Like discovering a pirate's hidden treasure chest in the deep blue sea, here you will find tantalizing information and images that will keep you coming back for more! Library, archives, and more!
I just love the idea of reaching out to the community. I have done it in so many different aspects, long before working in the library and archival field.
From speaking out about the importance of organ donation, scheduling entertainment, organizing volunteers, and simply handing out water to marathon runners, I have striven to get involved.
Looking northeast at Poppenhusen Branch of Queens Public Library on a cloudy midday. NYCLPC designation 2000. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am amazed that it involves not only face-to-face options, but teleconferencing and Skype activities, as well! And the face-to-face options include something I daresay not many of us would have even considered! Take a look!
Smiley from the sMirC-series. snoring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Men snoring? Only men? The below article may be somewhat misleading. After all, not only men snore, snort or wheeze in their sleep. Many women do, too. Of course, some may have a different term for it, like “sleeping soundly,” sort of like some ladies decidedly do not sweat, but rather “glisten.”
At any rate, in my household my husband is definitely the one that snores, and I fully intend to share this article with him. If I were a man, and my wife snored, I would share it with her. Some of the points listed, I have personally thought might do the trick. Now I have some substance to back me up (which my husband does not only appreciate but subconsciencely requires). Hope this helps me and those of you that need it, too! Happy sleeping.
English: The main reading romm of Graz University Library (19th century) on 2 Sep 2003. Picture taken and uploaded by Dr. Marcus Gossler. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sometimes libraries need a little help getting noticed. Especially when there are many, shall we say, ‘competing’ libraries within a small radius. How do you get noticed? Great public or community outreach programs are certainly helpful. But if people don’t know at which local library these events are, it doesn’t do much. Check out OCLC‘s Library Spotlight Program below.
I just received this notice in my email and wanted to pass it on to you (see you on the screen!):
Colleagues,
We’ve just scheduled a webinar to bring you up to date on ArchiveGrid and I hope you can join us. I’m a proud member of the small but mighty ArchiveGrid team, and I’m excited about the work we’re doing. If you can’t join us, no worries, the session will be recorded. Please feel free to share!
Learn More About ArchiveGrid and Related Work in OCLC Research Webinar
This webinar will provide an overview of ArchiveGrid, a collection of nearly two million archival material descriptions that is now freely available from OCLC Research, as well as related work.
ArchiveGrid, a discovery system that provides access to detailed archival collection descriptions, was formerly offered as an OCLC subscription service but has recently been made freely available by OCLC Research. Join Consulting Software Engineer Bruce Washburn, Research AssistantEllen Eckert, Senior Program Officer Merrilee Proffitt and others from OCLC Research in this webinar for an overview of ArchiveGrid’s mission, its users and uses, as well as a tour of the current system and an in-depth look at how it’s built. You’ll also learn how to include your collection descriptions in ArchiveGrid, talk with the ArchiveGrid team about current research and development plans, and hear how challenges in archival discovery are motivating us to think about the system in new and interesting ways.
· Register here* to attend this webinar on 23 May from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET (UTC 19:00-20:00).
Webinar participation is free and open to all but advanced registration is required. A recording of this webinar will be made publicly available on our website, on YouTube and in iTunes later in May.
*After you register, you will receive an e-mail message that contains instructions for logging on to WebEx, where you will view the webinar slides online through your web browser (please note that WebEx recommends using Internet Explorer or Firefox, as Chrome and Safari are not supported). When you log in to the webinar, you may chose to either listen to the presentation audio through your computer with speakers or a headset, or dial in to listen by telephone. If you have questions or need assistance, please call WebEx technical support directly by phone at US/Canada Toll-Free: 1 (866) 229-3239 or International Toll: +1 (408) 435-7088.
Merrilee Proffitt, Senior Program Officer OCLC Research 777 Mariners Island Blvd Suite 550 San Mateo, CA 94404 USA +1-650-287-2136
Yes, even chronic kidney disease (CKD) can go into remission, or be reversed, according to some personal stories I have come across here and there, if caught early enough. Based on those stories (and I cannot back them up or verify them), I want to share something with you, my faithful readers.
According to the article below, you should get your kidney health checked every YEAR. And by ‘you’ I mean the average Joe, not people like me, with CKD, or chronic kidney disease.
Kidney disease creeps up on you like a spider quietly coming down its web from above. This disease is scarier, though, because it attacks from the inside where you can’t see it coming. So you must do your part to try to look for the tiny hints that might appear – if you are lucky enough to have any hints – and to do your part to try to stay healthy despite the environmental, biological, physical, psychological and emotional hazards we face daily.
Read on to discover what types of supplements can help, and if I remember correctly, what may hinder (keeping the article to refer back to for future reference!). I have some excerpts below, for you, but for detailed information, please take some time to peruse the entire article. It mentions CoQ10 and others you may have heard of before.
*Keep in mind that if you already have CKD check with your doctor before even considering taking any of these supplements!!*
What You Need to Know: Strategies to Combat Kidney Disease
It is imperative that aging individuals receive regular blood tests to monitor kidney health. In addition to standard creatinine, albumin, and BUN/creatinine ratio testing, cystatin-C levels should also be measured, as this constitutes a far more accurate biomarker of renal function.
The high-pressure and toxin-rich environment involved in renal function renders these delicate, highly complex organs especially vulnerable to damage, dysfunction, and disease.
High blood pressure, elevated blood sugar¸ NSAIDs, certain medications, and high-protein diets are the most common threats to kidney health.
Nutrients such as pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P) fight AGEs and ALEs.
CoQ10, silymarin, resveratrol, and lipoic acid are also clinically supported, potent interventions.
Omega-3 fatty acids help quell inflammation, contributing to enhanced kidney health.
A host of additional nutrients complement these actions, including folic acid (folate) and vitamins C and E.
Understanding Kidney Disease
The kidney ranks among the most complex and delicately evolved of all the major organs, making it particularly vulnerable to damage and dysfunction. As the body’s primary filtration system, it must “process” roughly 200 quarts of blood per day, rendering about 2 quarts of waste products and water.29
The fundamental structural unit of the kidney is the nephron. These high-pressure filtering mechanisms govern the removal of waste products and toxins, control blood pressure and volume, and regulate levels of electrolytes and metabolites in the blood. A healthy kidney contains approximately 800,000 to 1 million nephrons.
Housed within each nephron is a front-line filtration element called the glomerulus, a miniscule capillary coil. (The two together resemble an incandescent light bulb containing a convoluted filament.) The endothelial cells of the glomerulic capillaries act as the direct physical exchange between the kidney and the bloodstream. Waste products and water are combined to form urine, while blood cells and protein remain in the circulatory system.
The kidney’s tight control of water and mineral flow, and its role in maintaining healthy blood pressure and mineral balance, rely on the optimal functioning of nephrons and glomeruli. For this reason, one of the primary markers of kidney function is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a measure of the volume of fluid the kidney is able to process at any given time.
The glomerular filtration rate; plasma concentrations of the waste substances creatinine, urea, and nitrogen (blood urea nitrogen or BUN); and levels of protein in the blood and urine are the most commonly used measures to determine the presence of CKD. Rapidly rising creatinine usually signals imminent kidney failure. There should be no protein in the urine if your kidneys are functioning optimally.
It should be noted that BUN and creatinine may not increase above the normal range until 60% of total kidney function is lost. This is why certain aging individuals should ask their doctors to test for cystatin-C in the blood. Cystatin-C is a protein produced by virtually all cells and tissues in the body. Because it is formed freely and at a near-constant rate—as opposed to albumin, which may fluctuate with dietary protein intake—plasma cystatin-C serves as a more accurate biomarker of renal function.30
CKD may be categorized in one of 5 stages. Stage 1, the mildest, is defined only by the persistent presence of protein in urine (GFR may be normal); in each successively higher stage, GFR declines, until Stage 5 is reached, defining end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure.31 ESRD is irreversible and results in death without dialysis or kidney transplant.32
Given the toxic, high-pressure conditions involved in renal function and the delicacy of the kidney’s structural components, it comes as no surprise that an array of near-constant internal and external insults may take a severe toll on the glomeruli and other parts of the kidney. Their incremental damage and destruction leads to the progressive decline in renal function seen in aging humans.
These internal and external insults include:
Hypertension. Over time, chronic high blood pressure inflicts damage to the endothelial cells lining the kidney’s blood vessels, including those within the glomeruli. The result is a familiar cascade of events that leads to the thickening of blood vessel walls and reduction in blood flow seen in atherosclerosis. Reduced blood flow is in turn directly translated into lower GFR. Pressure damage to the glomeruli also diminishes their filtration capacity, permitting large protein molecules such as albumin to pass into urine instead of remaining in circulation. (This is why urine albumin levels are used to detect kidney disease.)
Elevated serum glucose. Diabetes is now the leading cause of CKD.61 Experts predict even greater increases in CKD if rates of diabetes incidence continue to rise steeply.62 It should be noted, however, that high blood sugar poses a threat to kidney health even in non-diabetic individuals. Chronic exposure to glucose degrades and destroys kidney cells through the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs)—molecules generated through the pathologic binding of glucose to proteins in the body. AGEs cause primary structural proteins in the cells to cross-link and become non-functional, increasing oxidative stress, inflammation, and directly damaging kidney tissue.63-66 It has been established that even early-stage insulin resistance is associated with CKD.67
Excess fatty tissue. Body fat contributes to the development of CKD through production of inflammatory cytokines specific to adipose (fatty) tissue called adipokines. Along with AGEs and oxidative stress, adipokines exacerbate the inflammation commonly found in people with CKD.67 For this reason, metabolic syndrome—co-occurring insulin resistance, hypertension, and abdominal obesity—represents a perfect storm for the development of CKD. A 2007 study found that metabolic syndrome occurs in 30.5% of individuals with stage 4 or stage 5 chronic kidney disease.68 Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of chronic kidney disease, even before diabetes manifests.69
Protein over-consumption. Ingesting an excessive amount of protein, particularly meat, may tax the kidneys to the point of distress. The extraordinary increase in individuals adhering misguidedly to high-protein diets in order to lose weight has had the unintended consequence of boosting rates of kidney damage and disease. Meat consumption also results in high AGE production and the consequent inflammatory injury to kidney tissue.69 A prudent approach to dietary protein is thus encouraged by most experts, particularly in people who already have some degree of CKD.
Drugs. The nephrotoxic side effects of many commonly used medications comprise another significant causative factor in CKD. Chief among the mechanisms by which drugs cause kidney damage are oxidative stress and adverse alterations in cellular energy management. So-called “analgesic nephropathy” involves destruction of the active regions of the kidney by overuse of pain relievers, usually used in combinations of two or more, including the common over-the-counter medication acetaminophen (Tylenol®) as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) including high-dose aspirin, and ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®).70-73 Chemotherapy agents have also been shown to significantly impair renal function.74,75 Please note that acetaminophen inflicts kidney damage via a different mechanism than pain relieving drugs like ibuprofen.
Everyone has old photos sitting around somewhere. Have you ever thought about how they were stored? Or how their method of storage might harm the photographs? This post will address those issues for the traditional printed photograph. For digital photographs, take a look at my earlier post A Digital-Age New Year’s Resolution which addresses digital media storage. I'm basing these recommendations on a combination of what I have learned in my coursework, during my internship and volunteering, and my scrapbooking hobby.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] A photograph of a man reading a newspaper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
Hi readers! Want to know how to care for those photos you have printed out from the 'good old days'?
Check out Amy Nickless' blog post (a fellow archivist), who really seems to know her stuff) to find out how! She even tells you where to go to buy the materials!
A quarter of the way through my summer contract and I've been thinking: "the past is what you, as in individual or a collective, want it to be".
Remembering is not just about remembering the good, the bad also shaped who you've become. You cannot remember everything. Remembering is remembering because you can forget. You can choose what to forget and what to remember.
Like discovering a pirate's hidden treasure chest in the deep blue sea, here you will find tantalizing information and images that will keep you coming back for more! Library, archives, and more!
Happy sleeping.
