Development Of Libraries Research Articles

INEQUALIRY, ONLINE TEACHING AND QUALITY EDUCATION, “EXCLUDING THE EXCLUDED” IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEANING IN ZIMBABWE: HOW TO BUILD INCLUSIVE INSTITUTIONS?

The covid pandemic has been marked by negative outcomes locally, regionally and globally. The sudden closure of institutions of learning, copious teaching and learning dynamics emerged giving rise to dire demand for blended learning. The study explores the intersection of gender, socio-economic status, disability as well as online learning and how this impacted on vulnerable learners’ access to quality education during the pandemic and its aftermath. The paper was framed within the exclusion and social justice theoretical frameworks. The design was phenomenological, focusing on the lived experiences of vulnerable female, orphans, those living with disabilities and learners from low socio-economic status. Midlands State University and the vulnerable groups were purposively sampled. Key university informants were officers from information and technology services, the library, Quality Assurance and Professional Development, Disability Resource Centre, student affairs division respectively giving a total of 5 key informants. Focus group discussions were held with 6 orphans from child headed households, 5 male and 7 female students from low socio-economic status from both rural and urban areas and 14 students living with differing disabilities, giving a total of 32 participants. Selection from other vulnerable students beside those living with disabilities was based on voluntariness and the need for a gender matrix. Online teaching and learning created a digital access gap with the most vulnerable experiencing various types of exclusions. To achieve effective teaching and learning, the paper recommends inclusive pedagogies and sustainable learning frameworks that allow the achievement of SDG 4on equitable and inclusive education

Strategizing the processes of innovative library development in the digital economy

Strategizing the processes of innovative library development in the digital economy

Information Support of the Library and Information Sphere: Updating Dissertation Researches

The article considers the domestic dissertation works devoted to the information support of library specialists. On the example of studies conducted in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the dynamics of development of library and information sciences in the context of information technology development is traced. It shows the increasing demand of scientists and library practitioners for industry-specific information — both full-text and bibliographic. The possibilities of creation and delivery of branch information products to the consumer are analyzed, taking into account social changes, as well as material, resource and technological conditions, which allows us to consider this topic relevant at present.

The types of UNESCO library activities

The aim of the article is to classify the activities of UNESCO in the field of library work. The main types of these activities are singled out based on the criteria of main functions of international organizations: Governing Activities: These are carried out by determining the main principles of library activities and announcing them in declarations, programs, projects, and other documents. This includes stating the rules in various fields of library work and implementing them through international conventions, as well as creating concepts for the development of libraries at both national and international levels. Controlling Activities: These are carried out by: Stating the existing status. Comparing it with the rules and ideal models. Declaring responsibility for deviations from them. The task is performed by collecting library statistics and other information. This is a major aspect of the work of international organizations. The evaluation of activities in librarianship is formulated as recommendations by UNESCO. Performing Activities: These involve UNESCO directly engaging in library work by sending experts to organize libraries in member states, granting stipends to librarians, purchasing books and equipment for member libraries, and investigating issues in modern librarianship.

Sparsity-Independent Lyapunov Exponent in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Model.

The saturation of a recently proposed universal bound on the Lyapunov exponent has been conjectured to signal the existence of a gravity dual. This saturation occurs in the low-temperature limit of the dense Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, N Majorana fermions with q body (q>2) infinite-range interactions. We calculate certain out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) for N≤64 fermions for a highly sparse SYK model and find no significant dependence of the Lyapunov exponent on sparsity up to near the percolation limit where the Hamiltonian breaks up into blocks. This provides strong support to the saturation of the Lyapunov exponent in the low-temperature limit of the sparse SYK. A key ingredient to reaching N=64 is the development of a novel quantum spin model simulation library that implements highly optimized matrix-free Krylov subspace methods on graphical processing units. This leads to a significantly lower simulation time as well as vastly reduced memory usage over previous approaches, while using modest computational resources. Strong sparsity-driven statistical fluctuations require both the use of a much larger number of disorder realizations with respect to the dense limit and a careful finite size scaling analysis. The saturation of the bound in the sparse SYK points to the existence of a gravity analog that would enlarge substantially the number of field theories with this feature.

Socio-Economic Impediments in School Libraries

This study delves into the socio-economic challenges affecting Type 3 school libraries in the 'Thenmarachchi' education zone of Sri Lanka. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and interviews with librarians from 27 schools, it identifies barriers such as financial constraints, resource limitations, and declining reader interest. Correlation analyses reveal intricate relationships between these barriers. Notably, collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) emerges as a significant strategy, showing potential to alleviate financial constraints and enhance resource availability. Qualitative insights highlight community involvement and reading initiatives as complementary to proposed strategies. This study advocates comprehensive approaches to address socio-economic obstacles in fostering school library development, emphasizing the need for further research to evaluate the long-term sustainability of interventions.

Development of novel humanized VHH synthetic libraries based on physicochemical analyses

Due to the high affinity and specificity of antibodies toward antigens, various antibody-based applications have been developed. Recently, variable antigen-binding domains of heavy-chain antibodies (VHH) have become an attractive alternative to conventional fragment antibodies due to their unique molecular characteristics. As an antibody-generating strategy, synthetic VHH libraries (including humanized VHH libraries) have been developed using distinct strategies to constrain the diversity of amino acid sequences. In this study, we designed and constructed several novel synthetic humanized VHH libraries based on biophysical analyses conducted using the complementarity determining region-grafting method and comprehensive sequence analyses of VHHs deposited in the protein data bank. We obtained VHHs from the libraries, and hit clones exhibited considerable thermal stability. We also found that VHHs from distinct libraries tended to have different epitopes. Based on our results, we propose a strategy for generating humanized VHHs with distinct epitopes toward various antigens by utilizing our library combinations.

The Influence of the School Library on Mathematics Learning Achievement of Grade III Students in the First Trimester at Escola Básica Central 3º Ciclo Vasco da Gama Manatuto in the 2014 Academic Year

The library is one of the contributing factors or a supporting tool in the educational process at schools, ranging from elementary to higher education levels. A school library is any library organized within a school, where it is essential to have books that support and serve as references for students. The school library plays a vital role in supporting the educational process, providing essential resources for students to enhance their knowledge and complete assignments. This study explores the impact of library usage on the mathematics achievement of Grade III students at Escola Básica Central Vasco Da Gama Manatuto during the first trimester of the 2014 academic year. The research questions focus on whether the library influences mathematics achievement and if students who use the library perform better than those who do not. The study involved 112 students, with a sample of 56, and utilized parametric statistical analysis. The results showed a significant influence of library use on mathematics achievement, with a determination coefficient of 36.72%, meaning that library utilization contributes significantly to students' performance in mathematics, while the remaining 63.28% is influenced by other factors. The t-test results confirmed that students who used the library performed better in mathematics than those who did not. Based on these findings, the author suggests that students should be encouraged to utilize library resources effectively, the government should prioritize the development of school libraries, and librarians should provide welcoming and supportive service to students.

Predictive power of deleterious single amino acid changes to infer on AAV2 and AAV2-13 capsids fitness

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is the most widely used vector for invivo gene transfer. A major limitation of capsid engineering is the incomplete understanding of the consequences of multiple amino acid variations on AAV capsid stability resulting in high frequency of non-viable capsids. In this context, the study of natural AAV variants can provide valuable insights into capsid regions that exhibit greater tolerance to mutations. Here, the characterization of AAV2 variants and the analysis of two public capsid libraries highlighted common features associated with deleterious mutations, suggesting that the impact of mutations on capsid viability is strictly dependent on their 3D location within the capsid structure. We developed a novel prediction method to infer the fitness of AAV2 variants containing multiple amino acid variations with 98% sensitivity, 98% accuracy, and 95% specificity. This novel approach might streamline the development of AAV vector libraries enriched in viable capsids, thus accelerating the identification of therapeutic candidates among engineered capsids.

Screening of broad-host expression promoters for shuttle expression vectors in non-conventional yeasts and bacteria

BackgroundNon-conventional yeasts and bacteria gain significance in synthetic biology for their unique metabolic capabilities in converting low-cost renewable feedstocks into valuable products. Improving metabolic pathways and increasing bioproduct yields remain dependent on the strategically use of various promoters in these microbes. The development of broad-spectrum promoter libraries with varying strengths for different hosts is attractive for biosynthetic engineers.ResultsIn this study, five Yarrowia lipolytica constitutive promoters (yl.hp4d, yl.FBA1in, yl.TEF1, yl.TDH1, yl.EXP1) and five Kluyveromyces marxianus constitutive promoters (km.PDC1, km.FBA1, km.TEF1, km.TDH3, km.ENO1) were selected to construct promoter-reporter vectors, utilizing α-amylase and red fluorescent protein (RFP) as reporter genes. The promoters' strengths were systematically characterized across Y. lipolytica, K. marxianus, Pichia pastoris, Escherichia coli, and Corynebacterium glutamicum. We discovered that five K. marxianus promoters can all express genes in Y. lipolytica and that five Y. lipolytica promoters can all express genes in K. marxianus with variable expression strengths. Significantly, the yl.TEF1 and km.TEF1 yeast promoters exhibited their adaptability in P. pastoris, E. coli, and C. glutamicum. In yeast P. pastoris, the yl.TEF1 promoter exhibited substantial expression of both amylase and RFP. In bacteria E. coli and C. glutamicum, the eukaryotic km.TEF1 promoter demonstrated robust expression of RFP. Significantly, in E. coli, The RFP expression strength of the km.TEF1 promoter reached ∼20% of the T7 promoter.ConclusionNon-conventional yeast promoters with diverse and cross-domain applicability have great potential for developing innovative and dynamic regulated systems that can effectively manage carbon flux and enhance target bioproduct synthesis across diverse microbial hosts.Graphical

Solid-Phase Synthesis of Diverse Macrocycles by Regiospecific 2-Pyridone Formation: Scope and Applications.

This study introduces a novel solid-phase macrocyclization method generating 2-pyridone rings. This method relies on the intramolecular condensation between secondary and tertiary dimethoxy-propionic amide units. This selective reaction leads to the formation of a single well-defined regioisomer. The method demonstrates remarkable efficiency in producing diverse peptidic and nonpeptidic bioactive targets, paving the way for the development of innovative macrocycle libraries featuring the 2-pyridone unit.

Assessing smart sustainable library practices in higher education: development and validation of instrument

A smart sustainable library is a new form of a library that blends sustainability and smart libraries with an emphasis on ethics. This study focuses on the need for thorough tools to assess the evolving concept of a smart sustainable library, especially within Malaysian higher education. This study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive tool that combines smart library, sustainability practices, and ethical values in libraries. Developed and conducted a pilot study to validate a new instrument designed to assess these intertwined aspects thoroughly. By distributing a survey to 30 librarians from different academic institutions in Malaysia, we used statistical measures such as Cronbach's alpha, omega, and corrected item-total correlation to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument. The results showed a high level of reliability with Cronbach's alpha at 0.929 and Omega at 0.918, suggesting that the instrument has strong internal consistency and could be effective for wider use. Our research indicates that the newly developed instrument effectively captures the complex nature of smart sustainable libraries, demonstrating its potential for future research and practical use in the field. This research significantly contributes to the library science field by offering a validated tool to evaluate smart sustainable library development.

Level of Satisfaction of Selected Students in Using Digital Library of an Accredited Higher Education Institution

Over the last decade, there have been significant initiatives and experiments to digitize libraries. It was found out that the activities in developing digital libraries were dependent highly on the building of the technology, telecommunications, and standards, the so-called metadata, infrastructures that will make the digital libraries to function technically with efficiency and effectiveness. Little attention and concern is given in assessing the extent to which the digital libraries met the needs of the users in information, research, articles, other academic tasks, facilitated outcomes and the expected quality service. This research study aims to determine and assess the level of satisfaction in the usability of the software, accessibility and services offered by the digital library of First City Providential College (FCPC). The findings from this assessment can have a number of significant implications for the continued development of the digital library of FCPC. The study used descriptive (quantitative) research method and the statistical tools consisted of the Likert Scale in determining the factors related to the level of satisfaction of the respondents; the percentage for the demographic profile on the following: age, sex, and course; the average weighted mean to find out the level of satisfaction of the respondents in using the components and provisions of the FCPC digital library. Results revealed that the respondents using the digital library of FCPC were very satisfied in using the resources and were appreciative of the assistance and services rendered by the librarian and staff to them. They presented one suggestion that in the inclusion of new online apps in navigating data or information, they could be given a thorough orientation or webinar on the said item or provision.

THE INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF SOKOTO JIHAD LEADERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIBRARIES

The paper centered on the intellectual works of Sokoto Jihad leaders and the role of libraries in managing them. The major highlight of the paper includes the rationale for Sokoto Jihad, the Jihad leader’s role in intellectual activity and their contribution to toward the development of libraries. It also concentrates mainly on the trio of the Jihad leaders and the host of others. It further discusses in detailed the struggle made by the leaders in acquiring knowledge, teaching and dissemination of knowledge to the followers via different methods of services. The paper recommends, among others, workshops, seminars, conferences, to be done on the importance of sokoto jihad leaders, open centers of caliphate studies in the higher institutions and beyond, digitized their works for easy access online globally.

LIBRARIANS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND PROFICIENCY AS CORRELATES OF ELECTRONIC COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT IN UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH-CENTRAL, NIGERIA

The study examined librarians’ emotional intelligence and proficiency as correlate of electronic resources collection development (ERCD) in universities in North-central, Nigeria. The objectives considered were to: find out the relationship between librarians’ proficiency and ERCD in university libraries in North-central, Nigeria; and determine librarians’ emotional intelligence and ERCD in these university libraries. Correlational research design was used. The total population for study was 400 librarians. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to stratify the university into Federal, State and Private Universities. Questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS was used for the quantitative analysis and result were presented using frequency, mean, and standard deviation. The result of the study showed that proficiency skills in database, social media, online public access catalogue, e-document and e-book delivery, data management, storage of electronic resources, e-processing, and e-ordering by librarians has a relationship on electronic resources collection development in university libraries. The findings also revealed that librarians possessed self-awareness skills, self-regulatory skills, motivational skills, empathy skills, and social skills, and it has influenced the ERCD in the studied university libraries. The study concluded that addressing the identified deficiencies in proficiency, and emotional intelligence can lead to a more effective and efficient electronic resources collection development, thereby improving the overall academic and research experience for library users. Therefore, the study recommended that training that will boost the emotional intelligent of librarians by the management should be done regularly.

DASCore: a Python Library for Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing.

In the past decade, distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has enabled many new monitoring applications in diverse fields including hydrocarbon exploration and extraction; induced, local, regional, and global seismology; infrastructure and urban monitoring; and several others. However, to date, the open-source software ecosystem for handling DAS data is relatively immature. Here we introduce DASCore, a Python library for analyzing, visualizing, and managing DAS data. DASCore implements an object-oriented interface for performing common data processing and transformations, reading and writing various DAS file types, creating simple visualizations, and managing file system-based DAS archives. DASCore also integrates with other Python-based tools which enable the processing of massive data sets in cloud environments. DASCore is the foundational package for the broader DAS data analysis ecosystem (DASDAE), and as such its main goal is to facilitate the development of other DAS libraries and applications.

Facile scalable one-flow synthesis of ionizable cationic lipid library as precursors of nanoparticle carriers

A variety of ionizable and cationic lipids have been synthesized as precursors for nanoparticle carriers. However, the laborious synthetic routes in batch reactors often involve the use of toxic and carcinogenic agents, as well as challenge of removing gaseous byproducts. In this study, we present facile one-flow micro-reaction process that enables the synthesis of 11 ionizable lipids as well as 7 cationic lipids, including the well-known DODAP and DOTAP. These lipids can be scaled up to produce approximately ∼10g/h by using a straightforward size-up approach. The development of the lipid library was involved generating highly moisture-sensitive acyl chloride at 25 °C for 1.5 min. The toxic byproducts such as HCl, CO2 and CO were subsequently removed using a liquid–gas separator. The esterification with dimethylamino-1,2-diol at 25 °C for 3 min, monitored in-line with FTIR, completed the process. Additionally, the synthesized ionizable lipids were converted to cationic lipids with methyl sulfate, chloride ions via dimethyl sulfate and Steglich esterification in a continuous flow system. Finally, the produced DODAP was transformed into a uniform-sized LNPs (64 nm, PDI 0.07) and liposomal nanoparticles (72 nm, PDI 0.05) while DOTAP was converted to liposomes (55 nm, PDI 0.08) using a custom micro-mixer. This efficient platform for lipid synthesis significantly contributes to the practical applications of lipid-based nanomedicines.

Development of motion control function library based on PLCopen specification

The motion control library is a standard set of functional blocks integrated in a programmable integration environment, which is of great significance for the rapid development of reconfigurable Programmable Automation Controllers (PAC). However, due to the encapsulation and concealment of function blocks and the incompatibility between software and hardware, the development efficiency of function blocks is low, which is not conducive to the development of autonomous, controllable PAC. Aiming at the above problems, the methods of function block opening and key technology are studied, and a kind of motion control function library architecture and rapid development method based on the PLCopen specification are proposed. A series of motion control function libraries are developed on domestic PLC software. An experimental platform based on domestic hardware and software was designed to verify the typical motion control function library. Experimental results show that this method can effectively shorten the development cycle and that the developed motion control module can meet the actual control needs.

Development of a synthetic library of humanized nanobodies for targeted IL-6 inhibition.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that can bind to IL-6 receptor and induce pleiotropic effects. It serves as a critical biomarker, involved in inflammation amplification, tumor progression, and many other disease developments. Nanobodies, featuring small structure and high affinity, are a powerful and versatile tool in medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Here, based on a scaffold optimized for humanization and stability, we developed a synthetic phage display library that rapidly generated high-affinity and humanized nanobodies, negating the need for animal immunization. Using enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) as a benchmark, we demonstrated that the library produced humanized nanobodies with high function and great intracellular stability. The library was then subjected to screening against IL-6. We identified a standout nanobody, NbL3, which exhibited high affinity (22.16nM) and stability and significantly inhibited IL-6-enhanced migration on the human breast cancer cell MCF-7 at a relatively low concentration. NbL3's strong blocking activity provides a promising therapeutic alternative for the IL-6-targeted intervention strategy, underscoring the broader potential of our synthetic library as a versatile platform for the development of humanized nanobodies against multiple antigens.

Targeted proteomics of plasma extracellular vesicles uncovers MUC1 as combinatorial biomarker for the early detection of high-grade serous ovarian cancer

BackgroundThe five-year prognosis for patients with late-stage high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) remains dismal, underscoring the critical need for identifying early-stage biomarkers. This study explores the potential of extracellular vesicles (EVs) circulating in blood, which are believed to harbor proteomic cargo reflective of the HGSC microenvironment, as a source for biomarker discovery.ResultsWe conducted a comprehensive proteomic profiling of EVs isolated from blood plasma, ascites, and cell lines of patients, employing both data-dependent (DDA) and data-independent acquisition (DIA) methods to construct a spectral library tailored for targeted proteomics. Our investigation aimed at uncovering novel biomarkers for the early detection of HGSC by comparing the proteomic signatures of EVs from women with HGSC to those with benign gynecological conditions. The initial cohort, comprising 19 donors, utilized DDA proteomics for spectral library development. The subsequent cohort, involving 30 HGSC patients and 30 control subjects, employed DIA proteomics for a similar purpose. Support vector machine (SVM) classification was applied in both cohorts to identify combinatorial biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity (ROC-AUC > 0.90). Notably, MUC1 emerged as a significant biomarker in both cohorts when used in combination with additional biomarkers. Validation through an ELISA assay on a subset of benign (n = 18), Stage I (n = 9), and stage II (n = 9) plasma samples corroborated the diagnostic utility of MUC1 in the early-stage detection of HGSC.ConclusionsThis study highlights the value of EV-based proteomic analysis in the discovery of combinatorial biomarkers for early ovarian cancer detection.