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The nation's first poison control center: taking a stand against accidental childhood poisoning in Chicago.

Prior to the 1950's, there existed no formal system for poison prevention or treatment in the US. Estimates place the number of pediatric poisoning fatalities at over 400/y at that time. After World War II, urbanization and modern technological methods brought forth over 250,000 different brand name products on the market. Health care professionals presented with cases of acute poisoning usually had little knowledge of what ingredients were contained in these new products, making it difficult to treat these patients. In the 1930's, pharmacist Louis Gdalman established a poison information service at St Luke's hospital. Because of Gdalman's training in pharmacy and chemistry, physicians throughout Chicago and the US called on him in search of assistance. In the late 1940's, Gdalman began recording information on small cards, and developed a standard data collection from. By the 1950's he had established an extensive library on the management of acute and chronic poisonings. In 1948, a national effort to reduce the number of accidents in children was started by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a committee was formed in Chicago to address this public safety need. In November, 1953, the poison center at Presbyterian-St Luke's Hospital was formally recognized, and the poison program model spread nationwide. As the number of poison centers grew, coordination was achieved through the National Clearing House for Poison Control Centers, founded in 1957, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers, created in 1958. By 1970, the number of poison centers in the US was reported to be 597. The need for large and better centers led to regional poison control centers. Other outgrowths were the formation of the National Poison Prevention Week Council, the enactment of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, development of "Mr. Yuk" and other symbols, and formation of the National Animal Poison Control Center. As a result, the number of children dying from accidental poisoning has dropped to under 50/y.

Chicago↗

THIS is where it's at.

The Medical Center Library contracted to provide bibliographic information services for the Tobacco and Health Research Institute of the University of Kentucky. This new department is now an integral part of the Medical Center Library providing reference and literature services in the tobacco and health area. Operating as a quasi-independent unit of the Medical Center Library, THIS (Tobacco and Health Information Services) functions separately in all areas of library operations, or more specifically, as a special library within a library. Its collection differs from that of most libraries in that it consists almost solely of periodical reprints instead of books and journals. The diversity of disciplines which tobacco and health literature encompasses has created the need for the development of a current awareness service for researchers. It is the belief of the author that there is a definite trend toward library collections such as THIS within larger medical libraries, as more institutes with special areas of interest are being formed.

Bibliographies as Topic↗

Journal selection decisions: a biomedical library operations research model. I. The framework.

The problem of deciding which journal titles to select for acquisition in a biomedical library is modeled. The approach taken is based on cost/benefit ratios. Measures of journal worth, methods of data collection, and journal cost data are considered. The emphasis is on the development of a practical process for selecting journal titles, based on the objectivity and rationality of the model; and on the collection of the approprate data and library statistics in a reasonable manner. The implications of this process towards an overall management information system (MIS) for biomedical serials handling are discussed.

Book Selection↗

Systematic isolation of genes expressed at low levels in inflorescence apices of Arabidopsis thaliana.

We constructed an equalized cDNA library from Arabidopsis inflorescence shoot apices including inflorescence meristem, floral meristem and flower tissue collected before stage 5 of flower development. The cDNA clones were arrayed on membranes and were differentially screened using cDNA pools from vegetative and inflorescence tissues as probes. Each clone was classified by expression specificity and expression level. By removing the clones that displayed hybridization signals, 384 out of 3264 clones in this library remained as candidates for inflorescence-specific mRNAs expressed at low levels. Sequence analysis of all selected clones indicated that 53 were identical and 120 were homologous to genes in public protein databases. The remaining 211 selected clones had no significant amino acid sequence similarities with those deduced from any reported genes, though 62 of them appeared in Arabidopsis expressed sequenced tags (ESTs). About 40% of the selected clones were novel, validating the present approach for gene discovery. Northern blot analysis of 22 randomly selected clones confirmed that most were expressed preferentially in inflorescence tissues. In addition, many clones were transcribed at relatively low levels. We demonstrate that the screening method of the present study is useful for systematic classification of cDNA species based on expression specificity.

Animals↗

Identification and characterization of microsatellite markers in the Chagas disease vector Triatoma dimidiata.

Triatoma dimidiata, one of the major vectors of Chagas disease in Central America, is found in both domestic and peri-domestic habitats. Questions concerning population boundaries, infestation rates, insecticide resistance, and geographic dispersal of triatomine bugs persist and may be resolved using genetic markers such as microsatellites. Microsatellites are short tandem repeats found dispersed throughout a genome and can be useful for genotypic identification. We developed a plasmid library from the genomic DNA isolated from a single T. dimidiata adult collected in Guatemala. Ten thousand clones were screened using a probe consisting of nine microsatellite oligonucleotides. Eight loci appear polymorphic among populations found in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, and thus are potentially useful for population genetic applications.

Animals↗

The role of the World Reference Laboratories for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and for Rinderpest.

The World Reference Laboratories for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and for Rinderpest provide a worldwide diagnostic and surveillance service for these disease for FAO and OIE. Both laboratories are housed within the high security facility of the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, UK. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and rinderpest (RP) are OIE List A diseases and historically have caused huge losses to agricultural economies around the world, prompting the establishment of veterinary colleges in Europe and environmentally controversial control programs in Africa. FMD and RP have now been geographically restricted, but the large legal and illegal world trade in live animals and animal products constantly threatens to allow them to spread back into disease-free areas. The Reference Laboratories provide a center of excellence for the development of improved diagnostic techniques and a repository of isolates collected over many years. These libraries provide material for investigations of the molecular epidemiology and evolution of the viruses and a data base against which new isolates can be compared. Thus it is possible to individually characterize new outbreak strains, identify their likely origin and provide the most up-to-date support for their control.

Africa↗

The organization and distribution of patient education materials in family medicine practices.

BACKGROUND: Millions of dollars are spent annually on the production and distribution of patient education materials; however, there are no studies describing their actual use by physicians. Using qualitative data from a large comparative case study, our analysis evaluates how patient education materials are organized and used in family practices. METHODS: Eighteen purposefully selected family medicine practices were directly observed for 4 to 12 weeks each. A total of 57 providers were shadowed by a research nurse, and detailed field notes on 1600 patient encounters were recorded. A 3-member analysis team reviewed the qualitative data and identified emergent patterns. RESULTS: Clinics' use of patient education materials fell mostly into 2 distinct patterns. "Stockpilers" were providers who relied on the clinic staff to develop and organize a common library of patient education handouts. Providers with a "personal stash" collected much smaller numbers of materials that they personally maintained. Providers in the latter group had a known repertoire of a limited amount of educational material and used it more often than providers with access to a greater variety and number of handouts. In all practices, providers distributed most handouts; staff and self-selection by patients played a minor role. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that provider involvement and familiarity with patient education materials are key to their use in clinical practice. Clinicians use written patient education materials most efficiently by personally selecting and maintaining a small number of handouts that address topics most relevant to their practice.

Family Practice↗

[Visibility of scientific journals and initiatives to improve the diffusion of spanish publications].

The conceptual change which has been produced in the transmission of technology knowledge among the scientific community is examined. The international and national systems to organize, store and retrieve the scientific production as referential data bases like Medline, PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS) and Spanish Health Sciences Bibliographic Index (IBECS) are listed. The initiative called the Virtual Health Library (VHL) developed by BIREME/PAHO/WHO, especially SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) the electronic publication model, that gather collections of scientific publications--full text--, with high quality is detailed.

Language↗

Sensitivity analysis and other improvements to tailored combinatorial library design

"Tailoring" combinatorial libraries was developed several years ago as a very general and intuitive method to design diverse compound collections while controlling the profile of other pharmaceutically relevant properties. The candidate substituents were assigned to "categorical bins" according to their properties, and successive steps of D-optimal design were performed to generate diverse substituent sets consistent with required membership quotas from each bin. This serial algorithm was expedient to implement from existing D-optimal design codes, but was order-dependent and did not generally locate the very best possible design. A new "parallel" Fedorov search algorithm has now been implemented that can find the most diverse property-tailored design. An ambiguous mass penalty has been added, whereby most duplicate masses can be eliminated with little loss of library diversity. Sensitivity analysis has also been added to quantitatively explore the diversity trade-offs due to increasing or decreasing each specific kind of bias.

Journal Article↗

The National Library of Medicine. Evolution of a premier information center.

From a small collection of medical publications in the Surgeon General's Office in 1836, the National Library of Medicine has developed into the leading repository of medical information in the world. Despite strong opposition and impediments from certain quarters, involving considerable machinations and intrigue, the determination of interested medical leaders and sympathetic members of Congress triumphed in having this remarkable institution established on the campus of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. As a participant in many of the negotiations preceding that decision, I have happily witnessed the transformation of the Library, long housed in cramped, makeshift quarters, to its present magnificent structures in the heart of our nation's foremost medical research center. Its prodigious collection of print, audiovisual, and electronic information; its imaginative research projects; its excellent outreach program; and its innovative services and products are indispensable to all practicing health professionals, scientists, and medical educators, as well as to journalists, government officials, and others. The ultimate beneficiary, of course, is the patient.

History, 19th Century↗

The history of medical libraries from 2000 B.C. to 1900 A.D.

Tablets said to date back to 2000 b.c. represent the earliest medical writings so far discovered. The history of the medical library (defined as a place where a collection of medical writings is kept) is traced through ancient and medieval civilizations, and the dependence of advancement or decline on the attitude toward learning and knowledge is demonstrated.The change in structure of medical libraries that took place around the 1500s with the development of scientific societies is discussed. Medical libraries of Colonial America are described and the history is brought forward to the era of public library collections of medical material in the early 1900s.

American Medical Association↗

Sensory organization of the human thalamus.

A computerized program has been developed for on-line display and tape-library storage of stimulation-mapping data collected during stereotactic procedures. Using computer-generated displays of pooled clinical physiological data it has been possible to map through the upper midbrain and thalamus the lemniscal, spinoquintothalamic, auditory, vestibular, visual, extrapyramidal, and motor pathways, as well as the location of the pia. Each system is recognizable by a stereotyped, artificial, somatotopically organized stimulation-induced response that is devoid of modality information and independent of the site and parameters of stimulation.

Auditory Pathways↗

Basic reference aids for small medical libraries.

Selected primarily for the small medical library, this list is compiled to serve as a practical guide for the librarian in developing and utilizing an effective reference collection. Arrangement is by broad subject groups; titles chosen are chiefly in English with geographic coverage limited to the United States and Canada. Texts in subject fields have been omitted since these are adequately covered in several comprehensive guides to the literature.

Libraries, Medical↗

Using Six Sigma to improve the film library.

The film library of a film-based radiology department is a mission-critical component of the department that is frequently underappreciated and under-staffed. A poorly performing film library causes operational problems for not only the radiology department, but for the institution as a whole. Since Six Sigma techniques had proved successful in an earlier CT throughput improvement project, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Division of Diagnostic Imaging decided to use Six Sigma techniques to dramatically improve the performance of its film library. Nine mini-project teams were formed to address the basic operating functions of the film library. The teams included film library employees, employees from other sections of radiology, employees from stakeholders outside of radiology, and radiologists and referring physicians, as appropriate to the team's mission. Each Six Sigma team developed a process map of the current process, reviewed or acquired baseline quantitative data to assess the current level of performance, and then modified the process map to incorporate their recommendations for improving the process. An overall project steering committee reviewed recommendations from each Six Sigma team to assure that all of the teams' efforts were coordinated and aligned with the overall project goals. The steering committee also provided advice on implementation strategies, particularly for changes that would have an immediate effect on stakeholders outside of the radiology department. After implementation of recommendations, quantitative data were collected again to determine if the changes were having the desired effect. Improvement in both quantitative metrics and in employee morale have been experienced. We continue to collect data as assurance that the improvements are being sustained over the long haul. Six Sigma techniques, which are as quantitatively-based as possible, are useful in a service-oriented organization, such as a film library. The primary problem we encountered was that most of the important film library customer services are not automatically captured in the RIS or in any other information system. We had to develop manual data collection methods for most of our performance metrics. These collection methods were burden-some to the frontline employees who were required to collect the data. Additionally, we had to invest many hours of effort into assuring that the data were valid since film library employees rarely have the educational background to readily grasp the importance of the statistical methods employed in Six Sigma. One of the most important lessons we learned was that film library employees, including supervisory personnel, must be held accountable for their performance in a manner that is objective, fair and constructive. The best methods involved feedback collected by the employees themselves in the ordinary course of their duties. Another important lesson we learned was that film library employees, as well as stakeholders outside of the film library, need to understand how important the film library is to the smooth functioning of the entire institution. Significant educational efforts must be expended to show film library employees how their duties affect their film library co-workers and the institution's patients. Physicians, nurses and employees outside of the film library must do their part too, which requires educational efforts that highlight the importance of compliance with film library policies.

Academic Medical Centers↗