Celebrate Health Literacy with BadgerLink Resources

[This article first appeared on The Badger Bulletin October 27, 2020.]

October is Health Literacy Month, a perfect time to highlight the health resources available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. Login to BadgerLink to access these resources from home today!

Question about your prescription medication? Take a look at AHFS Consumer Medication Information. Published by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, it offers content from drug information ebooks. Written for the average person, this resource includes "how to" information for administering different types of medications and identifies medications that have the potential for adverse events when used by older adults.

Want to learn more about alternative and holistic approaches to health care and wellness? Alt HealthWatch contains full-text articles for more than 190 international, and often peer-reviewed journals on subjects such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, childbirth, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, creative therapies, cross-cultural therapies, energy medicine, herbalism, homeopathy, mind-body medicine, naturopathy, nutrition, osteopathy, and more​.

Consumer Health Complete is your one-stop shop, BadgerLink resource for consumer-oriented health content, from mainstream to holistic medicine. This resource contains full text for more than 560 magazines and journals, 230 full-text health reference books and encyclopedias, and hundreds of medical images and diagrams​.

If you are a middle or high school student researching consumer health information for a project, start your search with Health Source: Consumer Edition. Full-text consumer health magazines, health pamphlets, and reference books that cover many health topics including medical sciences, food science and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine, and general health. Great for general public use too!

Nursing and medical students at the college and post baccalaureate level may find Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition more helpful for their research. With more than 355 full-text journals including 287 peer-reviewed journals, this resource provides researchers, allied health professionals, nurses, and medical educators with information on many medical disciplines. Full-text journals include: Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Nursing Management, Nursing Ethics, Nursing Inquiry and more!

For even more in depth academic research in the medical/nursing fields, be sure to also utilize MEDLINE and PubMed. MEDLINE contains over 21 million citations to journal articles in the life sciences and is used by healthcare professionals, nurses, clinicians, and researchers engaged in clinical care, public health, and health policy development. PubMed has over 26 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

Questions about getting started searching in any of these resources? Ask a Librarian or check out the BadgerLink Training page for helpful information sheets and videos.

Vendor

• EBSCO
• PubMed

Holiday Celebrations & Covid-19: CDC Recommendations

Celebrate Safely

As many people in the United States begin to plan for fall and winter holiday celebrations, CDC offers the following considerations to help protect individuals and their families, friends, and communities from COVID-19. These considerations are meant to supplement—not replace—any state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which holiday gatherings must comply. When planning to host a holiday celebration, you should assess current COVID-19 levels in your community to determine whether to postpone, cancel, or limit the number of attendees.  Read more ...

What it covers:

• Virus Spread
• Who should avoid all in-person celebrations
• General considerations
• Before the celebration
• During the celebration
• After the celebration
• Fall Holiday celebrations 
• Halloween
• Dia de los Muertos
• Thanksgiving

REALM Toolkit to Support Reopening Practices for Library Staff

Toolkit resources to support reopening practices for library staff are available to download

The REALM Project is providing a toolkit resources to support reopening practices for library staff. 

Currently it includes:

• REALM test results in visual format
• Decision-making checklist
• REALM 101: An introduction to COVID-19 and the project

Check back often as additional resources will be available soon.

This originally appeared on DragonFly: The PNR Weekly Digest.

NaNoWriMo starts this Sunday

Is this the year you buckle down and write that first novel?  You may be staying in anyway, so why not try?  Every November 1, people all over the globe try to write 50,000 words in just 30 days during NaNoWriMo!  This is my sixth year participating.*

*I've only met the 50,000 word goal once.  I'm working AND in grad school, so no, I don't honestly think I'll finish a novel on top of that.  It's still fun to try though!

Escapist reading: The Feather Thief

 In looking for a little escapist reading lately, I ran across a recommendation for The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century. I'll confess that I'm not usually a fan of non-fiction, but this book reads like an adventure story. A black market, obsession, and a furtive trek through the English countryside at midnight unfold all in the first couple of chapters. I even wanted to learn more about fly-tying and the differences between trout and salmon flies after reading this book. 

For those fans of This American Life, Ira Glass and his team recorded an episode in 2018 about the story. 

I highly recommend it for your to-be-read pile. 

What are your favorite non-fiction reads?

PubMed Updates and Retirement of the Legacy PubMed on October 31, 2020

 

Reposted from: Chan J. PubMed Updates and Retirement of the Legacy Site. NLM Tech Bull. 2020 Sep-Oct;(436):e6.  

2020 October 06 [posted]

Since the new PubMed replaced the legacy site in May, NLM has continued to add improvements and features to the new site. Many of the most requested features since the new PubMed became the default have now been added, such as:

• Custom date range filter is included with the publication date filters in the filter sidebar
• My NCBI Highlighting preference is enabled for search results and abstract pages
• Display formats now include PubMed format (previously MEDLINE format in the legacy site) and PMID list
• The snippets included with search results can be turned off using the Display options button and deselecting "Show snippets"
• Sort by: Journal and First author are now available as sort orders using the Display options button
• Search Details are expanded to include individual term translations and warnings related to the original query
• Related information links are included on Abstract pages when available

We wish to thank all the PubMed users who have sent us feedback about their experience using the new site; many of these features were improved and prioritized thanks to your feedback. We encourage users to continue helping us improve PubMed by sharing comments and feedback using the green feedback button included on every page of the new PubMed.

Retirement of the legacy site

As previously announced via the banner on the legacy site, the legacy PubMed site will be retired after October 31, 2020. 

While more than 99% of users are already using the new PubMed, we recognize that it can take time to adapt to changes and find favorite features in a new interface. Several learning and training resources are available to help you use the new site:

• The PubMed User Guide includes FAQs and comprehensive documentation for the new site.
• The New PubMed Transition FAQs include more information related to the transition from legacy to new PubMed.
• Contact the help desk using the Support Center link appearing at the bottom of every page in the new PubMed.
• NLM's PubMed Online Training includes tutorials, quick tours, and other training.
• The New PubMed: Trainer's Toolkit offers slide decks, quick tours, and other instructional materials.
• The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) offers free training and other resources. Connect with your regional medical library or browse NNLM training opportunities.

Future development plans

NLM is committed to the ongoing development of PubMed and ensuring that PubMed remains a trusted and accessible source of biomedical literature today and in the future. Just as the legacy site received updates over the course of its tenure, we will continue to enhance and add features to the new PubMed.

Future development plans for the new PubMed include a new RESTful API, updating pages such as Clinical Queries to the new platform, and other improvements.

Please follow the Technical Bulletin and the PubMed New and Noteworthy feed for the latest updates on features and PubMed news.

By Jessica Chan
National Center for Biotechnology Information

ISSN 2161-2986 (Online) Content not copyrighted; freely reproducible.
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U.S. National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Freedom of Information Act

Retirement of Legacy PubMed on October 31 and New PubMed Training and Transition Tools

 

Reposted from NCBI Insights October 21, 2020.  

The new PubMed has been the default now since May, and more than 99% of you are using the new site. The recent NLM technical bulletin has details on features that we have added to the new PubMed based on your requests.

Legacy PubMed, which has been available in parallel with the new PubMed, will be finally taken down after October 31, 2020.  We will continue to provide API access to PubMed through the E-utilities, which uses the legacy system, for the foreseeable future and until we can transition to an API that accesses the new system.

We understand that it can take time to adapt to changes and find favorite features in a new interface. Several learning and training resources are available to help you use the new PubMed:

• The PubMed User Guide includes FAQs and comprehensive documentation for the new site.
• The New PubMed Transition FAQs include more information related to the transition from legacy to new PubMed.
• Contact the help desk using the Support Center link appearing at the bottom of every page in the new PubMed.
• NLM’s PubMed Online Training includes tutorials, quick tours, and other training.
• The New PubMed: Trainer’s Toolkit offers slide decks, quick tours, and other instructional materials.
• The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) offers free training and other resources. Connect with your regional medical library or browse NNLM training opportunities.

Future development plans

We will continue to enhance and add features to the new PubMed. Future development plans include new RESTful API to replace E-utilities access, updating pages such as Clinical Queries to the new platform, and other improvements.

Please follow the Technical Bulletin and the PubMed New and Noteworthy feed for the latest updates on features and PubMed news.

Halloween edition: Mummy brains!

 Enjoy this post on mummy brains...just in time for Halloween!

PubMed Clinical Queries Update to Include a Covid-19 Search for Best Evidence

 The PubMed Clinical Queries page will soon be updated with design and content changes. The new page design aligns with the new PubMed and includes a new category for COVID-19 searches. Links and bookmarks created for the legacy PubMed Clinical Queries page will be redirected to the new page when this change takes effect.

The PubMed Clinical Queries page will initially include COVID-19 Articles and Clinical Study Categories (see Figure 1). The new COVID-19 filter strategies are published in the PubMed User Guide and may evolve over time.

Figure 1: PubMed Clinical Queries Page.

The Systematic Review and Medical Genetics filters that were included in the legacy PubMed Clinical Queries page have moved:

• Systematic Review is available as a default Article Type filter on the filter sidebar for PubMed search result pages (see Figure 2).
• The Medical Genetics searches are available as filters that may be added to a query using the filter name with the search field tag [filter]: for example, sickle cell anemia AND genetic counseling[filter]. The complete list of filters and associated search strategies are published in the PubMed User Guide.

Figure 2: PubMed Article Type Filter.

For more information about using Clinical Queries and the filter strategies, please see the PubMed User Guide:

• Clinical Queries
• Clinical Queries Filters
• Systematic Reviews

By Jessica Chan
National Center for Biotechnology Information

Originally posted to the NLM Technical Bulletin on October 14, 2020.

Chan J. PubMed Clinical Queries Update Coming Soon. NLM Tech Bull. 2020 Sep-Oct;(436):e8.

ISSN 2161-2986 (Online) Content not copyrighted; freely reproducible.

Trademarks Copyright Privacy Accessibility NLM Customer Support Viewers and Players
U.S. National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894
National Institutes of Health NIH...Turning Discovery into Health®
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Freedom of Information Act

Masks May Do More than We Think: ZDoggMD talks with Dr Monica Gandhi

This is recent episode from ZDoggMD' podcast.    

I'd read cited the NEJM article last month and was intrigued with the idea of variolation, so I was happy to hear one of the authors talk about it in this discussion with Dr. Zubin Damania (aka ZDoggMD).   Dr. Gandhi also goes over the current state of the evidence re: face masks.  I was pleased to hear that I was familiar with all the studies she talks about concerning the efficacy of masks to prevent transmission of respiratory infections.  Dr. Gandhi comes from a background of treating patients with HIV, and has a different approach to convincing people to take care of themselves and others, whether it be wearing condoms or face masks.  No shaming here. ;-)

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  

Here is the PubMed citation for her article: 

Facial Masking for Covid-19 - Potential for "Variolation" as We Await a Vaccine.
Gandhi M, Rutherford GW.N Engl J Med. 2020 Sep 8. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2026913. Online ahead of print.  PMID: 32897661

Masks May Do More Than We Think (w/Dr. Monica Gandhi)

From ZDogg's introduction to this episode:

What if masks acted to reduce severity of COVID-19 infection for the WEARER, fostering immunity like a vaccine and allowing a full societal reopening?

Dr. Monica Gandhi is a UCSF professor of Medicine in the division of HIV, infectious diseases, and global medicine. She and her colleagues recently proposed just such a theory in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this fantastic interview she outlines the emerging data in support of the idea that masks may do more than we think.

Here’s a NY Times piece about her proposal, and here’s a paper she co-authored in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

And here’s ZDogg's piece on masks that summarizes some of Dr. Gandhi’s work.

Full Transcript is available at ZDoggMD.

References (directly from Dr. Gandhi) :

Viral inoculum theory: Higher viral inocula or “dose” linked to severity of disease

Well described in animal studies and some human studies for respiratory and GI illnesses -higher infective dose thought to lead to faster/greater pathogen replication, leading to a more aggressive and damaging innate inflammatory response, or overwhelming adaptive immune response- all leading to more severe disease.   This is a hypothesis for diseases in which immunopathology plays a role in viral pathogenesis, such as COVID-19 (Rouse BT, Sehrawat S. Immunity and immunopathology to viruses: what decides the outcome? Nat Rev Immunol. 2010;10(7):514-526)

Some evidence for the “viral inocula” theory for SARS/MERS. Evidence in SARS-CoV-2 fom degree of illness in household contacts/ health care workers at beginning of pandemic.  Papers supporting viral inoculum theory. [43 more citations available at ZDogg's site.]

WHSLA Genie now accepting wishes!

The WHSLA Genie would like to hear your wishes! 

Have you ever thought “I wish WHSLA…”?  The WHSLA Board wants to be sure we are a viable organization going into this new decade!  As a reminder…

WHSLA's purpose is to:

• promote the development of health science libraries and librarianship in Wisconsin
• provide a forum for the discussion of mutual problems and the exchange of ideas and information among members
• encourage the continuing education of all health science library personnel by sponsoring appropriate educational programs
• serve as a liaison to other organizations desiring input from WHSLA

 

What do you wish WHSLA could do to support you in your library work? 

Please take a few minutes and send your wishes to the WHSLA Genie by November 2, 2020.  Thank you! 

Any questions?  Contact Deb Knippel. 

Thank you to Melissa De Santis, M.L.I.S., AHIP for permission to use/adapt her work.  You may want to carry out this theme for a needs assessment in your own library! 

Source:  De Santis, M., Houghton, V., & Fontenelle, C. (2017). "If the Library Genie Granted You Three Wishes, What Would They Be?": Results and Lessons Learned From an Annual User Feedback Campaign. Medical reference services quarterly, 36(1), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2017.1259886 (PMID: 28112639).

Image source:  "Aladdin's Magic Lamp" by ☼☼Jo Zimny Photos☼☼ is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Does Science Self-Correct? What we've learned at Retraction Watch

Does Science Self-Correct?  What We've Learned at Retraction Watch [Web Video; 58:56]   by Dr Ivan Orlansky, presented on Oct 8, 2020.

This is a recording of Dr. Ivan Oransky's inaugural talk in a new lecture series by the Leon Levy Dental Library at Penn Libraries. Hosted by Laurel Graham.

Liz Suelzer's presentation last year helped me understand the importance of retractions in scholarly communication and publishing.  Here's your chance to learn about / catch up on the work of Retraction Watch. 

Common Reasons for Retractions:

• Duplication (Self-plagiarism) 
• Plagiarism
• Image Manipulation
• Faked Data
• Fake Peer Reviews
• Publisher Error
• Authorship Issues
• Legal Reasons
• Not Reproducible
• Fraud - Misconduct - Reliability - Error - Misc

Did you know that Zotero offers retraction alerts?

"Warning: A citation in your document has been retracted."

Other helpful links:

Retraction Watch's free newsletter.

Retraction Watch Database

• Retraction Watch Database User Guide

Retracted Covid-19 Papers

Retraction Watch Blog

PubPeer - Post publication peer review  

Mask refresher

 Here in Wisconsin, we're seeing the distressing consequences of what happens when people get lax about safety measures.  So here's a cute comic about mask safety!

Comic by Connie Hanzhang Jin

Scientists Knit New Artery Grafts out of Collagen and Synthetic Fibers

A circular knitting machine creates an artery graft out of a hybrid yarn

Fan Zhang

This bit of medical news was too interesting to pass up ...  I know some of you out there are knitters.  You may have seen those old (or new) sock knitting machines they used in WWI when women were making socks at home for soldiers to prevent trench foot?    

Here's where the streams of crafting, industry, science and medicine cross:  They are basically using a mini sock knitting machine to create a substitute for human tissue.  But first, they had to spin the yarn!    You gotta think the scientists who came up with this brilliant idea are also fiber lovers and knitters, or otherwise spent a significant amount of time with knitters and spinners.  

The collagen and synthetic yarn makes me think of the Korean Japchae noodles made from sweet potatoes that you can buy at farmer's market.  Not the same, I know, but I wonder if they used noodle-making technology to make the yarn?  Crossing even more streams here ...

From the article:

Heart attack patients often need replacements for damaged or blocked sections of coronary arteries, which are usually taken from their own leg veins. But in a new proof-of-concept study, scientists knitted a prototype graft out of hybrid synthetic and biological yarn, forming a scaffold for the patients own cells to grow around and repair the artery.    ... 

 

But it’s not made to be a permanent implant – instead, it’s a scaffold to help the patient’s own cells build a new artery. Those endothelial cells, which normally line the insides of arteries, stick to the scaffold and begin growing.    Read more ...

Irving, M.   30 September 2020. Scientists Knit New Artery Grafts Out Of Collagen And Synthetic Fibers. [online] New Atlas. Available at: <https://newatlas.com/medical/artery-grafts-hybrid-collagen-synthetic-fibers/?fbclid=IwAR0-Ztvs1Of38ewuzWaDYHKp8eIUiN9bB43svnlxf2tH0hL85lefjaPlg8o> [Accessed 5 October 2020].

The research was published in the journal Materials Science and Engineering: C.

Source: NC State University

 

October is National Medical Librarians Month!

 

Click on the image to see a larger, more readable version.  

October is National Medical Librarians Month!

Medical Librarians are essential 

to improving patient-care outcomes 

and clinical decision making.

Hurray for all our wonderful WHSLA Members!

How are you celebrating NMLM? 

Here are some ideas, including the images you see in this post, 

from The Medical Library Association.