Advancing All of Us Research with Streamlined Code Templates

The HSLS Molecular Biology Information Service (MBIS) is excited to introduce our easy-to-use code templates for the All of Us Research Hub, which holds diverse health data from underrepresented communities across the U.S.

The Condition Association Template

Our first publicly available template is designed to explore relationships between two health conditions and can be tailored for binary outcome analyses by experienced researchers. We’ve designed our template to be helpful for every researcher, no matter their experience with coding. Only minimal changes need to be made to the template for it to run. Furthermore, to accommodate various preferences, each template is available in both Python and R. The template is now available on GitHub and Google Drive. Please consult the provided instructional PDF for guidance on using it in the All of Us Researcher Workbench!

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Visual Misinformation Exhibit

Visit the main floor of Falk Library to see a new HSLS exhibit on visual misinformation.

Visual misinformation is visual content, typically accompanied by text or audio, that contributes to the false or inaccurate presentation of information. Misleading visual communication can include manipulated, AI-generated, or out-of-context imagery in both general and academic settings.

This exhibit includes six posters that provide an introduction to the problem of visual misinformation. Visit the iPad stations to test your knowledge by identifying which images or videos are real, AI-generated, or deepfakes. Books on visual misinformation will be available to borrow from the library, so you can take a deeper dive into the problem of misinformation on your own time.

All visitors to the exhibit can enter a drawing to win a $25 Panera gift card. Visit the Main Desk and present your Pitt ID to be entered into the drawing.

Featured Class: NIH Data Management & Sharing Plans: Documentation, Metadata, and the “How” of Deposit

Join us for this class:
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, noon-1 p.m.
Online
Register for NIH Data Management & Sharing Plans: Documentation, Metadata, and the “How” of Deposit*

The NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing went into effect on January 25, 2023, and requires NIH-funded researchers to prospectively submit a plan outlining how scientific data from their research will be managed and shared. The policy includes an expectation that researchers will maximize their data sharing within ethical, legal, or technical constraints, and explicitly encourages researchers to incorporate data sharing via deposit into a public repository into their standard research process.

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MLA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Annual Meeting Hosted in Pittsburgh

MAC 2023: Confluence. Pittsburgh, PA

The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association held its annual meeting in Pittsburgh on October 15-17, 2023.

HSLS contributions include:

Committee Participation

Renae Barger co-chaired the meeting and the Plenary, Keynotes, and Speakers Committee.

Kelsey Cowles participated on the Exhibits Committee.

Stephen Gabrielson chaired the Local Arrangements Committee; other members were Julia Dahm, Melissa Ratajeski, Rose Turner, and Alyssa Young.

Rachel Suppok and Rose Turner participated on the MAC Professional Development Committee to provide continuing education classes at the meeting.

Alyssa Young served as Vice-Chair of the MAC Research and Assessment Committee to present research awards at the meeting.

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Treasures from the Rare Book Room: Spotlight on Anatomy Collection

An allegorical engraving printed in Bartholin’s “Anatome.”

A newly acquired copy of “Anatome” by Thomas Bartholin is a welcome addition to the notable anatomy works in Falk Library’s Rare Book Collection. Published in Leyden in 1674, the library’s copy of the book is the de facto 4th edition of Bartholin’s Anatomy. It is Thomas’s revision of his father’s (Caspar Bartholin) anatomical work, which Thomas corrected, illustrated, and previously published in Leyden in 1641, 1645, and 1651.

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Call for Participation: Research Study on the Data Support Needs of Researchers

Pitt libraries, with partners from Pitt Research, are conducting a study to understand how well existing research data support services at the institution align with the needs of researchers. For this study, research data support services are defined as programmatic offerings such as trainings, workshops, and consulting that support data-intensive research (i.e. instruction in specific software such as GIS or Python, data management, or analysis).

We are aiming to recruit all levels of researchers including students, postdocs, junior faculty, and PIs from any discipline.  If you would be willing to participate in a one-hour, recorded, in-person or virtual interview to share your unique experiences and perspective please e-mail Melissa Ratajeski at mar@pitt.edu to schedule a time.

Our local Pitt research study is part of a suite of parallel studies at approximately 15 other institutions of higher education in the US, coordinated by Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit research and consulting service.

HSLS Staff News

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

Publications

Jill Foust, Research and Instruction Librarian Emeritus, co-authored the article:

Tung I, Hipwell AE, Grosse P, Battaglia L, Cannova E, English G, Quick AD, Llamas B, Taylor M, Foust JE. Prenatal stress and externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2023 Nov 16. doi: 10.1037/bul0000407. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37971856.

Rebekah Miller, Research and Instruction Librarian, co-authored the article:

Patterson PD, Friedman JC, Ding S, Miller RS, Martin-Gill C, Hostler D, Platt TE. Acute Effect of Night Shift Work on Endothelial Function with and without Naps: A Scoping Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Sep 29;20(19):6864. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20196864. PMID: 37835134; PMCID: PMC10572584.

Zenodo Repository Releases New Collaborative Features for Data Sharing

In October, the CERN-supported data repository Zenodo performed a major technical upgrade and released new features for collaborative work on the platform. Several improvements applied to Communities, subcollections within Zenodo where a project, research group, or organization can gather their uploads in one place. Other upgrades affected access settings, increasing the degree of control researchers can exercise over who can access their uploaded data. The new features may be useful to researchers or groups looking to centralize their data in one repository as they upload their data in compliance with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. (For a discussion on why and how to do so, see the HSLS NIH Data Management & Sharing Guide.)

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PubMed’s Core Clinical Journals Filter: Redesigned for Contemporary Clinical Impact and Utility

The Core Clinical Journals (CCJ) list, produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), has been used by clinicians and librarians for half a century for two main purposes: narrowing a literature search to clinically useful journals and identifying high-priority titles for library collections. After documentation of low usage of the existing CCJ, a review was undertaken to assess current validity, followed by an update to current clinical needs.

An MLA-NLM joint committee, co-chaired  by HSLS Librarians Michele Klein-Fedyshin and Andrea Ketchum (retired), conducted an in-depth analysis of the NLM’s Core Clinical Journals list, resulting in an updated list of 241 clinically useful titles covering 80 subjects, which the committee renamed the Clinically Useful Journals list.

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Access App Now Available

The new Access App from McGraw-Hill Medical brings the AccessMedicine, AccessPharmacy, and AccessSurgery databases to your Android or Apple devices, making it easy to search, save, and share their resources on the go. To get started, you will need to have a McGraw-Hill Access profile. Creating a profile online will allow you to easily sign into the Access App and authenticate your profile through the University of Pittsburgh to gain access to the content. Visit the HSLS Mobile Apps – Access App page to learn more about creating an account and downloading the Access App.

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History of Medicine Displays on View at Falk Library

Two new displays from the History of Medicine are welcoming visitors to Falk Library during the fall of 2023: an architectural history of the School of Medicine and an exploration of the history and collections of Nicolaus Copernicus.

The display case on the lower level of library includes photographs and prints from our special collections illustrating the architectural journey of the School of Medicine (SOM). It is a capsule history of SOM, beginning with the first building on the corner of Brereton Avenue and 30th Street, erected for the Western Pennsylvania Medical College in 1886. Next came Pennsylvania Hall (built in 1910), the first site of SOM as part of the University of Pittsburgh and its Oakland campus. Then on to Alan Magee Scaife Hall (completed in 1956), the current home of the School of Medicine and its newest addition, the West Wing.

Two display cases on the mezzanine level of the library are devoted to the famous Polish astronomer and author of heliocentric theory, Nicolaus Copernicus. This year marks 550 years since his birth, which the library is celebrating with this small tribute. Our display combines materials on loan from a private collection with books from the HSLS collection. It focuses on lesser-known areas of his career, including his achievements in economics and his medical library.

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Featured Class: Basic EndNote

Join us for this class:
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 2-3:30 p.m.
Online
Register for Basic EndNote*

This class is an introduction to the EndNote citation management software. At every stage of an academic career, citation management is a useful skill, whether you are a first-year student writing essays for class or a fellow writing articles for publication. EndNote can help keep your references organized and cite while you write, so you can say goodbye to the days of tracking citations in a lengthy Word doc or spreadsheet.

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Halloween at Falk Library

On Tuesday, October 31, visitors to Falk Library were greeted with treats and spooky objects. Students helped themselves to free candy and stickers inspired by our History of Medicine Collection.

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