Uncertainty is defined as affective symptoms of stress, anxiety, and frustration when faced with an information need.Traditional face-to-face instruction allows sender and receiver to fulfill information needs using multiple sources, which can be visual, auditory, tactile, or verbal. Distance learners may experience high levels of uncertainty when most or all of the communication and interaction takes place in an electronic environment that does not allow for these multiple information sources. Research on face-to-face communication and uncertainty suggests that people attempt to reduce uncertainty by acquiring more information and also by using structured or familiar information resources. This paper suggests that many of our behavioral motivations in face-to-face activities would also apply in the online environment. By creating online tutorials that combine structured hierarchical instructions with familiar modes of communication, we may be able to reduce symptoms of uncertainty in the library search process.
The re-envisioning of libraries as information leaders in higher education requires an examination of the decisions made in the acquisition and adoption of library technology. The Critical Theory of Library Technology offers a framework for viewing technology decisions through a social, economic and political perspective. This paper uses the Critical Theory of Library Technology to open discourse on the varying levels of impact of distance library technology, suggesting that an application of the theory brings with it a set of questions that libraries may need to address.
Study Objectives: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains one of the most significant health problems globally. Precision medicine techniques such as "-omics" promise better blood-based diagnostics. One such technique would be transcriptomicswhich includes the study of small, specific sequences of RNA (microRNAs) in peripheral blood. However, it has not been demonstrated that microRNAs can be easily and rapidly quantified in ED patients. We sought to demonstrate the potential for microRNA sequencing for risk stratification of patients with potential ACS.Methods: We used biobank samples prospectively collected from patients presenting with symptoms of ACS and placed in an ED-based observation unit who underwent stress testing. We attempted to isolate microRNA from plasma collected before and after stress testing in order to conduct a case-control study comparing levels of specific microRNA sequences in the plasma of patients with myocardial ischemia on stress testing versus that of patients with normal stress tests. RNA was extracted using either a beta-version of an RNA extraction kit (Promega, Madison, WI) or the Qiagen miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Kit (Qiagen, Frederick, MD). Library preparation was tested following the plasma/serum sample recommendations in the QIASeq miRNA Library Kit protocol (Qiagen, Frederick, MD). Library QC was done on the Agilent Bioanalyzer with the DNA High Sensitivity Assay.Results: A total of 16 specimens were analyzed for microRNA sequencing and quantification. RNA concentration was too low to detect by QuBit or Nanodrop assays for both extraction methods, but was visible on the Agilent Bioanalzyer RNA 6000 Picochip (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA). Preliminary results found the library concentration too low at the wanted size of 180 base pairs. Further testing revealed that samples collected in lithium heparin tubes inhibited the RNA isolation reaction and that EDTA tubes were necessary.Conclusions: We are working to lower the amplification of adapter dimers and increase the concentration of the correct library sequences, as well as utilizing the Qiagen miRNeasy Plasma/Serum Advanced kit. We are currently performing RNA extraction for microRNA sequencing from plasma of patients with normal cardiac stress tests as well as those with ischemia on stress tests. The results of this comparison may lead to a biomarker-based stress test for ACS.
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