Although a good case for preschool screening for vision defects can be made there is very little evidence that existing programmes are effective in practice. A comparative trial of three different methods of preschool vision screening is described. Some 7000 children initially aged 5 months (younger cohorts) and -30 months (older cohorts) in three matched areas entered the trial during 1987. During 18 months of follow up new visual and ocular defects among these children were ascertained through ophthalmology outpatients and from optician records.
The evolution from print to electronic resources and services continues to pose significant challenges for academic libraries. This article presents a systematic, evidence-based approach to guide this transition, which resulted in an exhaustive reorganization of library staffing and services. The approach begins with the necessity of accumulating and then evaluating data on staff workloads and responsibilities. At the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Library, this evaluation revealed that a preponderant amount of time was still spent on print-related activities that were no longer considered to be library priorities. The corrective actions taken to remedy this misalignment are then discussed.
Two bioluminescence-measuring instruments, the Turner Design and Lumac systems, were compared with a standard plate culture method for their ability to rapidly screen 400 urine specimens. For cultures with <1,000 CFU/ml the Turner Design, with old and new evaluation formulas, gave 6.5 and 50.6% false-positive results, respectively, versus 17.6% at-500 relative light units with the Lumac. For cultures which had >105 CFU/ml the Turner Design gave 39% (old formula) and 14% (new formula) false-negative results compared with 4% at <200 relative light units with the Lumac. The microorganisms most frequently isolated in the false-negative cultures from either system were gram-positive cocci. Predictive values for a positive test at > 105 CFU/ml were 77.4% (old formula) and 35.7% (new formula) for the Turner Design versus only 50% for the Lumac at .500 relative light units. Predictive values for a negative test for both instruments were >88 % at >105 CFU/ml. The Turner Design and Lumac systems were 4.0 and 3.7 times as expensive, respectively, as the plate culture method. Although both systems greatly reduce the time required to process urine specimens, their high costs as compared with that of plate culture, their failure to detect many specimens having > 105 CFU of gram-positive cocci per ml, and the numerous false-positives reported by both instruments suggest that additional improvements in the systems are warranted.
Electronic products and their accompanying licenses have become the norm in most health sciences libraries and consume large amounts of a library's budget. Careful thought and advance planning will result in products and agreements that will best serve the library and its users. Using teamwork for contract analysis, careful identification of the library's users and their use of the product, and efficient communication with legal counsel will ease the task of evaluating and negotiating the license. This article offers strategies for effectively managing electronic licenses.
The presenter covered the licensing process and the wide range of tasks and issues it comprises: pre-negotiations, team approaches to license negotiation, users and uses, negotiating strategies, online resources, understanding the license, and specialized topics such as copyright, shrink wrap licenses, and UCITA. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address:
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.