Academic literature on the topic 'JB. Serials management'

While the definition of high-dose corticosteroids depends on the indication, it is typically defined as greater than 15–20 mg for greater than 2–4 weeks. Corticosteroids have a variety of indications such as autoimmune, gastrointestinal, rheumatologic, respiratory, and hematologic conditions and after organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. They can predispose these patients to infections such as pneumococcal pneumonia, Pneumocystis jirovecii (carinii) pneumonia (PJP), hepatitis B reactivation, active tuberculosis, and disseminated strongyloides infection. This article outlines ways to modify these risks in these patients. Prophylaxis is of utmost importance to those at risk for PJP with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, lamivudine for those at risk of hepatitis B reactivation, isoniazid (INH) for latent tuberculosis and ivermectin for those with positive strongyloides serology. Equally important in mitigating disease risk is the appropriate timing of vaccines to elicit an adequate immune response as well as offering additional vaccines such as the pneumococcal vaccine.RésuméLa notion de dose élevée de corticostéroïdes varie selon les indications, mais elle est généralement définie comme correspondant à plus de 15‑20 mg sur une période de plus de deux à quatre semaines. Les corticostéroïdes sont indiqués dans nombre de conditions auto‑immunes, gastro-intestinales, rhumatologiques, respiratoires et hématologiques, ainsi qu’à la suite d’une transplantation d’organe ou de cellules souches hématopoïétiques. Ils peuvent toutefois prédisposer les patients à diverses infections comme la pneumonie pneumococcique et la pneumonie à Pneumocystis jirovecii (carinii) ou PCP, à une réactivation de l’hépatite B, à une tuberculose active et à une strongyloïdose disséminée. Le présent article passe en revue différentes façons de réduire ces risques chez les patients concernés. Voici des mesures de prophylaxie qui s’avèrent être de la plus haute importance pour les personnes à risque : le triméthoprime ou le sulfaméthoxazole pour celles à risque de PCP; la lamivudine pour celles à risque de réactivation de l’hépatite B; l’isoniazide (INH) dans les cas de tuberculose latente; et l’ivermectine pour les personnes montrant une sérologie positive aux strongyloïdes. De plus, pour réduire le risque de maladie, un calendrier de vaccination approprié est tout aussi important, en vue de susciter une réponse immunitaire adéquate et de pouvoir offrir d’autres vaccins comme le vaccin antipneumococcique.Corticosteroids were first used in clinical practice in 1949 for rheumatoid arthritis.1 The number of patients on high-dose corticosteroids is not well known but the use of corticosteroids is becoming increasingly common for a number of indications: An estimated 1% of the general population in the UK is treated with corticosteroids, and this rate increases with age to almost 2.5% in those aged 70–79. 4“High-dose corticosteroids” as a risk factor for infections is typically defined as greater than 15–20 mg of prednisone (or its’ equivalent) for greater than 2–4 weeks, although this definition does vary slightly depending on the infection considered. Notably, this definition is different from the standard definition of high-dose corticosteroids for treatment purposes used in the literature – which is usually defined as greater than 30 mg but less than 100 mg/day – as this dose results in almost complete cytosolic receptor saturation. 2Corticosteroids are used commonly for their anti-inflammatory effects in many conditions with an element of autoimmune disease. The mechanism is to induce transient lymphocytopenia by altering lymphocyte circulation, inducing lymphocyte death and inhibiting cytokines to prevent T-cell activation.3 For example, they are used to induce remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or to maintain symptom control in rheumatologic diseases like polymyalgia rheumatica. They are also used to prevent organ rejection in solid organ transplantation. Other indications include autoimmune hepatitis, other rheumatologic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematous, vasculitis, respiratory conditions such as interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis, hematologic disorders such as lymphoma, leukemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, hemolytic anemia), endocrine disorders like Graves disease to prevent opthalmopathy and other conditions like multiple sclerosis.The relative risk of bacterial infections was found to be 5-fold higher in IBD patients on corticosteroids alone, 4-fold higher for other infections like strongyloides and tuberculosis, and only 1.5 fold higher for viral infections.5 However, the absolute individual risk of infectious complications from corticosteroid use remains fairly small. Nevertheless, the burden is significant at a population level due to the high frequency of corticosteroid use. 4 Thus, most practitioners eventually come across these complications during their career.VaccinationsOne of the first considerations in patients on high-dose corticosteroids is the timing of the administration of vaccines to be given to these patients. Immunizations with inactivated vaccines can be given up to 2 weeks before high-dose corticosteroids are initiated, whereas live vaccines need to be given 4 weeks before the high-dose corticosteroids are begun. If the vaccines cannot be given prior to the start of a corticosteroid treatment, both live and inactivated vaccines must wait for 4 weeks after the steroids are completed to elicit an adequate immune response and prevent infectious complications with live vaccines.6Equally important to the timing of the vaccines, patients on high-dose corticosteroids (defined as anyone receiving ³ 20 mg/day for 14 days or more) should receive additional vaccines. A single dose of an inactivated pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar), at least one year after any previous dose of pneumococcal vaccine polyvalent (Pneumovax), followed by a single dose of Pneumovax 8 weeks later with a booster of Pneumovax 5 years later is recommended for those on high-dose corticosteroids.7,8 Pneumocystis jiroveci infectionThe following patient groups are considered to be at higher risk forPneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PJP; formerly known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia [PCP])if exposed to prednisone at doses as low as 20 mg/day for at least 4 weeks9: patients with an underlying immunosuppressive disorder (including autologous HSCT and malignancy), or those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease secondary to polymyositis/dermatomyositis. Also, patients receiving the same dose of prednisone plus TNF-alpha inhibitors, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, or temsirolimus should also receive PJP prophylaxis. The first-line agent for prophylaxis is trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole 80/400 mg (single strength) daily or 160/800 mg (double strength) three times per week (e.g., Monday/Wednesday/Friday). While adverse events are rare on such low doses, thrombocytopenia is possible given that this is an idiosyncractic reaction but pancytopenia is usually observed at much higher (i.e., treatment) doses. Also possible are hyperkalemia, increased serum creatinine and aseptic meningitis. A more rare but devastating adverse event is Stevens-Johnson syndrome. A second line agent for PJP prophylaxis is dapsone but this requires glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) testing first, as those who are deficient in this erythrocytic enzyme show a two-fold higher predisposition to dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia. Other alternatives for PJP prophylaxis are atovaquone 1500 mg daily, but this is a costly option, or inhaled pentamidine via a nebulizer at 300 mg every month. Correct administration of inhaled pentamidine is crucial and due to the route of administration, disseminated PCP disease is still possible. 9 Hepatitis B ReactivationFurthermore, patients on corticosteroids of at least 20 mg/day for at least 4 weeks, have an 11–20% chance of reactivation if they are hepatitis B surface Ag carriers. An inactive carrier is hepatitis B surface antigen positive for greater than 6 months without detectable hepatitis B e antigen (HbeAg), presence of anti-hepatitis B e antibodies (anti-Hbe), and undetectable or low levels of hepatitis B DNA, repeatedly normal ALT levels, and no or minimal liver fibrosis. Inactive carriers comprise the largest group of chronic hepatitis B infected individuals with an estimated 250 million people worldwide and can convert to active disease under such immunosuppression.Therefore, it is prudent to prescribe hepatitis B prophylaxis to these patients although no high-level evidence supporting this approach is available.11 Lamivudine is considered first choice for these patients if they do not otherwise meet treatment criteria for hepatitis B. Tenofovir is considered first line in areas highly prevalent for resistance to lamivudine, which tends to occur with prolonged lamivudine exposure. For example, lamivudine resistance develops in up to 90% of HBV-HIV co-infected individuals after 4 years of lamivudine therapy.12.In the setting of isolated anti-Hb-core antibody positivity, prophylaxis is not recommendedgiven that the rate of reactivation is less than 1%.10 Instead, patients should have serial measurements of liver function, hepatitis B serology and hepatitis B DNA every 1–3 months during the period of immunosuppressive treatment and if there is any elevation in these markers, antiviral prophylaxis or treatment (depending on the results) should be offered.So, when assessing patients for the need for PCP or hepatitis B prophylaxis, both the intended duration as well as the dose of the corticosteroids need to be considered.Strongyloides stercoralis InfectionStrongyloides stercoralis can persist for several decades and can reactivate with glucocorticoid exposure causing a severe and sometimes fatal disseminated infection. Strongyloides infection can be asymptomatic and can be acquired walking barefoot on soil in the developing world.13 Strongyloides serology is therefore recommended for refugees from low-income countries in Southeast Asia and Africa where strongyloides is endemic before starting high-dose corticosteroid treatement.14 If positive, patients should be treated with 2 doses of ivermectin to prevent the development of hyperinfection. TuberculosisPatients with latent tuberculosis on higher dose and/or longer duration of glucocorticoid use are also at risk of conversion to active disease. A one-step tuberculin skin test (TST) ³ 5 mm is considered positive when a patient is on prednisone doses ³ 15 mg/day for one month or more. First-line treatment for latent tuberculosis is isoniazid over 9 months. Patients should begin therapy ideally at least 4 weeks before starting such immunosuppression to prevent conversion to active disease.15,16. If this is not possible, the recommendation is to start isoniazid and the corticosteroids at the same time. ConclusionsSerious and potentially fatal infections are just one of the many potential complications of being on high-dose corticosteroids for a long period of time – others include diabetes, hypertension, psychosis, osteoporosis, adrenal insufficiency and the development of cushingoid features.17 Infectious diseases that are either latent or inactive may reactivate under high-dose corticosteroids including tuberculosis, pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, Strongyloides stercoralis, and hepatitis B. Screening and treatment for such conditions prior to starting high-dose corticosteroids, or at least once the corticosteroids are started, can prevent these complications. Furthermore, the timing of both inactivated and live vaccines is crucial for the patients’ ability to mount an appropriate immune response and to avoid complications from live vaccines. Finally, patients on high-dose corticosteroids are at higher risk for illnesses that may require additional vaccinations not otherwise given to such individuals – for example the pneumococcal vaccine.DisclosureThere are no conflicts of interest for either author on this manuscript. References1. Zoorob RJ and Cender D. A different look at corticosteroids. American Family Physician. 1998 Aug 1; 58(2): 443-450. 2. Buttgereit F, Da Silva JAP, Boers M et al. Standardised nomenclature for glucocorticoid dosages and glucocorticoid treatment regimens: current questions and tentative answers in rheumatology. Ann Rheum Dis 2002; 61: 718-722. 3.Hall BM and Hodgkinson SJ. Corticosteroids in autoimmune diseases. Aust Prescr 1999; 22: 9-11. 4. T.P. van Staa, H.G. Leufkens, L. Abenhaim, B. Begaud, B. Zhang, C. Cooper. Use of oral corticosteroids in the United Kingdom. QJM. 2000 Feb; 93(2): 105–111. 5. Paul Brassard, Alain Bitton, Alain Suissa, Liliya Sinyavskaya, Valerie Patenaude and Samy Suissa. Oral Corticosteroids and the Risk of Serious Infections in Patients With Elderly-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2014 Nov; 109: 1795-1802. 6. PHAC: Canadian Immunization Guide - section 3 - Vaccination of specific populations (acquired/secondary immunodeficiency) - http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/cig-gci/p03-07-eng.php#a4. Accessed July 19 2015. Modified December 5th 2013. 7. PHAC: Canadian Immunization Guide – Section 4 – Active Vaccines: Pneumococcal Vaccine - http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/cig-gci/p04-pneu-eng.php#tab1. Accessed July 19 2015. Modified March 24th 2015. 8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine for adults with immunocompromising conditions: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012 Oct 12; 61(40): 816. 9. Tomblyn M, Chiller T, Einsele H at al. Guidelines for preventing infectious complications among hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients: a global perspective. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2009; 15(10): 1143. 10. Di Bisceglie AM, Lok AS, Martin P, Terrault N, Perrillo RP, Hoofnagle JH. Recent US Food and Drug Administration warnings on hepatitis B reactivation with immune-suppressing and anticancer drugs: just the tip of the iceberg? Hepatology. 2015; 61(2): 703. 11. Cheng J, Li JB, Sun QL et al. Reactivation of Hepatitis B Virus After Steroid Treatment in Rheumatic Diseases. The Journal of Rheumatology. 2011; 38 (1): 181-182. 12. Benhamou Y, Bochet M, Thibault V, et al. Long-term incidence of hepatitis B virus resistance to lamivudine in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. Hepatology. 1999; 30: 1302-1306. 13. Farthing M, Fedail S, Savioli L et al. WGO Practice Guideline: Management of strongyloides. 2004. 14. Khan K, Heidebrecht C, Sears J et al. Appendix 8: Intestinal parasites – Strongyloides and Schistosoma: evidence review for newly arriving immigrants and refugees. CMAJ . 2011; 183(12): E824-925. 15. Pai M, Kunimoto D, Jamieson F, et al. Canadian Tuberculosis Standards – 7th edition. Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control - Public Health Agency of Canada. February 2014: 75. 16. Singh JA, Furst DE, Bharat A et al. 2012 Update of the 2008 American College of Rheumatology Recommendations for the Use of Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs and Biologic Agents in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis Care & Research 2012; 64(5): 625–639. 17. Liu D, Ahmet A, Ward L et al. A practical guide to the monitoring and management of the complications of systemic corticosteroid therapy. Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. 2013, 9:30.

This work aims at analysing the organization and the processes that exist in the Library Centres of the University of Pisa, from the point of view of an improvement in efficiency and quality of the service being supplied. Processes and activities will be analysed in order to understand their adequacy in comparison with the specifications fixed in advance, and with the satisfaction of patrons/users considered as those who use the final output that has been accomplished. The focus will be on the most critical processes being carried out in the “administrative secretariats” of Cost centres (in which the Libraries Department of the University is subdivided), starting point for every possible ameliorative action towards a better organization of the work and the activities. Supervisor of the thesis is Arianna Pitzalis, the academic year is 2005/2006.

Collection development in university libraries is affected by a number of factors. The increase in the amount of information, technological developments, price hikes and electronic publishing are among them. In addition, university libraries are faced with the growth of collections and diversity of services.Iranian Institute of Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) Library (Ketabhaneye Merkeze Tehsiyate Tekmili der Olume Paye) is faced with a serious budget and space problem. The number of journals that the Library subscribes to decreases each year due to ever-increasing journal subscription prices and the Library’s constant budget shortages. Binding, cataloging, storage of and access to those journals constitutes the most important problem of the Library.The objective of this study is to answer the following conjecture: If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals instead of their printed copies, its budget and space problems would be eased. The hypothesis is that “If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals in the year 2002, its total expenditures would be decreased.” To prove this hypothesis, we compared various expenditure(subscriptions, mailing, control, binding and archiving) of both printed and electronic versions of journals that IASBS Library subscribed to in 2002.Findings obtained proved our hypothesis. If IASBS Library subscribed to the electronic versions of journals instead of their printed equivalents, the Library would have decreased its total expenditures approximately $57.000. This figure translates to almost 13% economy in the Library’s overall material acquisition budget. In addition, instead of 155 journals, IASBS Library would have obtained access to a total of 2260 electronic journal by paying less.In conclusion, IASBS Library should provide access to electronic versions of journals as soon as possible in order to solve its budget and space problems.

Librarians often champion open access (OA) as a sustainable alternative to the current scholarly communications system, which is widely accepted as being in a state of crisis. However, there has been little insight into how far libraries are making this support tangible by providing access to OA publications in their OPACs and other library pathways. This study conducted a large-scale survey of US library holdings to determine the extent that records of journals from the Directory of Open Access Journals are held by WorldCat-affiliated Academic libraries. It then followed up with a questionnaire inquiring into the attitudes and practices of librarians from 100 libraries that were ranked highest out of the total population in terms of their holdings of DOAJ journals. The main objective of the study was to develop a better understanding of the factors influencing the incorporation of OA materials into a university library’s holdings, where and by what means they typically appear on library websites, and how librarians feel about having these materials in their collections. Our findings suggest that the majority (54%) of WorldCat-affiliated US academic libraries have at least one record for a DOAJ journal in their holdings. It additionally suggests that librarians from institutions holding high numbers of DOAJ records generally have very positive attitudes towards OA, even though most of the respondents from these institutions were largely unaware that their holdings were more heavily weighted towards DOAJ records than at comparable institutions. Regarding library selection of OA titles, a journal’s subject matter was highlighted as a more important consideration than its access model. Additional findings suggest that large publishers of OA journals tend to have a higher representation in library holdings than smaller independent publishers.

This undergraduate degree thesis (The Fanzines as a Bibliographic Resource) presents definitions, features and profiles of frequent contents of marginated and independent periodicals known as fanzines. Along the analysis of this work, it is argued in favour to consider these information sources as bibliographic resources up to the same level of the well known periodicals of the library scene.

A short description of the context is followed by the definition of what en ERM is and what is can be used for. A review of the existing software is provided, as well as several scenarios for the implementation of an ERM solution for the 3 universities' libraries.

In recent years there has been a rapid transition to subscription of electronic resources and significant percentages of library budgets are allocated to electronic resources. Identifying and analyzing the benefits and costs of this new trend is therefore relevant. In this study we have considered the experiences of METU Library in utilizing electronic resources and provided a cost-benefit analysis of electronic resources based on the cost and usage statistics obtained from this library. The study examines the ScienceDirect, EbscoHost and Web of Science databases available within the METU electronic resources collection. In addition to the subscription cost statistics, non-subscription cost information obtained through interviews and surveys have been used in our analysis. Usage statistics of electronic information sources have been collected in accordance with the COUNTER standards and analyzed using various methods. The high usage of electronic resources in METU reduces the unit cost of databases. According to the 2004 data, the cost per usage for EbscoHost and Web of Science is $0.3 $0.2 respectively. These figures place METU below the average unit cost per use of all Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS) members. Yet due to high subscription cost, the unit cost per use of ScienceDirect is relatively higher ($2.3), even though the database is used very heavily at METU. This figure is above the average unit cost per use of all ANKOS members for the ScienceDirect database. Statistics show that a small number of “core” journals satisfy significant amount of use while the majority of journals are used rather infrequently. The results obtained from this study show that electronic resources cost, over the years, considerable amount of money for METU and their usage has also increased gradually. In general, it can be concluded that electronic resources are heavily utilized in METU in terms of overall usage. In order to maximize the benefits of electronic resources it is necessary to analyze cost and usage statistics in detail at both institutional and consortial levels, using various techniques. The results obtained from such studies can be used as guidelines for the development of collections of electronic resources, consortial agreements and user education programs.

Concerning many problems founded on the imagetic records organization, I intend to discuss the specificity of such material. The solution adopted by Brazilians archivists usually analyzes and organizes the records based only on the images subject description, abandoning the motives that were responsible for their generation as a record. Brazilian examples on holdings of this kind of records are put under suspicion when they are collated with the principles posed by the Archival Science. I assumed that archival records (writing or imagetic ones) are, in first place, registers of an administrative action, preserved to prove that this action was made instead of ready-made sources for historical research.. In my proposal, the production context, as a directive to the archival organization, comes as a fundamental issue, capable to guarantee the comprehension of the imagetic record genesis, the identification of subjects, as well their utilization on the historical research. The argumentation, mediated by the discussion on the application of some methodological references posed by the tradition of the Warburg Institute, puts the general issue on a relational perspective.

The present study intends to examine the nature of the Indian stock market by examining the randomness of daily market returns and the influence of COVID-19. To achieve this purpose, the daily closing prices of BSE Sensex and Nifty Fifty have been taken for the period between July 2019 to June 2020, and the same is divided in two parts, one before COVID-19 (Period I July - Dec. 2019) and another during COVID-19 (Period II Jan – June 2020). The JB test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, run test, unit root test, and autocorrelation test have been used to test the time series data. The results of the study highlighted that data is not normally distributed, and it is observed to be more volatile in Period II. The study concludes that Indian stock markets do exhibit a weak form of market efficiency and generally do not follow random walk in both periods. The study implies that the recent pandemic did not impact the behavior of Indian stock markets to a great extent. The results of the study might be useful for investors and corporate executives in framing business policies.