarians to investigate the process of purchasing. The analysis of data reveals that a high ratio of Urdu language books has been purchased during the last decade, literature and religion being the major purchase area, whereas, art and architecture, pure sciences, and languages are the most neglected. The findings further revealed that the studied libraries have primarily been using traditional and informal techniques for acquiring material.

The information support of basic research

The specific nature of library activity is analyzed in the context of new realities that underpin the development and storage of library resources. Arguments that justify the key role of libraries in information support of scientific research are presented. The structure of the library network that belongs to the Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations (FASO), which was formerly known as the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), is discussed. The case of the RAS Library for Natural Sciences (LNS RAS) is presented in order to discuss the activities of the network's core library as a traditional library, information center, research and development institute, and technical center.

Rmixmod: TheRPackage of the Model-Based Unsupervised, Supervised, and Semi-Supervised ClassificationMixmodLibrary

Mixmod is a well-established software package for fitting a mixture model of multivariate Gaussian or multinomial probability distribution functions to a given data set with either a clustering, a density estimation or a discriminant analysis purpose. The Rmixmod S4 package provides a bridge between the C++ core library of Mixmod (mixmodLib) and the R statistical computing environment. In this article, we give an overview of the model-based clustering and classification methods, and we show how the R package Rmixmod can be used for clustering and discriminant analysis.

SBMLSimulator: A Java Tool for Model Simulation and Parameter Estimation in Systems Biology.

The identification of suitable model parameters for biochemical reactions has been recognized as a quite difficult endeavor. Parameter values from literature or experiments can often not directly be combined in complex reaction systems. Nature-inspired optimization techniques can find appropriate sets of parameters that calibrate a model to experimentally obtained time series data. We present SBMLsimulator, a tool that combines the Systems Biology Simulation Core Library for dynamic simulation of biochemical models with the heuristic optimization framework EvA2. SBMLsimulator provides an intuitive graphical user interface with various options as well as a fully-featured command-line interface for large-scale and script-based model simulation and calibration. In a parameter estimation study based on a published model and artificial data we demonstrate the capability of SBMLsimulator to identify parameters. SBMLsimulator is useful for both, the interactive simulation and exploration of the parameter space and for the large-scale model calibration and estimation of uncertain parameter values.

Value Addition to Cartosat-I Imagery

Abstract. In the sector of remote sensing applications, the use of stereo data is on the steady rise. An attempt is hereby made to develop a software suite specifically for exploitation of Cartosat-I data. A few algorithms to enhance the quality of basic Cartosat-I products will be presented. The algorithms heavily exploit the Rational Function Coefficients (RPCs) that are associated with the image. The algorithms include improving the geometric positioning through Bundle Block Adjustment and producing refined RPCs; generating portable stereo views using raw / refined RPCs autonomously; orthorectification and mosaicing; registering a monoscopic image rapidly with a single seed point. The outputs of these modules (including the refined RPCs) are in standard formats for further exploitation in 3rd party software. The design focus has been on minimizing the user-interaction and to customize heavily to suit the Indian context. The core libraries are in C/C++ and some of the applications come with user-friendly GUI. Further customization to suit a specific workflow is feasible as the requisite photogrammetric tools are in place and are continuously upgraded. The paper discusses the algorithms and the design considerations of developing the tools. The value-added products so produced using these tools will also be presented.

Geological Data Preservation Program Receives Bipartisan Support

More than 22 million vertical feet of geologic cores and cuttings fill the Kentucky Geological Survey's Well Sample and Core Library in Lexington. The materials are from at least 22,000 sites within Kentucky—including collections from oil and gas exploration operations, coal and other mining companies, highway construction projects, environmental studies, and federal facilities such as Fort Knox—and they are straining the 15‐year‐old facility to the point where there is no room to keep everything, according to geologist Patrick Gooding, the library manager.