News Digest

Vaccine against dengue to be tested in India
 PARIS: The world's most effective vaccine candidate against dengue is all set for trials in India and if all goes to plan, the vaccine will be available globally by 2015.

 23 Delhiites die every day due to respiratory ailments
 NEW DELHI: The city seems to be paying an increasingly heavy price for its deteriorating air quality. An average of 23 people die every day due to respiratory diseases in the capital, a number that has doubled in the past four years, data released by the Delhi government reveals.

 Travel bar on HIV patients affecting global economy: UNAIDS
 NEW DELHI: Nearly 25 years after HIV was detected in India, travel restrictions continue to bar patients from free movement through nations. HIV-related travel restrictions at present exist in 45 countries.

The Global AIDS Epidemic 2012 report, released by UNAIDS on Tuesday, says that the effects of such restrictions are severe for migrant workers, who play an increasingly prominent role in the global economy.

Currently reading

Health Information & Libraries Journal

My favorite journal

Journal of the Medical Library Association

MESH  search for term 'heart attack' leads to

Myocardial Infarction

NECROSIS of the MYOCARDIUM caused by an obstruction of the blood supply to the heart (CORONARY CIRCULATION).Year introduced: 1979

 MESH categories

Cardiovascular Diseases

 Heart Diseases 

Myocardial Ischemia

 Myocardial Infarction

World Diabetes Day - 14 November 

MESH search for 'diabetes' 

Diabetes Mellitus
A heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by HYPERGLYCEMIA and GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE.

 MeSH Categories
Diseases Category
 Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases
 Metabolic Diseases
Glucose Metabolism Disorders
 Diabetes Mellitus

Relevant article 

High prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in India: National Urban Diabetes Survey

 MESH database used for the term Substance Abuse

It shows

Substance-Related Disorders

Disorders related to substance abuse, the side effects of a medication, or toxin exposure.

Year introduced: 1998(1963) 

Few of the subheadings given by the NLM indexers  are listed here

• microbiology
• mortality
• nursing
• parasitology
• pathology
• physiology

FEW ENTRY TERMS

• Dependence, Substance
• Substance Addiction
• Addiction, Substance
• Substance Use Disorders
• Disorder, Substance Use

TREE STRUCTURE
All MeSH Categories
Diseases Category
 Substance-Related Disorders

Alcohol-Related Disorders
Alcohol-Induced Disorders +
Alcoholic Intoxication
Alcoholism
Wernicke Encephalopathy

Amphetamine-Related Disorders

Cocaine-Related Disorders

Inhalant Abuse

Marijuana Abuse

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Opioid-Related Disorders
Heroin Dependence
Morphine Dependence

Phencyclidine Abuse

Poisoning

Argyria

		Query                        Items found
#7		Search (#6) OR #5	365042
#6		Search substance abuse	352443
#5		Search drug abuse	358069

Query Translation of Information Literacy on PubMed database

"information literacy"[MeSH Terms] OR ("information"[All Fields] AND "literacy"[All Fields]) OR "information literacy"[All Fields]

MeSH database search for information literacy

Definition:

The ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use the needed information effectively.

Year introduced: 2011

PubMed search builder options

Restrict to MeSH Major Topic.

Do not include MeSH terms found below this term in the MeSH hierarchy.

Tree Number(s): L01.143.450
Entry Terms:

• Information Literacies
• Literacies, Information
• Literacy, Information

Previous Indexing:

• Computer Literacy (1991-2010)
• Information Storage and Retrieval (1996-2010)

See Also:

• Computer Literacy
• Information Seeking Behavior

All MeSH Categories
Information Science Category
Information Science
Communication
Information Literacy
Health Literacy

Learning by Practice

This is about one such workshop that I attended on Literature search on PubMed ...at UCMS 

Mnemonics to Boolean operators.

 Use of AND operator for ‘terms search’ will lead to less results while use of OR operator will lead to more results. Isn't it interesting for example

Search Query                  Items found

   (Health) AND Literacy    5716

(Health) NOT Literacy       2348666

 (Health) OR Literacy         2357336

Secondly,  use of MESH, the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus. It consists of sets of terms naming descriptors in a hierarchical structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity. For example for the same query 'Health Literacy'. MESH  provide the definition of Health Literacy -  'Degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.' The year in which this term was introduced i.e. in this case Health Literacy was introduced in the year 2010.  It further lists the subheadings just like: organization and administration, trends, utilization and so on.  The search can be restricted to MeSH Major Topic and one can exclude MeSH terms found below particular term in the MeSH hierarchy.   I am listing one such Tree structure for the Entry Terms: Literacy, Health:     All MeSH Categories Health Care Category Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services Health Services Preventive Health Services Health Education Consumer Health Information Health Literacy Lest I forget again I thought let me put ‘learning to practice’  about the use of operators and MESH more will follow later . I am thankful to Dr. Navjeevan Singh, Professor, Pathology, UCMS   and PubMed Expert Searcher Ms. Vasumathi Sriganesh from QMed Knowldge foundation for providing me the opportunity to attend this workshop on Sunday

World Osteoporosis Day - 20 October 

To know more about this disease see : International Osteoporosis Foundation

Vitamin D deficiency behind 'silent disease'

 Vitamin D helps in absorption of calcium. So deficiency of vitamin D causes calcium deficiency leading to osteoporosis which make the bones of the body brittle. The intake of Vit. D will help in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and consuming a rich balanced diet is enough to ward off this disease.

 

Open Access Week October 22 - 28,

Read more at : http://www.openaccessweek.org/

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition(SPARC) is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system. Developed by the Association of Research Libraries, SPARC has become a catalyst for change. Its pragmatic focus is to stimulate the emergence of new scholarly communication models that expand the dissemination of scholarly research and reduce financial pressures on libraries.
SPARC and the World Bank Announce  – “Set the Default to Open Access”

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded 102 times to 199 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2011.This year  Nobel Prize was awarded jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent"

Full report about the prize is available on The Nobel Prize 

‘Doctors often ask for needless tests’

Dr. Kameshwar Prasad, head of the clinical epidemiology unit at AIIMS said unnecessary diagnostic tests and surgical procedures not just put additional financial burden but also affect the patient's recovery. "We are also proposing that evidence-based treatment methodologies should be emphasized in medical schools," he said.

Excerpts from TOI