INFORMATION LITERACY IN A RESEARCHER'S LEARNING LIFE: THE SEVEN AGES OF RESEARCH

This article uses data from research conducted in the course of writing a book on the needs, wants and characteristics of researchers to examine how researchers view themselves and the research process. As a result of this, the Seven Ages of Research model was developed which categorises a researcher's learning life into a series of discrete stages. The article explores learning needs relevant to each age in the learning life and links them to the development of information literacy. The authors explore the polarisation that exists between what researchers think research is about and what they believe the library can offer them, and suggest that information literacy needs to be seen as involving a change in understanding of, and attitude to, the world of information, as well as the nature of those information needs. Finally, they explore the librarian's role in an e-environment which has changed the way researchers work and identify some of the challenges facing library and information services professionals in the future in supporting researchers throughout their learning lives.     

Discovery of an Allosteric Ligand Binding Site in SMYD3 Lysine Methyltransferase

SMYD3 is a multifunctional epigenetic enzyme with lysine methyltransferase activity and various interaction partners. It is implicated in the pathophysiology of cancers but with an unclear mechanism. To discover tool compounds for clarifying its biochemistry and potential as a therapeutic target, a set of drug-like compounds was screened in a biosensor-based competition assay. Diperodon was identified as an allosteric ligand; its R and S enantiomers were isolated, and their affinities to SMYD3 were determined (K_D=42 and 84 μM, respectively). Co-crystallization revealed that both enantiomers bind to a previously unidentified allosteric site in the C-terminal protein binding domain, consistent with its weak inhibitory effect. No competition between diperodon and HSP90 (a known SMYD3 interaction partner) was observed although SMYD3–HSP90 binding was confirmed (K_D=13 μM). Diperodon clearly represents a novel starting point for the design of tool compounds interacting with a druggable allosteric site, suitable for the exploration of noncatalytic SMYD3 functions and therapeutics with new mechanisms of action.     

The seafood supply chain from a fraudulent perspective

Food fraud is an intentional act for economic gain. It poses a risk to food integrity, the economy, public health and consumers’ ethics. Seafood is one commodity which has endured extensive fraudulent activity owing to its increasing consumer demand, resource limitations, high value and complex supply chains. It is essential that these fraudulent opportunities are revealed, the risk is evaluated and countermeasures for mitigation are assigned. This can be achieved through mapping of the seafood supply chains and identifying the vulnerability analysis critical control points (VACCP), which can be exposed, infiltrated and exploited for fraudulent activity. This research systematically maps the seafood supply chain for three key commodities: finfish, shellfish and crustaceans in the United Kingdom. Each chain is comprised of multiple stakeholders across numerous countries producing a diverse range of products distributed globally. For each supply chain the prospect of fraud, with reference to species substitution, fishery substitution, illegal, unreported and unregulated substitution, species adulteration, chain of custody abuse, catch method fraud, undeclared product extension, modern day slavery and animal welfare, has been identified and evaluated. This mapping of the fraudulent opportunities within the supply chains provides a foundation to rank known and emerging risks and to develop a proactive mitigation plan which assigns control measures and responsibility where vulnerabilities exist. Further intelligence gathering and management of VACCPs of the seafood supply chains may deter currently unknown or unexposed fraudulent opportunities.     

Diet Prevents Social Stress-Induced Maladaptive Neurobehavioural and Gut Microbiota Changes in a Histamine-Dependent Manner

Exposure to repeated social stress may cause maladaptive emotional reactions that can be reduced by healthy nutritional supplementation. Histaminergic neurotransmission has a central role in orchestrating specific behavioural responses depending on the homeostatic state of a subject, but it remains to be established if it participates in the protective effects against the insults of chronic stress afforded by a healthy diet. By using C57BL/6J male mice that do not synthesize histamine (Hdc^−/−) and their wild type (Hdc^+/+) congeners we evaluated if the histaminergic system participates in the protective action of a diet enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin A on the deleterious effect of chronic stress. Behavioural tests across domains relevant to cognition and anxiety were performed. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, cytokine expression, hippocampal fatty acids, oxylipins and microbiota composition were also assessed. Chronic stress induced social avoidance, poor recognition memory, affected hippocampal long-term potentiation, changed the microbiota profile, brain cytokines, fatty acid and oxylipins composition of both Hdc^−/− and Hdc^+/+ mice. Dietary enrichment counteracted stress-induced deficits only in Hdc^+/+ mice as histamine deficiency prevented almost all the diet-related beneficial effects. Interpretation: Our results reveal a previously unexplored and novel role for brain histamine as a mediator of many favorable effects of the enriched diet. These data present long-reaching perspectives in the field of nutritional neuropsychopharmacology.     

Interactive Paper as a Mobile Client for a Multi-channel Web Information System

We describe how interactive paper can be used together with a multi-channel web information system to build a platform for experimenting with multi-modal context-aware mobile information services. As an application, we present a tourist guide for visitors to an international festival that was developed to investigate alternative modes of information delivery and interaction in mobile environments. The guide is based around a set of interactive paper documents—an event brochure, map and bookmark. The brochure and map are augmented with digital services by using a digital pen to activate links and a text-to-speech engine for information delivery. The digital pen is also used for data capture of event ratings and reviews. The bookmark provides access to advanced searches and ticket reservations. We describe the architecture and operation of the system, highlighting the challenges of extending a web information system to support both the generation of the paper documents and the interaction from these documents, alongside more traditional access channels. Finally, we discuss the range of context-aware interactions that is supported by our platform.     

Privacy in the private sphere

This article examines the issue of privacy within the home as a way of exploring the contradiction between feminist views that women and men experience the home differently ‐ and indeed that women may find the home oppressive ‐ and Saunders’ recent (1990) evidence that men and women express similar and equally strong positive sentiments about their home. We conclude that privacy within the home is negotiated within the wider framework of familial ideology and the ideals of ‘home’ and the companionate marriage’, so that within the home there is typically differential access to privacy for adults and children, and men and women.     

Poverty and poor housing in Scotland: The relationship between income and housing condition

The paper examines the relationship between income and poor housing conditions. It considers the role of housing outcome measures in relation to the different concepts of poverty, deprivation and social exclusion and examines the relationship between equivalised incomes, socio-economic household characteristics and a wide range of possible measures of housing deprivation. It concludes that income alone does not provide an adequate proxy for the quality of housing outcomes and that multiple housing measures are more satisfactory than the use of any single indicator. It also argues that such measures could be gathered in large-scale surveys but that many commonly used indicators in the UK (such as those derived from the census) would benefit from expansion and updating.     

Quantity and electricity consumption of plug load equipment on a university campus

The percent of energy consumed by plug load equipment in commercial buildings is on the rise. Research conducted in the past has included surveying plug load equipment, measuring plug load electricity consumption and equipment operating patterns, and studying plug load reduction solutions in office buildings, but plug load energy use across other building types is poorly understood. A university campus, which houses many building types, presents a unique opportunity to understand plug load profiles across building types. In this study, an equipment inventory was performed in 220 buildings on Stanford University’s campus, totaling 8,901,911 ft² of building space and encompassing lab buildings, office buildings, recreation facilities, public space, and service buildings. Within these buildings, 110,529 pieces of plug load equipment were recorded. Energy consumption estimates were developed from published values and used to evaluate the aggregate plug load energy consumption of this equipment by equipment type and by building type. In total, it is estimated that the plug loads from these buildings consume nearly 50 million kWh per year and comprise 32% of the electricity consumption of the buildings surveyed. This data can be used to better target energy conservation efforts throughout multiple sectors.