Background : The informationist programme at the Library of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, USA has grown to 14 informationists working with 40 clinical and basic science research teams. Purpose : This case report, intended to contribute to the literature on informationist programmes, describes the NIH informationist programme, including implementation experiences, the informationists' training programme, their job responsibilities and programme outcomes. Brief description : The NIH informationist programme was designed to enhance the library's service capacity. Over time, the steps for introducing the service to new groups were formalized to ensure support by leadership, the team being served and the library. Job responsibilities also evolved from traditional library roles to a wide range of knowledge management activities. The commitment by the informationist, the team and the library to continuous learning is critical to the programme's success. Results / outcomes : NIH scientists reported that informationists saved them time and contributed to teamwork with expert searching and point-of-need instruction. Process evaluation helped refine the programme. Evaluation method : High-level, preliminary outcomes were identified from a survey of scientists receiving informationist services, along with key informant interviews. Process evaluation examined service implementation, informationists' training and service components. Anecdotal evidence has also indicated a favourable response to the programme.
Over time, clinical research teams with informationists demonstrated changes in their information behaviors, and they valued an informationist's subject matter expertise more.
Purpose - The role of library management and administration is pivotal to successful adoption of evidence-based practice by library practitioners. As part of its long-standing commitment to a learning organization, the leadership team of the biomedical research library serving the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, USA planned and implemented a systematic approach to fostering EBLIP practice. Method - The library initiated a program to build an environment conducive to EBLIP that included support and release time for library research projects, formal training in EBLIP methods, and team mentoring as research projects evolved. Library staff participating in the EBLIP initiative were the library’s 32 professional librarians as well as four other staff members. Many had scientific research experience but few if any had designed a library research study. All considered training as very important to the EBLIP initiative, as well as opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and present at professional meetings. Five teams undertook research projects; highlights of these team studies are described briefly. Conclusions - By providing a supportive framework for EBLIP practice, library leadership can successfully engage staff in EBLIP thinking and small research studies. Librarians with some training in the research process and ongoing mentoring can design and conduct studies that find important practical answers to the questions that arise in daily practice.
The susceptibility of six spiroplasma strains to heavy-metal salt was characterized in terms of minimal inhibitory concentrations and minimal biocidal concentrations in broth tube dilution tests. The strains were most susceptible to mercuric chloride and silver nitrate; less susceptible to copper sulfate, cobalt chloride, lead nitrate, and cadmium sulfate; and least susceptible to nickel chloride and zinc sulfate. Spiroplasma citri strains Maroc R8A2 and C189 were the most susceptible to five of eight heavy-metal salts, and honeybee spiroplasma strain AS576 and Spiroplasma floricola strain 23-6 were generally the least susceptible. The difference between the minimal biocidal concentrations and the minimal inhibitory concentrations was greater for certain heavy-metal salts than for others.Spiroplasmas are motile, helical, cell wall-free procaryotes which have been classified as Mollicutes (14). Subsequent to their discovery in 1972 in association with stunted corn plants (12), they have been shown to induce some diseases of plants and insects, to induce disease experimentally in suckling rodents, and to be associated with apparently healthy plants, insects, and ticks (23,27, 29). The ability to cultivate these organisms in vitro permitted a dramatic increase in research on taxonomy, habitats and distribution, growth conditions, vector relations, antibiotic sensitivities, and morphological, biochemical, and physiological properties (26)(27)(28). Taxonomic studies have shown that spiroplasma strains can be separated into distinct groups and subgroups (6,10,16,17), and it has been suggested (9) that major groups as well as some distinct subgroups could be designated as separate species of the genus Spiroplasma. Three species, Spiroplasma citri, Spiroplasma floricola, and Spiroplasma mirum, of this genus have been described thus far (11,22,25).Nothing is known about the nature of inheritance in spiroplasmas, and little is known about the genome except for guanosine + cytosine contents (3,5,16,17,22), molecular weight (3,17,22), and the presence of plasmids in some strains (1, 21). Basic knowledge of spiroplasma genetics necessitates the development of a genetic system, which in turn requires a stock of mutant strains that provide genomic markers to follow and quantify movement and recombination of the genome.
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