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Classes April 2014

HSLS offers classes on database searching, software applications such as Adobe Photoshop, bibliographic management, molecular biology and genetics, and library orientations. For more information, visit the online course descriptions.

Classes are held on the first floor of Falk Library (200 Scaife Hall) in Classroom 1 and on the upper floor of the library in Classroom 2. All classes are open to faculty, staff, and students of the schools of the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. They are also open to UPMC residents and fellows.

No registration is required for any of these classes. Seating for classes is first-come, first-served until the class is full. Faculty, staff, and students of the schools of the health sciences will need a valid Pitt ID or e-mail account to attend these classes. UPMC residents/fellows will need to show their UPMC IDs.

Classes marked with an asterisk (*) qualify for American Medical Association Category 2 continuing education credit.

Class schedules are subject to change. Please consult the online class calendar for the most current information.

FlashClass

FlashClass is a “deal of the week” Groupon-like offer of timely and useful learning. Each week’s offer proposes one or two topics, and you’re invited to sign up to attend a one-hour class the following week. If at least three people sign up, we’ll hold the class. (We’ll notify you either way.)

HSLS CLASSES

Adobe Photoshop (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, April 30 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

EndNote Basics (Falk Library Classroom 1)

Wednesday, April 16 2-4 p.m.

Painless PubMed* (Falk Library Classroom 1)

Tuesday, April 1 3-4 p.m.
Monday, April 7 8-9 a.m.
Thursday, April 17 4-5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 22 Noon-1 p.m.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS RESOURCES

Primer Design & Restriction Analysis* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, April 2 1-4 p.m.

Sequence Similarity Searching* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, April 9 1-4 p.m.

Protein Sequence Analysis* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, April 16 1-4 p.m.

CUSTOMIZED CLASSES

Customized classes can be developed for your department, course, or other group.

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

New & Improved: HSLS MolBio Web Site

Are you looking for software to help you make sense of your data? Trying to learn how to use a particular bioinformatics tool? Need a high performance computer for next-generation sequencing? Wishing to brush up on a specific molecular biology topic? The new and improved Web site of the HSLS Molecular Biology Information Service is available 24/7 to help you with all of these questions, and more.

MolBio

HSLS MolBio recently revamped its Web site in order to help users more easily find the resources they want and need to do their research. On the left side of the MolBio home page, you’ll find links to:

  • Bioinformatics software information and registration
  • The hands-on workshop schedule
  • The Postdoc Talks schedule
  • PowerPoint slides and other documents from workshops
  • Video tutorials on a variety of bioinformatics resources
  • Register for the high performance computer located in the HSLS MolBio office suite
  • Our blog, containing the latest news from HSLS MolBio
  • Sign-up for e-mail alerts, Facebook, and Twitter feeds

The search.HSLS.MolBio box on the right side of the home page offers a convenient way to search for:

  • Freely available molecular databases and software tools
  • Experimental protocols
  • Videos of scientific talks and tutorials
  • Recommended articles from Faculty of 1000

In addition, there is a link to contact the HSLS MolBio staff, Ansuman Chattopadhyay, PhD, and Carrie Iwema, PhD, MLS, as well as notification of upcoming classes and their descriptions. Let us know what you think about the changes!

~ Carrie Iwema

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

CDC’s Public Health Image Library

Need an image for a project? Give the Public Health Image Library (PHIL) a try. Produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PHIL provides a gateway to thousands of public health-related images. The content is organized into hierarchical categories of people, places, and science, and is presented as single images, image sets, and multimedia files.

CDC search

Search Features

PHIL provides both basic and advanced search features. You can also search by type of collection including: influenza, natural disasters, environmental health, bioterrorism, health behaviors, and more.

PHIL uses the National Library of Medicine’s Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to index the images. Once an image is viewed, click on one of the assigned MeSH terms to retrieve similar images indexed with that term.

Initial search results include thumbnail images. Click on a thumbnail for additional information about that image.

Copyright restrictions

Most of the images in the collection are in the public domain and are free of copyright restrictions. For these images, the CDC requests that you give credit to the supplier or producer of the image. Some images are copyright protected, which means use is restricted and requires permission. Look directly beneath the image and you will see the fair use statement that tells you if the image is in the public domain or copyright protected.

CDC image
Image credit: CDC & James Gathany

*Parts of this article were reprinted from the Public Health Image Library.

~Jill Foust

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ACP PIER Becomes ACP Smart Medicine

ACP Smart MedicineSM is peer reviewed clinical information for physicians, internists, residents, nurses and nurse practitioners, medical school faculty, and students. Published by the American College of Physicians, ACP Smart Medicine is a point-of-care, evidence-based, decision support tool providing authoritative and current guidance for quality patient care.

  • Targeted content and STAT!Ref’s powerful search engine ensure you get relevant answers fast.
  • A collection of modules on diseases, screening and prevention, complementary and alternative medicine, ethical and legal issues, and procedures are provided.
  • Bulleted, streamlined structure provides immediate access to hundreds of evidence-based recommendations on diagnosis, therapy, prevention, screening, and more.
  • ACP Smart Medicine is optimized for mobile devices.

To access ACP Smart Medicine, type ACP Smart Medicine in the search.HSLS box on the HSLS home page or browse the Databases A-Z list. For questions, contact the HSLS Main Desk at 412-648-8866 or Ask a Librarian.

*Parts of this article were reprinted from the Smart Medicine Web site.

~ Nancy Tannery

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Students, Show Off Your Musical Talent!

Memmys-LogoThe University of South Carolina School of Medicine is pleased to announce THE 2ND ANNUAL MEMMYS!

This national music video contest seeks student-produced videos from health professional students. The contest is open to any student enrolled in a health professions school such as dental, pharmacy, allopathic, osteopathic, public health, nursing, medical, or allied health.

Last year’s winners were:

  • 1st place:  Drexel University College of Medicine
  • 2nd place:  Illinois College of Optometry
  • 3rd place:  University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Entries submitted by the April 15, 2014 deadline are eligible for prize money that will be given to their school’s health sciences library.

Refer to http://memmys.med.sc.edu/ for more information.

**If an entry from Pitt wins, HSLS pledges to host a congratulatory pizza party for the winner(s) and 15 friends.**

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

New Exhibit in Falk Library Lobby

The HSLS tribute to Robert Burton’s (1577-1640) influential work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, is the current mini exhibit in the Falk Library lobby display case. The exhibit presents different editions of the book from the HSLS collections as well as other books about this masterpiece. A plasma screen above the display case displays excerpts from the 4th and oldest edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy, published in London in 1632.  This edition is usually housed in the library’s Rare Book Room. Please stop by and visit the display case during regular library hours.

~ Gosia Fort

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Processing Fee for Overdue Books

Effective April 1, 2014, books that are overdue more than 30 days will be assessed a $45 processing fee when the book is returned. Students, faculty and staff currently have holds put on their library accounts when a book is more than 30 days overdue. This means they cannot check out a book in any campus library. After April 1 you will need to pay the $45 fee to have this hold removed from your account.

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

HSLS Staff News

The HSLS Staff News section includes recent HSLS presentations, publications, staff changes, staff promotions, degrees earned, etc.

Publications

Jonathon Erlen, history of medicine librarian, along with co-author Jay Toth, published “American Indian Dissertation Abstracts,” in Indigenous Policy Journal 24, no. 3 (2013).

Presentations

Kate Flewelling, outreach coordinator, NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region, presented “PubMed: what it is, what’s in it, and why librarians use it,” to the ALA Student Chapter at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania on February 18, 2014.

Julia Jankovic, technology services librarian, presented “Prezi for Presentations,” as an NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region Boost Box Webinar on January 14, 2014.

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

Classes March 2014

HSLS offers classes on database searching, software applications such as Adobe Photoshop, bibliographic management, molecular biology and genetics, and library orientations. For more information, visit the online course descriptions.

Classes are held on the first floor of Falk Library (200 Scaife Hall) in Classroom 1 and on the upper floor of the library in Classroom 2. All classes are open to faculty, staff, and students of the schools of the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. They are also open to UPMC residents and fellows.

No registration is required for any of these classes. Seating for classes is first-come, first-served, until the class is full. Faculty, staff, and students of the schools of the health sciences will need a valid Pitt ID or e-mail account to attend these classes. UPMC residents/fellows will need to show their UPMC IDs.

Classes marked with an asterisk (*) qualify for American Medical Association Category 2 continuing education credit.

Class schedules are subject to change. Please consult the online class calendar for the most current information.

FlashClass

FlashClass is a “deal of the week” Groupon-like offer of timely and useful learning. Each week’s offer proposes one or two topics, and you’re invited to sign up to attend a one-hour class the following week. If at least three people sign up, we’ll hold the class. (We’ll notify you either way.)

HSLS CLASSES
EndNote Basics (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, March 12 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Focus on Behavioral Medicine: Searching in PsycINFO (Falk Library Classroom 1)

Wednesday, March 19 10:30 a.m.-noon

Painless PubMed* (Falk Library Classroom 1)

Monday, March 3 1-2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 18 4-5 p.m.
Friday, March 28 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

PowerPoint for Conference Posters (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Tuesday, March 18 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Prezi for Presentations (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Tuesday, March 11 12:30-2:30 p.m.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS RESOURCES

SNPs & Genetic Variation* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, March 5 1-4 p.m.

Personal Genomics* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, March 19 1-4 p.m.

Microarray Data Analysis* (Falk Library Classroom 2)

Wednesday, March 26 1-4 p.m.

CUSTOMIZED CLASSES

Customized classes can be developed for your department, course, or other group.

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

HSLS Introduces a New Leisure Reading Collection

Now that the cold weather is keeping everyone inside, it’s a good time to take a break and lose yourself in a good book. Come explore the new LeisureReading@HSLS Collection in Falk Library. The LeisureReading@HSLS Collection is a revolving collection of newly-published, general fiction and non-fiction books, as well as a selection of popular magazines. The collection is located on the main floor of Falk Library in the comfortable seating area just before and to the left of the History of Medicine Department.

leisure reading

Continue reading →

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

Director’s Reflections…Better Returns than Mining Stock: Thanks to our Donors

Sir William Osler (1849–1919), a well-known British (Canadian-born) physician was renowned for his pithy and memorable quotations. In 1908, he wrote a letter to the physicians of Vancouver, British Columbia, commending his colleagues for organizing a medical society and library. He wrote:

 I am so glad that you have started a library. There is no better index of the intellectual status of the profession in any town than the condition of its medical library…Every citizen has a direct personal interest in the development of the profession. I hope that every physician in the place will feel that he should help as much as he possibly can, not only by his individual subscription, but, when he feels he can afford it, by an occasional donation. Tell some of the members from me, please, that money invested in a library gives much better returns than mining stock.1

Barbara EpsteinIn this spirit, I wish to thank the generous donors who contributed to the Health Sciences Library System during the past year. The support of these thoughtful people helps our library to provide essential resources to enhance the quality of health care in western Pennsylvania and beyond.

  • Mr. Raed S. Abdullah
  • Ms. Patricia Bookamyer
  • Mr. Joseph Hirsh Cataio
  • Arnold and Barbara Epstein
  • Kenneth L. Euler, PhD
  • Ms. Marie C. Kelly
  • Ram Kodavatiganti
  • Louis A. Lobes, Jr., MD
  • Joanne F. McVay, Dr. PH
  • Dr. William J. McVay
  • Ms. Janet L. Misko
  • Mr. John Kerr Musgrave IV
  • Mrs. Maria Pimentel-Schumann
  • Mr. Fredrick A. Prinz
  • Joseph Salkowitz, DMD
  • Elizabeth A. Schlenk, PhD
  • Dr. John B. Schumann

1. Harvey Cushing. The Life of Sir William Osler. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925. Excerpted from Chapter XXVIII in Volume 2.

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

PubMed Commons: A Forum for PubMed Authors

PubMedCcommonsPubMed Commons enables authors to share opinions and information about scientific publications in PubMed. Currently a pilot, authors of publications in PubMed are eligible to become members and comment on any publication in PubMed. You can find out more about becoming a member at “How to Join PubMed Commons.”

Once you are a member of PubMed Commons, you can invite other eligible authors to join. You can also invite an author to comment on an article, or a comment made by you or anyone else on PubMed Commons.

The comments appear at the bottom of the PubMed abstract display.

PM Commons Abstracts

*Parts of this article were reprinted from the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Commons.

~ Nancy Tannery

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

Data Repositories: Meeting Your Research Needs

What is a data repository? According to the E-Science Thesaurus, a data repository can be broadly “defined as a place that holds data, makes data available to use, and organizes data in a logical manner.”1 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) further defines repositories by level of security to accommodate sensitive data:2

  • Data archive—a place where machine-readable data are acquired, manipulated, documented, and finally distributed to the scientific community for further analysis.
  • Data enclave—a controlled, secure environment in which eligible researchers can perform analyses using restricted data resources.

In accordance with the NIH and the National Science Foundation policies requiring that research data developed with federal funds be shared with other researchers, data repositories provide the technical platform that enables the sharing, discovery, validation, and reuse of data. They also support greater efficiency throughout the scientific process.

What advantages does a data repository offer a health sciences researcher? Besides convenient storage and facilitated, professional long-term preservation for your research data, a data repository provides:

  • Updates to new data formats
  • Enhanced discoverability
  • Increased citation rates
  • Access to a variety of datasets to explore
  • Ability to reuse validated and unique datasets
  • More efficient workflow

When selecting a data repository, first check for funder, journal, or institutional requirements, and maintain compliance with your research protocols. General data repositories as well as subject-specific repositories are represented in the searchable directories listed below.

General:

Directories:

For previous articles on data management published in the HSLS Update, please see:

1. E-Science Thesaurus: Data Repository. E-Science Portal for New England Librarians. Last updated: Sep 5, 2013. Accessed Jan. 7, 2014.
2. Definitions: NIH Data Sharing Policy and Implementation Guidance. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bethesda, MD. Last updated: March 5, 2003. Accessed Jan. 7, 2014.

~ Andrea M. Ketchum

This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.

Open Data in Clinical Trials

In a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial titled, “Open Data,” Jeffrey M. Drazen, MD, describes an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee examining the sharing of data in clinical trials. The committee is charged with “reviewing current practices on data sharing in the context of randomized, controlled trials and with making recommendations for future data-sharing standards.”1   A draft report of the committee’s work can be found at www.iom.edu/activities/research/sharingclinicaltrialdata.aspx.

The committee is collecting comments on their draft report as well as comments about the sharing of clinical trial data. Comments will be collected until March 24, 2014, at www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49578.

1. J.M. Drazen, “Open Data,” New England Journal of Medicine, January 22, 2014, http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1400850.

~ Nancy Tannery