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March 31, 2006

Genetic and Genomic Search Engines

The explosion of genomic and genetic information resources can make it difficult to know what are the best resources for what you need.

The single most famous and comprehensive tool is from the US government.

At Genome.gov, you can find a helpful list describing other recommended genomic and genetic tools.

Molecular Imaging Central includes a useful link section, that includes specialized search engines for genomic information. Sections of the page include "EST and STS Information", "Mapping and Inheritance Information", "Promoter Search and Corresponding Database", "Protein Motifs", and "Sequences Databases".

But new resources are always cropping up. Many are from research institutes, and may include a variety of information in addition to their own discoveries and data. Various international collaborations and journals are represented. Even corporate entities are getting involved, and there is a rumor that Google will be providing the next big genomic database. Here are just a few examples of the range of other resources available.

Posted by pfa at 03:15 PM | Comments (0)

March 29, 2006

APA Tools for Removing Bias in Language

The American Psychological Association (APA) has made available a variety of masterful resources for helping authors with identifying unintentionally problematic language in their publications and written communications.

Guidelines for Non-Handicapping Language in APA Journals /
Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology: http://www.apastyle.org/disabilities.html

Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language / Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concern: http://www.apastyle.org/sexuality.html

Guidelines for Avoiding Racial/Ethnic Bias in Language / Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs and Publications and Communications Board: http://www.apastyle.org/race.html

Posted by pfa at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2006

A Health Professional’s Guide to Pediatric Oral Health Management

New from the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, this online training tool addresses the core question of appropriate referral to pediatric dentists from family medicine care providers.

National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center: A Health Professional’s Guide to Pediatric Oral Health Management: http://www.mchoralhealth.org/pediatricoh/index.htm

"These modules provide health professionals with information to help them prevent oral diseases, which still afflict many U.S. children, especially children from families with low incomes, children in certain minority groups, and children with special health care needs. The modules assist health professionals in performing an oral screening to identify infants and children at increased risk for oral health problems, offering referrals to oral health professionals, and providing parents with anticipatory guidance."

Posted by pfa at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

March 24, 2006

HON offers free personalized tool about smoking cessation

Health on the Net Foundation (HON): HON Dossier: Quit Smoking: Your online smoking cessation adviser: http://www.hon.ch/QuitSmoking/step0.html

"A few seconds after answering this questionnaire, you will receive a personal evaluation report based on your answers. ... Participation is free of charge."

Other similar resources available for promoting public health initiatives include:

These are all available from the HON Dossier page:

http://www.hon.ch/Dossier/110_HONDossier.htm

Posted by pfa at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2006

Availability of Software Program to Assess Total Fluoride Exposure

----------- QUOTED MATERIAL ---------------

The NIDCR and NHLBI wish to announce the availability of the Nutrition Data System for Research with Fluoride (NDS-R Fluoride), the first software designed to assess total fluoride exposure of humans from both dietary and non-dietary sources. The software was developed as a new functional model for the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R), a well established computerized database and interview system used by nutrition researchers for collection of dietary information and calculation of nutrient intakes.

The NDS-R Fluoride software is available on a CD-ROM accompanied by a comprehensive Online User Manual fully documenting its features and functionality and providing instructions for its use in a research setting. Training seminars also can be arranged. For information on how to license the NDS-R Fluoride software and the fee schedule contact, please see:
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DE-06-002.html

For additional questions or information, contact:
María Teresa Canto, DDS, MPH
Director, Health Promotion and Comunity-based Research Program
Center for Health Promotion and Behavioral Research
NIDCR/NIH/DHHS
Phone: 301-594-5497, E-mail: maria.canto@nih.gov

----------- QUOTED MATERIAL ---------------

Posted by pfa at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2006

EMBASE Database Access Changing March 31st

As of March 31, 2006, the Embase database will no longer be available for direct searching as part of UM-MEDSEARCH due to budget constraints. The SCOPUS database provides limited access to the content of Embase for those who wish to do their own searching. Those needing more advanced Embase searches may contact the Taubman Medical Library Reference Department for assistance with a search mediated by a medical librarian.

Please send any questions or comments to medical.library@umich.edu

Posted by pfa at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2006

MMWR Special Issue on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The newest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) focuses on public health issues and response connected to the hurricanes of 2005.

MMWR Weekly March 10, 2006 / Vol. 55 / No. 9: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html

In addition to the articles, they also announce a forthcoming satellite conference and webcast on March 31, 2006; 2pm:

Notice to Readers: Satellite Broadcast: Learning from Katrina: http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/

Posted by pfa at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

Mercury in the Legislative News

The BBC today reported on efforts by the European Parliament to reduce mercury in the environment, in part by limiting the use of mercury in dental fillings.

BBC News (Tuesday, 14 March 2006, 18:05 GMT): Euro MPs back mercury crackdown: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4801434.stm

Discussion was substantially based on the following document.

EUROPA: European Commission: Communication from the Commission: Community Strategy Concerning Mercury [COM (2005) 20 final]: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0020en01.pdf

Posted by pfa at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2006

Finding Survey Instruments

If you are using or planning to use any kind of survey in research related to oral health, the Craniofacial Data Resource Center is your best one-stop shop. This includes an amazing wealth of resources for survey types of research in oral health.

NIDCR/CDC Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Data Resource Center: Catalog of Surveys and Archive of Procedures Related to Oral Health: http://drc.nidcr.nih.gov/catalog.htm

"The Catalog of Surveys and Archive of Procedures Related to Oral Health is a two-part database linking descriptions of data sources (Catalog) with descriptions of procedures (Archive) used in the data sources. The objective of the Catalog and Archive is to provide a central and up-to-date resource for detailed descriptions of oral health data sources for public health research, program planning, and policymaking. This searchable database is available free of charge online and on CD-ROM."

Other useful free resources for health survey instruments include the following.

NCHS: NHISD: Surveys and Data Collection Systems: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/express.htm

PROQOLID, the Patient-Reported Outcome and Quality of Life Instruments Database: http://www.proqolid.org/

Rand: Health: Surveys and Tools: http://www.rand.org/health/surveys_tools.html

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA): View Survey Instruments: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA/survey-inst/

In addition to these, we can also highly recommend the following databases available through the University Libraries.

More information on these types of resources is available from Taubman:

Taubman Medical Library: Guide to Test and Measurement Instruments: http://www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/eres/data/about/abouttandm.html

Posted by pfa at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2006

Dental Highlights from Deep Blue

Have you heard about Deep Blue, the online institutional repository from the University of Michigan?

Deep Blue: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/

Deep Blue: Dentistry: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/simple-search?query=dentistry&start=0

Representative examples of work from faculty of the School of Dentistry include:

Posted by pfa at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2006

New Reports on Tobacco from World Health Organization

(1) World Health Organization (WHO): Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI: Why is Tobacco a Public Health Priority?: http://www.who.int/tobacco/en/

"Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today -that is about 650 million people- will eventually be killed by tobacco."

(2) Best Practices in Tobacco Control - Regulation of Tobacco Products Canada Report: http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/canadian_bp/en/index.html

"The Tobacco Free Initiative announces the release of a best practices report highlighting Canadian tobacco product regulation. The Canadian tobacco regulatory regime, identified as one of the best by TFI and the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg), incorporates mandatory periodic emissions testing, emissions disclosure based on all characteristics of the tobacco product, and labelling requirements which mandate large, clear health warnings and informational messages. And most noteworthy, this best practice shows how Canada, in an effort to promote public health goals, creatively maneuvered around the limitations of the ISO smoking machine testing protocol by amending their regulation to require manufacturers to additionally test using a more intense testing regimen."

(3) TobReg - Advisory Note Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators (in English and Arabic): http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/waterpipe/en/index.html

"This advisory note addresses the growing concerns about the increasing prevalence and potential health effects of tobacco smoking using waterpipes, a practice which dates back for at least four centuries in Africa and Asia."

Posted by pfa at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2006

Archive Grid: Resource for Historical Research

Check this out, folks -- a very useful resource for historical research.

ArchiveGrid: http://archivegrid.org/web/jsp/index.jsp

"ArchiveGrid is an important destination for searching through historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in archives around the world."

It doesn't just search archives, but also museums, historical societies and research centers. Here are a couple example searches to give you an idea how useful it can be.

Dentist

Jonathan Taft

Posted by pfa at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

FDI: "Live, Learn, Laugh" A Global Public Health Initiative

FDI / World Dental Federation: Live.Learn.Laugh: http://www.fdiworldental.org/public_health/4_3LLL.html

"Unilever and the FDI have created a unique partnership - Live. Learn. Laugh. - with the aim of increasing oral health education and promotion in countries around the world. The partnership enables National Dental Associations (NDAs) to propose oral health projects for their countries. Funding will be available to implement projects locally. The partnership has been made possible because of both organisations' deeply held conviction that good oral care is a building block for health and well-being - and that improved oral care begins at grassroots level."

Posted by pfa at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

Science in the 21st Century: Federal Resource for Talking About Research

National Science and Technology Council: Committee on Science: Science for the 21st Century: http://www.ostp.gov/nstc/21stCentury/

"The document details, from a Federal agency perspective, the science policies and accomplishments of the current Administration, and illustrates how today’s science sets the stage for benefits to the economy and national quality of life far into the future."

This thoughtful resource provides web, PDF, and presentation slides with core data and evidence to support dicussions of the value of research in our society.

Posted by pfa at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

Zerhouni on "The NIH Investment"

Today, Dr. Zerhouni, NIH Director, is quoted as saying:

"I have made a decision that we are strategically going to educate people. We are launching a strategic ... campaign to educate the American people about the value of the NIH investment over the last 34 years," Zerhouni said. "I am sick and tired of hearing negative messages about NIH, and I am going to take on directly the job of
educating the people about the extraordinary value of the nation's investment."
Research Policy Alert (registration required): http://sacserv.com/tracking.jsp?linkid=31310&subid=3148347&campid=146997&type=0

This bold statement is echoed in earlier more formal presentations.

APA Online: Zerhouni: Cool in the Hot Seat: http://www.apa.org/ppo/issues/zerhounitest305.html
Transcript / fulltext of his presentation is in a link at the bottom of this page.
"Congress's investment in NIH has paid quantifiable human health dividends."

Fulfilling the Promise: Celebrating the Academic Medicine and NIH Collaboration: The Partnership between NIH and Academic Medicine (Zerhouni): http://www.aamc.org/research/ftp/briefings.htm
Webcast of presentation available.

NIH Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Request: http://appropriations.senate.gov/hearmarkups/Zerhouni_sStatementfinalFY2006.htm
"The American taxpayer generously invests $96 per person, per year in the NIH for the future health of our country. To give a sense of perspective about our task, I look at the total $29 billion for NIH – nearly half the discretionary funding for all of HHS—and I know I need to make sure that such a large investment is used in a strategic and systematic way to maximize the chances that better treatments and cures are rapidly developed to stem the rising burden of disease, as health care costs consume over $5,500 per person per year and are rising. NIH is currently using this investment for research to attack hundreds of common diseases and an estimated 6,000 rare diseases or conditions that affect approximately 25 million people in the United States -- diseases and disorders that may strike any of us, our parents, our children or our friends. In recent years, we have taken on new challenges such as biodefense."

Posted by pfa at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN)

Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN): www.fnih.org/GAIN/GAIN_home.shtml

"The Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) is a public-private partnership of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.(FNIH), which will include corporations, private foundations, advocacy groups, concerned individuals, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Overview). ... GAIN aims to release data as broadly and rapidly as possible, with equal opportunity for access by all potential research users. Unlinked genotypic data will be openly and freely accessible without need for prior approval. Linked genotypic and phenotypic data will be made available to all qualified users at the same point in time and through the same access approval mechanisms with no special access provided to GAIN partners."

Posted by pfa at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2006

GV Black Collection

Northwestern University's Galter Health SmartLibrary has announced its online finding aid to resources in the G. V. Black collection. This resource is available online, enriched with many photos, and soon to be searchable.

Guide to the G.V. Black Manuscripts, Correspondence and Photographs in the Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University
Portrait of G.V. Black: http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/gvblack/

"The Northwestern University G.V. Black collection contains 43 manuscripts, 100 letters and photographs covering the period between 1867 and 1915. Some of the more important items in the collection are: correspondence between Dr. Black and Dr. Frederick S. McKay from the turn of the century that focus on mottled enamel of teeth and early hypotheses on water and fluoridation; correspondence, program announcements and other ephemera from the World Dental Congress held in conjunction with the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893; a manuscript on zoo chemistry."

Posted by pfa at 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

New Medical History Database Online Free

Heirs of Hippocrates: The Development of Medicine in a Catalogue of Historic Books in the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, the University of Iowa:
http://fm.iowa.uiowa.edu/hardin/heirs/index.html

"The University of Iowa Libraries is pleased to make available this web based version of Heirs of Hippocrates. Now in its third edition (1991), Heirs ... is recognized by librarians, medical historians, and book collectors, as a source of authority that has rightly taken its place as one of the premier reference books on the history of medicine and medical bibliography.

It should be noted that the digital version is not intended to and cannot replace the print edition, which will continue to be available for purchase. This new version can, however, provide access to the contents in new ways. Not only is the entire text searchable but the interface is designed to accommodate complex search queries on specific fields. In addition, since the medium is electronic, entries on additional works can be added to the database as they are acquired."

Posted by pfa at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2006

Google Symposium This Week, Open Registration

The University of Michigan University Library and the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science are sponsoring a national symposium this Friday and Staurday, March 10-11, 2006 to discuss the impact of mass digitization projects on libraries, universities, government, information policy, publishing, and education.

Entitled, Scholarship and Libraries in Transition: A Dialogue about the Impacts of Mass Digitization Projects, the symposium will provide an opportunity for faculty, students, librarians, publishers, information specialists, policy makers, and the broader academic community to discuss the changing information environment.

Keynote speakers include Tim O'Reilly Founder & CEO, O'Reilly Media, and Clifford Lynch, Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). Twenty national and international panelists will engage the audience in conversation and share various perspectives about the impacts of mass digitization initiatives.

The free symposium will be held at the Rackham Auditorium at the University of Michigan. Formal registration is now closed, but free walk-in, onsite registration is available for both Friday and Saturday.

For more information, visit http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/symposium.

Posted by pfa at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2006

Museum of Osteology (and More)

Planning your summer vacation? Check out the Museum of Osteology:

http://www.museumofosteology.org/

Right now, they are still a mostly virtual presence, but their web site shows many photos of exhibits in progress. They hope to be open to the public soon, hopefully by summer.

While they are in development, you might wish to visit these osteology resources instead.

Forensic Anthropology and Human Osteology Resources: http://www.forensicanthro.com/forensic-resources/

Human Osteology (University of Utah, V. Craigle): http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/osteology/

National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian): Osteology, Hall of Bones: http://www.mnh.si.edu/museum/VirtualTour/Tour/Second/Bones/index.html

Virtual Skeleton: Human Osteology: http://www.uwyo.edu/RealLearning/4210qtvr.html

Posted by pfa at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)

American Academy of Pediatrics Promotes Dentistry

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) promotes dentistry in a recent news article.

Prevent early childhood caries: Integrate oral health activities into routine pediatric care. Boulter and Romano-Clarke AAP News.2006; 27: 21.

The article discusses recommendations from the AAPD and Bright Futures (Georgetown University). Additional information is available from both.

Bright Futures in Practice: Oral Health: http://www.brightfutures.org/oralhealth/pdf/index.html

Past AAPD President’s Editorial Addresses Epidemic of Early Childhood Caries: http://www.aapd.org/media/pediatricdentistryarticles.asp?NEWS_ID=401?

Also of interest would be the AAP policy statement on early childhood caries.

Oral Health Risk Assessment Timing and Establishment of the Dental Home [PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 5 May 2003, pp. 1113-1116]: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;111/5/1113

Posted by pfa at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)