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The COVID-19 pandemic brought rapid and radical changes to higher education, and academic libraries adapted and devised solutions. This article will review the initiatives that the University of Manitoba Libraries (UML) implemented prior to the pandemic, as well as the library’s response, focusing on the performance of these initiatives in the past two years. These initiatives are new service models including a fully virtual library, new technologies, such as self-service lockers, and structural reorganization, for example, the creation of functional teams. The review will demonstrate how the above initiatives ensured the continuity of library services during the pandemic. The pandemic is viewed as a touchstone that tested the trends of the academic library community in an extreme situation. The success of the library services provided by the UML inspires positive thinking about the forward direction for public research university libraries.

The agenti imperiali, the officals, ambassadors and military commanders representing the Emperor Charles V in Italy, made use of his status as Holy Roman Emperor and of the claims this gave him and them to intervene in Italian states over which he did not rule directly, to aid in establishing Spanish hegemony over Italy. The example of Lucca, a small state that asked for Charles’s protection as an Imperial city, while resolutely maintaining its independence and trying to fend off demands from the emperor and the agenti imperiali for heavy financial contributions to the maintainence of the Imperial army in Italy, casts light on how this was done.

The Sienese exiles driven from their city as the losers in bitter struggles between rival political factions in the 1520s, and claiming to be the nobility of Siena persecuted by a popular regime, succeeded in obtaining the support of Charles V, who ordered the commander of his army in Italy to help them return home. The arguments advanced by the exiles and by the Sienese regime that resisted their return, and by the agents of Charles V in their efforts to negotiate the reinstatement of the exiles or to justify the use of force when negotiations failed, raised questions of justice and equality in government, of property rights (determination not to restore the exiles’ confiscated property was one of the strongest motives behind the regime’s refusal to accept them back), and of the rights and powers of the emperor in intervening in and imposing reform on the government of the Sienese republic. For the Imperial agents, the restoration of the exiles became an excuse to take and hold a strategically useful city by force, but they failed to convince the emperor that this was justifiable or expedient.

Introduction: Mobile applications (apps) provide nurses with evidence-based information at the bedside. Librarians encourage app use by purchasing licenses and promoting their features. While many high-quality nursing apps exist, there is inconsistency in published reports on whether nurses use them in patient care. The aim of this research is to describe the use of mobile apps by nurses at two urban hospitals and to examine the impact of educational sessions led by hospital librarians and educators on nurse usage, attitudes and behaviour as they relate to mobile apps. Methods: Phase I consisted of a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of in-patient nurses to determine mobile app use and attitudes. Phase II involved a one-group pre/post-test design to examine the impact of education sessions led by librarians and hospital educators on nurse attitudes, usage and behaviours. A post-intervention focus group captured thoughts on using mobile apps at the bedside. Results: Results indicate that most nurses who have a personal mobile device are interested in using them at the bedside though few are currently doing so. While nurses cite many conveniences and uses, they also highlight a number of barriers associated with using mobile devices that must be addressed in order to realize the benefits in patient-centred care. Discussion: Hospital librarians and educators should work together to provide the education and support nurses require to realize the benefits of using apps at the bedside. Larger studies are needed to determine the impact of educational sessions on patient and health provider satisfaction with mobile device use.

Copy number variation (CNV) is a common source of genetic variation that has been implicated in many genomic disorders, Mendelian diseases, and common/complex traits. Genomic microarrays are often employed for CNV detection. More recently, whole-exome sequencing (WES) has enabled detection of clinically relevant point mutations and small insertion—deletion exome wide. We evaluated (de Ligt et al. 2013) [1] the utility of short-read WES (SOLiD 5500xl) to detect clinically relevant CNVs in DNA from 10 patients with intellectual disability and compared these results to data from three independent high-resolution microarray platforms. Calls made by the different platforms and detection software are available at dbVar under nstd84.

Background: Obesity has significant health and NHS cost implications. Relatively small reductions in weight have clinically important benefits, but long-term weight loss maintenance (WLM) is challenging. Behaviour change interventions have been identified as key for WLM. Motivation is crucial to supporting behaviour change, and motivational interviewing (MI) has been identified as a successful approach to changing health behaviours. The study was designed as an adequately powered, pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT); however, owing to recruitment issues, the study became a feasibility trial. Objectives: To assess recruitment, retention, feasibility, acceptability, compliance and delivery of a 12-month intervention to support WLM. Secondary objectives were to assess the impact of the intervention on body mass index (BMI) and other secondary outcomes. Design: Three-arm individually randomised controlled trial comprising an intensive arm, a less intensive arm and a control arm. Setting: Community setting in South Wales and the East Midlands. Participants: Individuals aged 18–70 years with a current or previous BMI of ≥ 30 kg/m2 who could provide evidence of at least 5% weight loss during the previous 12 months. Intervention: Participants received individually tailored MI, which included planning and self-monitoring. The intensive arm received six face-to-face sessions followed by nine telephone sessions. The less intensive arm received two face-to-face sessions followed by two telephone sessions. The control arm received a leaflet advising them on healthy lifestyle. Main outcome measures: Feasibility outcomes included numbers recruited, retention and adherence. The primary effectiveness outcome was BMI at 12 months post randomisation. Secondary outcomes included waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, physical activity, proportion maintaining weight loss, diet, quality of life, health service resource usage, binge eating and well-being. A process evaluation assessed intervention delivery, adherence, and participants’ and practitioners’ views. Economic analysis aimed to assess cost-effectiveness in terms of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Results: A total of 170 participants were randomised. Retention was good (84%) and adherence was excellent (intensive, 83%; less intensive, 91%). The between-group difference in mean BMI indicated the intensive arm had BMIs 1.0 kg/m2 lower than the controls [95% confidence interval (CI) –2.2 kg/m2 to 0.2 kg/m2]. Similarly, a potential difference was found in weight (average difference of 2.8 kg, 95% CI –6.1 kg to 0.5 kg). The intensive arm had odds of maintaining on average 43% [odds ratio(OR) 1.4, 95% CI 0.6 to 3.5] higher than controls. None of these findings were statistically significant. Further analyses controlling for level of adherence indicated that average BMI was 1.2 kg/m2 lower in the intensive arm than the control arm (95% CI –2.5 kg/m2 to 0.0 kg/m2). The intensive intervention led to a statistically significant difference in weight (mean –3.7 kg, 95% CI –7.1 kg to –0.3 kg). The other secondary outcomes showed limited evidence of differences between groups. The intervention was delivered as planned, and both practitioners and participants were positive about the intervention and its impact. Although not powered to assess cost-effectiveness, results of this feasibility study suggest that neither intervention as currently delivered is likely to be cost-effective in routine practice. Conclusion: This is the first trial of an intervention for WLM in the UK, the intervention is feasible and acceptable, and retention and adherence were high. The main effectiveness outcome showed a promising mean difference in the intensive arm. Owing to the small sample size, we are limited in the conclusions we can draw. However, findings suggest that the intensive intervention may facilitate long-term weight maintenance and, therefore, further testing in an effectiveness trial may be indicated. Research examining WLM is in its infancy, further research is needed to develop our understanding of WLM and to expand theory to inform the development of interventions to be tested in rigorously designed RCTs with cost-effectiveness assessed. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN35774128. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 19, No. 50. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

The practice of political exile was particularly widespread in Renaissance Italy. The issues related to exiles were a major element of the official relationships between Italian states. The exiles themselves represented a significant part of the network of contacts –informal and dense– that would connect the populations of the various states with each other. The way governments treated exiles from other states was considered as a major hint on their true attitude towards the other governments. In order to control their exiles, States sought help and cooperation, however “host” governments would have often put forward the argument that it was preferable to treat the exiles in fair way not to incite them to commit acts of desperation. The treatment of and the attitude with the exiles are a sign of the strong interest of the Italian states for the domestic affairs of the other states. It also shows how important was for governments’ reputation, in their own states, the reputation they enjoyed in the other governments.