Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library Blog

Wonder what happened to your PubMed Limits tab or where the Single Citation Matcher went? PubMed at UCLA released its new streamlined interface this fall, relocating some tools, changing display defaults and improving functionality of PubMed.  A Biomedical Librarian will be on hand on November 20, 2009 from noon - 1 p.m. to walk you through the changes and improvements as well as provide tips for optimizing your search and saving you time and to answer your questions. This online class does not require any prior sign up or registration. Simply join online at http://tiny.cc/kMW5T on November 20th at noon.

If you have questions about this session, contact the Biomedical Library via email.

Visit the new Genetics and Genomics subject guide created by the Biomedical Library. This guide includes links to and descriptions of journals, databases, and other tools needed to study these topics. Rate or comment on the guide itself, or contact the Biomedical Library with suggestions for other content to include.

<submitted by Amy Chatfield>

I would like to call your attention to an article from the current New England Journal of Medicine, Lost in Transmission - FDA Drug Information That Never Reaches Clinicians by L. M. Schwartz and S. Woloshin. Keep in mind that DailyMed is providing the latest FDA drug insert information and we are directing all of our UCLA physicians and pharmacists to this important new resource from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It has over 5000 drugs listed and is adding more all the time.

<submitted by Tania Bardyn>

Yesterday, MedlinePlus released a new version of the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia that includes approximately 400 new Patient Instruction pages, covering pre-operative information and instructions, discharge instructions, self-care instructions, and questions to ask your doctor.

The Patient Instruction pages are available in both English and Spanish, and you will be able to find them in the MedlinePlus search engine and A-Z index pages for the encyclopedia. Additionally, you will see links to related Patient Instructions in the side-bar of many encyclopedia articles.

This change may not be apparent at first glance. For a good example of this feature and the new look of the Encyclopedia pages, take a look at the entry for knee joint replacement. If there are such pages related to a topic, they will be clearly marked as Patient Instructions on the right side of the Encyclopedia page. To see how these pages are listed, go to the Encyclopedia in MedlinePlus.gov, and choose one of the letters in the A-Z list. Scroll down, and take note of the topics. Now you will see topics that include new wording such as “what to ask your doctor”, “self-care” and “discharge”.

<submitted by Kelli Ham>

Having a hard time remembering whether the journal name is italicized or the volume number is printed in bold face?  You can now reference the AMA Manual of Style online. The 10th edition of the manual is browseable by table of content or index and includes a full text search in the upper right hand corner of the Web site. Also included is a Word of the Month and Tip of the Month feature on the manual’s homepage.  This month’s word, “how to uses ellipses properly.” Also included on the manual’s Web Site are SI Conversion Tables and Quick Links to glossaries of statistical terms, publishing terms and correct and preferred usage.

<submitted by Rikke Ogawa>

On Tuesday of this week, PubMed at UCLA released a new interface.  If you still have not checked out PubMed’s new look and feel, the Biomedical Library would like to suggest a few Halloween related readings (linked to the new PubMed, of course) that you may enjoy:

Stewart RM, Durnian JM, Briggs MC. “Here’s egg in your eye”: a prospective study of blunt ocular trauma resulting from thrown eggs. Emerg Med J. 2006 Oct;23(10):756-8.

Sandvik H, Baerheim A. [Does garlic protect against vampires? An experimental study]. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1994 Dec 10;114(30):3583-6.

Breitenbach RA. ‘Halloween diarrhea’. An unexpected trick of sorbitol-containing candy. Postgrad Med. 1992 Oct;92(5):63-6.

Happy Halloween!

<submitted by Rikke Ogawa>

The Louise M. Darling Committee in the Biomedical Library invites UCLA students, staff, and faculty to attend the Medical Library Association (MLA) fall educational webcast.

Cut the Cord: Connecting to our Mobile Users
Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Biomedical Library Classroom, 12-077X CHS

Program Goals:
The goal of this webcast is to familiarize information professionals with current and emerging mobile technologies, innovative initiatives using mobile devices, useful mobile software applications, and funding options for projects using mobile devices.

Program Objectives:

• describe mobile technology and its value for librarians and health care professionals
• demonstrate mobile technology devices and innovative applications
• explore programs that illustrate the potential of mobile technology for health professionals
• discuss funding opportunities to create and sustain mobile technology programs

Space is limited. RSVP to Amy Chatfield, librarian at the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, by November 2, 2009.

<Submitted by Amy Chatfield>

EBSCO Publishing added more than 500 clinical calculators to DynaMed, an evidence-based clinical decision support resource. Licensed from MedCalc 3000, these calculators include medical equations, decision support tools, prediction tools, statistics calculators, dose conversion tools, and unit conversion tools. Calculators help to determine the likelihood of a diagnosis, estimate a patient’s risk for a disease, or estimate a given prognosis. The “Calculators” button can be found in the upper right side of the search screen.

 <submitted by Paul Camp>

Responding to the recommendation of public advisors, the National Center for Biotechnology and Information (NCBI) recently introduced a system for rapid archiving of articles designed for immediate publication called Rapid Research Notes, RRN.  RRN was prompted by the need for immediate access to research information in spring 2009 surrounding the H1N1 outbreak.  Thus, the first articles to be included are from the PLoS Currents: Influenza collection. More information about RRN and guidelines for submission are available on the About RRN page.

 <submitted by Rikke Ogawa>

The importance of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to the health care field is evident. But keeping on top of the current research can be a difficult task. There are so many variant keywords one can use to search – EHR, EMR, electronic data, etc.

PubMed recently expanded its Special Queries feature to include a search for articles on the Electronic Health Record. The Electronic Health Record search focuses on all aspects of the Electronic Health Record. Subjects include: implementation, attitudes, beliefs and use, data privacy, health data standards and consumer access to the EHR and personal health records (PHRs).
To access this feature, follow these steps:

• Access PubMed at UCLA through the Biomedical Library homepage and click on PubMed at UCLA. Following the PubMed at UCLA link will enable your access to full-text articles through the UC-eLinks button.
• On the PubMed website, click Special Queries under the heading PubMed Services the left, blue navigation bar.
• Under “Queries Targeted for Clinicians and Health Services Researchers” click Electronic Health Records which will lead you to a page describing the search query.
• Under MEDLINE/PubMed Search, click electronic health record search in PubMed to perform a concentrated search for articles dealing specifically with electronic health records.

Use this resource to stay up-to-date on EHRs, learn what is being done in the field, and for current, relevant literature that can be incorporated into future practice.

<submitted by Susan Camina>