The 7th edition of Rang and Dale is located at
615.1 RAN
Friday 31 January 2014
Principal Pharmacology Title
Rang and Dale's Pharmacology provides an accessible approach to the analysis of therapeutic agents at the cellular and molecular level.
The 7th edition of Rang and Dale is located at
615.1 RAN
The 7th edition of Rang and Dale is located at
615.1 RAN
Google unveils 'smart contact lens' to measure glucose levels
Google has said it is testing a "smart contact lens" that can help measure glucose levels in tears.
It uses a "tiny" wireless chip and a "miniaturised" glucose sensor embedded between two layers of lens material.
The firm said it is also working on integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed certain thresholds.
But it added that "a lot more work" needed to be done to get the technology ready for everyday use.
"It's still early days for this technology, but we've completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype," the firm said in a blogpost.
"We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease."
Trusty stethoscope faces threat from portable hi-tech
 |
| The stethoscope has long been the main tool in the doctor's toolkit |
In TV medical dramas, doctors and nurses are never without one. At the surgery, it is the GP's best friend.
Along with the white coat, the stethoscope is among the most recognisable symbols of the medical profession.
But according to an editorial in the journal Global Heart this week, the stethoscope is in its death throes, in danger of being consigned to medical history, having been overtaken by technology.
So are the stethoscope's days numbered?
Used to listen to the internal sounds of the human body, particularly the heart, lungs and abdomen, the stethoscope has been around for nearly 200 years.
However, Prof Jagat Narula and associate professor Bret Nelson, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, believe that handheld ultrasound devices are set to take over from the traditional stethoscope.
They say this is because ultrasound technology is becoming more accurate, the devices are reducing in size and their cost gradually decreasing.
However, Dr Sarah Clarke, a consultant cardiologist at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge and vice-president of the British Cardiovascular Society, says the stethoscope is a doctor's main diagnostic tool.
"We don't leave home without it. You can't replace what you hear if you're a doctor. It's a big part of our training.
Thursday 30 January 2014
Recent Research on Obesity - January 2014
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| 79% of over-50s obese are overweight - study |
A further 44% are overweight, while problem drinking and reliance on multiple medications is also on the rise among older people.
Despite the obvious health risks, the over-50s generally report high levels of satisfaction with quality of life and their incomes have remained stable.
The findings are revealed in the latest report by the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda), a national survey of more than 8,000 people aged 50 and over.
The study was led by researchers in Trinity College Dublin.
Participants were interviewed between April 2012 and January 2013, during, as researchers note, a period of considerable social and economic change in Ireland.
Minister for Health James Reilly said the latest report flags up serious concerns about the health of the over-50s.
"I am encouraged by some of the findings in this report, particularly those that show that, in general, the over-50s enjoy a good quality of life and report their health as excellent or very good," he said.
"However, I am also struck by some worrying trends, particularly the levels of non-communicable diseases and their co-morbidities.
"The finding that 35% of the over-50s are obese with a further 44% overweight is another serious cause for concern."
Obesity is strongly associated with heart disease and diabetes.
The report also found about one third of the over-50s report low levels of physical activity, with more women than men reporting low exercise.
More than half of those aged 75 and over have arthritis.
Smoking among over-50s is down from just over 18% to 16.5% since participants were last interviewed in 2009 and 2010.
Problem drinking has risen for both men and women - from 17% to 22% in men and from 8% to 11% in women.
Those taking five or more medications has increased from 21% to 26%.
Doctors announce treatment for peanut allergy
Small doses of peanut powder taken over several months seemed to induce tolerance in children with the potentially deadly allergy, a research team wrote yesterday in The Lancet medical journal.
After six months of treatment, dubbed oral immunotherapy or OIT, 84-91% of the children in a trial could safely tolerate daily doses of 800mg (0.03 ounces) of peanut powder - the equivalent of about five peanuts.
This was 25 times the amount they could tolerate before the therapy, and much larger than any accidental dose is likely to ever be.
"The treatment allowed children with all severities of peanut allergy to eat large quantities of peanuts, well above the levels found in contaminated snacks and meals, freeing them and their parents from the fear of a potentially life threatening allergic reaction," said study leader Andrew Clark from Cambridge University Hospitals.
"The families involved in this study say that it has changed their lives dramatically."
The trial involved 99 allergic children aged seven to 16.
One in five of the kids receiving OIT reported "adverse events" - mostly mild itching of the mouth, the authors said.
They stressed that people should not try the treatment at home as more research was needed.
Peanut allergy affects about one in 50 children and is the most common cause of fatal food allergy reactions, said a press statement. About 10 million people around the world are allergic to peanuts.
Symptoms vary from mild to severe, from swollen lips or shortness of breath to anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.
While "exceptionally promising", the method remains experimental, Matthew Greenhawt from the University of Michigan Food Allergy Center wrote in a comment also carried by The Lancet.
"It is unknown if OIT can produce lasting tolerance," he wrote.
View Study here in The Lancet : Assessing the efficacy of oral immunotherapy for the desensitisation of peanut allergy in children (STOP II): a phase 2 randomised controlled trial
Stem cell 'major discovery' claimed
Scientists have shown it is possible to reprogramme cells into an embryonic-like state simply by altering their environment.
It means in principle that cells can have their developmental clock turned back without directly interfering with their genes - something never achieved before.
The cells become "pluripotent", having the potential ability to transform themselves into virtually any kind of tissue in the body, from brain to bone.
Reprogramming a patient's own cells in this way is seen as the Holy Grail of regenerative medicine.
It raises the prospect of repairing diseased and damaged organs with new healthy tissue that will not be rejected by the immune system.
Current methods of performing the same trick involve genetic manipulation, which carries with it a serious risk of triggering cancer.
But the new method described in the journal Nature requires no genetic tweaking.
Wednesday 29 January 2014
HSE reverses decision to transfer Arranmore nurse
The full-time nurse has been told that she will not be moving to the mainland tomorrow as planned.
Islanders expressed serious concerns at the implications of the cut in the service, which has been available on Arranmore since 1907.
Island representatives expressed delight at the news.
Island representatives expressed delight at the news.
In a statement, the HSE said: "Following local concerns the Director of Public Health Nursing has reviewed the position and decided to maintain existing arrangements on the Island. "A full Public Health Nursing service will therefore be maintained on Arranmore."
Islanders have thanked the HSE for being aware of what they described as "the unique situation that exists on Arranmore Island".
The committee set up on Saturday night to fight for the retention of the full-time Public Health Nurse service said it now plans to meet the HSE with the intention of ring-fencing the service.
It aims to make sure that the people of Arranmore will always retain a full-time PHN and "a full-time healthcare service based on the island as good as the best service available anywhere else in Ireland".
How should medical science change?
Comment published in The Lancet, 18 January 2014
"In December, 2013, Randy Schekman received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his codiscovery (with James Rothman and Thomas Südhof) of the cellular machinery regulating vesicle traffic. He used the occasion to launch a ferocious attack against what he called “luxury journals”—Nature, Science, and Cell. (See link below). Although he didn't mention The Lancet, JAMA, or The New England Journal of Medicine, it probably isn't unreasonable to think he would include us in his definition of “luxury journal”.
This is what he wrote in The Guardian: “These luxury journals are supposed to be the epitome of quality, publishing only the best research. Because funding and appointment panels often use place of publication as a proxy for quality of science, appearing in these titles often leads to grants and professorships. But the big journals' reputations are only partly warranted. While they publish many outstanding papers, they do not publish only outstanding papers. Neither are they the only publishers of outstanding research”
Schekman and his lab are now boycotting those luxury journals and he is encouraging other scientists to do the same.
There is clearly a strong feeling among many scientists, and not only Nobel Prize winners, that something has gone wrong with our system for assessing the quality of scientific research. Does the fault lie with myopic university administrations led astray by perverse incentives or with journals that put profit and publicity above quality? The likely answer is that it is a mix of both. But perhaps the discussion provoked by the latest Nobel awards needs to be widened still further. Perhaps all of us engaged in the enterprise we call “science” need to pause and reflect on the present state of what we do." - view rest of article in The Lancet here
Randy Schekman writing in The Guardian 9 December 2013
"In December, 2013, Randy Schekman received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his codiscovery (with James Rothman and Thomas Südhof) of the cellular machinery regulating vesicle traffic. He used the occasion to launch a ferocious attack against what he called “luxury journals”—Nature, Science, and Cell. (See link below). Although he didn't mention The Lancet, JAMA, or The New England Journal of Medicine, it probably isn't unreasonable to think he would include us in his definition of “luxury journal”.
This is what he wrote in The Guardian: “These luxury journals are supposed to be the epitome of quality, publishing only the best research. Because funding and appointment panels often use place of publication as a proxy for quality of science, appearing in these titles often leads to grants and professorships. But the big journals' reputations are only partly warranted. While they publish many outstanding papers, they do not publish only outstanding papers. Neither are they the only publishers of outstanding research”
Schekman and his lab are now boycotting those luxury journals and he is encouraging other scientists to do the same.
There is clearly a strong feeling among many scientists, and not only Nobel Prize winners, that something has gone wrong with our system for assessing the quality of scientific research. Does the fault lie with myopic university administrations led astray by perverse incentives or with journals that put profit and publicity above quality? The likely answer is that it is a mix of both. But perhaps the discussion provoked by the latest Nobel awards needs to be widened still further. Perhaps all of us engaged in the enterprise we call “science” need to pause and reflect on the present state of what we do." - view rest of article in The Lancet here
Randy Schekman writing in The Guardian 9 December 2013
UK Nursing schools pledge support for Speak Out Safely
Three Schools of Nursing have become the first education providers to back the 'Speak Out Safely' campaign in the UK.
The campaign launched in March 2013 by Nursing Times aims to make it easier for staff to raise legitimate concerns about patient safety.
One of the key aims is for all trusts and nursing organisations to pledge their support for the campaign. Over 60 NHS organisations had so far pledged to support the campaign and add specific protection for staff raising concerns to whistleblowing policies.
In December, they invited organisations involved in nurse education to support the campaign. The first to do so were the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, the Nursing and Healthcare school at the University of Glasgow and the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the Unviersity of Salford.
In December, they invited organisations involved in nurse education to support the campaign. The first to do so were the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, the Nursing and Healthcare school at the University of Glasgow and the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the Unviersity of Salford.
The Dudley Group Foundation Trust and University Hospital of North Staffordshire Trust have become the latest acute providers to officially back the campaign.
Tuesday 28 January 2014
Dementia Care in Acute Hospital Settings - Conference 2014
The Centre for Gerontology and Rehabilitation, UCC, in conjunction with partners, is to host the inaugural National Conference on Dementia Care in Acute Hospitals, which will take place on Friday January 31st 2014, from 9.30am to 4.15pm, in U.C.C.
This one-day interdisciplinary conference will be opened by Minister for Disability, Older People, Equality & Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch, T.D, in the Western Gateway Building.
The Conference Programme (240kB) boasts speakers from a wide range of backgrounds including Gerontology, Psychiatry and Psychiatry of Old Age, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, General Practice and the HSE. The event will provide a forum for the most cutting-edge developments in research and practice relating to dementia care in hospital settings to be disseminated and discussed.
Some highlights of the conference will include an expert panel discussion, chaired by Professor Des O’ Neill, focusing on the issues surrounding best care for people with dementia in acute hospitals, and an afternoon breakout session for delegates with a special interest in the area of delirium in the acute hospital setting.
Topics will include the National Dementia Strategy, GP/community perspectives, the economic perspective, challenging behaviour, delirium, the hospital environment, education, and end of life and palliative care, all as they relate to dementia care in acute hospitals.
The end of the beginning for tissue engineering
For three decades we have heard about the hope of tissue engineering. Hyperbole has become routine, but amidst unreasonable expectations are serious scientists, like Paulo Macchiarini, who believe that by combining cells and degradable materials ex vivo they can develop organs to replace or repair diseased tissues. After many years of trying to build engineered tissues on a backbone of synthetic degradable polymers, a growing body of evidence suggests that decellularised whole organs and tissues are clinically effective degradable scaffolds.
View full article in the Lancet here
View full article in the Lancet here
VSA - Voluntary Sevices Abroad, NUI Galway
Voluntary Services Abroad is a medical aid charity run by the 4th year medical students of NUI, Galway. Founded in 1977 by Dr. Dom Colbert, it sends groups of student volunteers to the developing world each summer.
Since its foundation, more than 400 NUIG medical students have been sent overseas as healthcare volunteers, bringing with them funds to develop and support healthcare delivery in the areas they are working. These places have included areas of Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Peru, Ecuador, Belize, Vietnam and India.
Monday 27 January 2014
Ireland's first Stem Cell Centre - NUI Galway
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| Culture of adult stem cells can help sufferers of arthritis, heart disease and diabetes. |
Ireland's first stem cell manufacturing centre approved at NUI Galway.
Stem cells can be manufactured for human use for the first time in Ireland, following Irish Medicines Board licensing of a new facility at NUI Galway. NUI Galway’s Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland aims to culture adult stem cells to tackle conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and associated conditions.
The centre, which is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for stem cell manufacture, has been developed by researchers at NUI Galway’s regenerative medicine institute. The new centre’s director, Professor Tim O’Brien explained that the stem cells must be grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities, following their isolation from the bone marrow of adult donors, and the facility will help Ireland to develop therapies for a broad range of clinical problems which do not have effective treatments today.
Stem cell research in Ireland is in what scientists have described as a “legislative lacuna”, but this relates to use of embryonic stem cells and does not in any way inhibit the use of adult stem cells, Prof O’Brien from the School of Medicine, explained.
View more information on Irish Times/Health here
View more information on Irish Times/Health here
Mayo Suicide Prevention Alliance have launched ‘Mayo Be Well’ Website
A Mindful Moment: Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.
This is one example of the many inspirational quotes and pictures to view on the new ‘Mayo Be Well’ website www.mayobewell.org. It also sets out to answer some of the most commonly asked questions by people worried about themselves or others. These are ‘what should I do?’ and ‘where should I go for support?’
The recently launched website was developed by the Mayo Suicide Prevention Alliance*, a group which first formed in Mayo in 2009. The Alliance represents a coming together of many voluntary, community and statutory groups who have been involved in mental health promotion and suicide prevention initiatives in Mayo.
New Additions to Nursing Library
Located at 610.289 GLU
Located at 362.10973 BUR
Located at 610.73072 McI
Friday 24 January 2014
Are you a lark or an owl?
Whether you prefer being up at dawn or burning the midnight oil depends on your genes, experts have found.
Some of us leap out of bed each morning, raring to start the day. Others need at least one alarm clock - preferably one with a snooze button - to ensure they get to work on time.
And some of us happily stay up chatting until the wee small hours, while others prefer to be tucked up listening to 'Book at Bedtime' with the lights turned out.
We really are divided into larks and owls. And this is set by our genes, says neurogeneticist Dr Louis Ptacek of University of California.
He says: "Whether we like it or not our parents are telling us when to go to bed - based on the genes that they gave us."
Scientists have come to realise the importance of understanding a person's chronotype, the time of the day when they function the best. Knowing how much of a lark or an owl we are should help us live more healthily in the modern 24/7 world.
The results have been published recently in the January 12 issue of Cell - click on title below:
Thursday 23 January 2014
Tip: UpToDate® Graphics Search enhances your ability to diagnose and treat
Quickly and easily search an extensive library of high-quality graphics from UpToDate including more than 27,000 pictures, tables, illustrations, diagrams, graphs, algorithms and videos, without using a separate search engine.
After searching a clinical term, select “Graphics” from the menu in the left navigation. For even faster access, select “Graphics” from the dropdown menu in the Search box. With either approach, the resulting graphics appear in thumbnail format. Clicking a thumbnail opens a larger version of the graphic.
Accessing topics with references to graphics
Each graphic references and links to related UpToDate topics under “Appears in Topics.” And from within an UpToDate topic, you can see all corresponding graphics.
Watch a brief video demonstration to learn more about conducting a Graphics Search, sharing information with patients or colleagues, and exporting graphics to a presentation at: www.uptodate.com/home/help-demo.
Alcohol therapy: medicinal drinking through the ages
For hundreds of years alcohol claimed a prize place among the pills, potions and healing herbs of British pharmaceutical history.
A drop of gin was once advised to ward off the plague, a glug of wine to "defend the body from corruption" and a sip of absinthe to cure the body of roundworms.
Of course all this has changed.
As our understanding of the harms of alcohol on society and the individual has grown, it has given up its place on prescription pads - instead to be superseded by advice to refrain from all but cautious use.
An exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians in London traces its use and sometimes fatal misuse by medical men and women of the past, up to the calls for greater regulation today.
Wednesday 22 January 2014
Sports and Exercise Science - Statistics
January being the month for new year resolutions, you may wish to browse through an exercise book provided by NUI Galway author, Dr. John Newell.
John's publication may be located at 613.71 NEW
John's publication may be located at 613.71 NEW
NUI Galway Study Shows Salmonella Biofilms Resistant to Powerful Disinfectants
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| Research by Dr Mary Corcoran was prompted by 2012 European Salmonella Agona outbreak resulted in over 160 cases of gastroenteritis in 10 countries. |
An NUI Galway researcher has discovered that once Salmonella gets into a food processing facility it is very difficult to remove it. Microbiologist Dr Mary Corcoran attempted to kill Salmonellabiofilms on a variety of hard surfaces, using three types of disinfectant.
The research, to be published in the Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, shows that once Salmonella has established itself for seven days, it was not possible to kill Salmonellausing three disinfectants, even by soaking the Salmonella in disinfectant for an hour and a half.
The research found that all of the types of Salmonella studied were able to adopt the specialised biofilm lifestyle on all of the surfaces looked at. These included glass, stainless steel, glazed tile, concrete and plastic. It shows that the biofilm of Salmonella gets more dense over time, and becomes more firmly attached to the surface.
The findings will serve as a warning to food processors in particular highlighting that onceSalmonella gets into a food processing facility and has an opportunity to form a biofilm on surfaces, it is likely to be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to kill it.
The research was prompted by the Salmonella outbreak in Europe in which over 160 people in 10 countries developed gastroenteritis from the Salmonella Agona strain of Salmonella. That outbreak was traced to meat from a major food-processing facility.
Tuesday 21 January 2014
Gene Therapy Benefit
By delivering gene therapies to patients before they go blind, doctors may be able to prevent the loss of many important light-detecting cells.
Robert MacLaren, an ophthalmologist at the University of Oxford led the study. “When retinal damage gets to a certain point, it’s beyond repair.”
Gene Trial Makes Eye Disease Breakthrough
Robert MacLaren, an ophthalmologist at the University of Oxford led the study. “When retinal damage gets to a certain point, it’s beyond repair.”
Gene Trial Makes Eye Disease Breakthrough
The experimental treatment adds a working copy of the culpable gene to the retinal cells of the patients born with a defective copy. The trial also involved an experimental way of delivering gene therapy to the eye. Each patient's retina was first lifted, and the gene therapy was injected into the space created under the retina. MacLaren and colleagues report on the condition of six patients in a study published on 16th January in the Lancet.
New Embase features for the new year
Check out the latest Embase release, which makes searching for and pinpointing the most relevant results even easier. The improved autocomplete function supports multiple terms and provides suggestions while you type and new text and graph filters have been added, allowing you to focus on the most relevant search results, including graphic representations of the number of Embase vs. Medline records.
See the Latest Release News info page for more details.
Monday 20 January 2014
Surgical Procedures Through Google Glass
Google Glass - a wearable computer that resembles a pair of glasses - may be set to transform the medical world, after the device has been used once again during two surgical procedures.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Selene Parekh recently used the technology as he conducted foot and ankle surgery during the Indo-US conference in Jaipur, India. And in December last year, the device was worn by plastic surgeon Dr. Anil Shah as he carried out rhinoplasty on a patient who broke her nose.
These surgeons are the latest to use the technology in the operating room. Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a surgeon from the US who live-streamed a procedure using Google Glass and an iPad.
Built on a frame that is similar to a standard pair of glasses, Google Glass has an optical head-mounted display (OHMD) that sits just above the right eye when worn. It also has a built-in GPS, a microphone and bluetooth.
The device is activated by voice instructions. For example, the user can take pictures by saying "take a picture." It can record and live-stream videos, and even translate the user's voice to a foreign language.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Selene Parekh recently used the technology as he conducted foot and ankle surgery during the Indo-US conference in Jaipur, India. And in December last year, the device was worn by plastic surgeon Dr. Anil Shah as he carried out rhinoplasty on a patient who broke her nose.
These surgeons are the latest to use the technology in the operating room. Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a surgeon from the US who live-streamed a procedure using Google Glass and an iPad.
Built on a frame that is similar to a standard pair of glasses, Google Glass has an optical head-mounted display (OHMD) that sits just above the right eye when worn. It also has a built-in GPS, a microphone and bluetooth.
The device is activated by voice instructions. For example, the user can take pictures by saying "take a picture." It can record and live-stream videos, and even translate the user's voice to a foreign language.
Friday 17 January 2014
More new books in the Nursing & Midwifery library
Located at 174.2 MEL
Located at 371.909417 FLO
Located at 617.96 ANA
Comparison of cancer survival rates
Adults in the UK and Ireland continue to have shorter survival than the European average for many common cancers, particularly colon, (52 per cent vs 57 per cent) ovary (31 per cent vs 38 per cent) and kidney, (48 per cent vs 61 per cent) but have about average survival rates for rectum, breast, prostate, melanoma of the skin, and lymphomas.
This is the conclusion of the latest EUROCARE-5 reports for 1999-2007, covering more than 50 per cent of the adult and 77 per cent of the childhood population of Europe. It says cancer survival still varies widely between European countries, despite major improvements in cancer diagnosis and treatment during the first decade of the 21st Century.
The findings, published in The Lancet Oncology,(click to view article) analysed data from cancer registries covering all or part of 29 countries to compare five-year survival from diagnosis for more than nine million adults diagnosed between 2000 and 2007. The 29 countries were grouped into five regions, with England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales forming one region, titled ‘the UK and Ireland’.
Thursday 16 January 2014
Student BMJ - Exam Preparation
Exams are hard work: here are some resources to help your learning and improve your chances of success.
Practice Questions from BMJ onExamination
Test your medical knowledge with practice questions from onExamination. We have exam revision resources designed to support you throughout medical school and beyond. The interactive questions are marked as you proceed, providing answers, explanations and further reading. The feedback system identifies your strengths and weaknesses and you can compare yourself against your peers.
Improve your chances of exam success with a student revision resource from onExamination.
Visit www.onexamination.com.
NUI Galway Conference to hear Extent of Obesity Problem in Ireland from Leading Experts in Economics, Medicine and Public Health
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| Most recent available data (2007) shows that 37% of Irish adults are overweight and a further 24% of adults are obese |
The Health Economics and Policy Analysis research group at NUI Galway will host a one day conference on obesity on Friday, 17 January. Obesity is a complex, interdisciplinary problem that involves genetics, physiology, the environment, psychology, and economics.
Economic factors have played a significant role in the development of the obesity crisis and economics offers many insights into various solutions to improve the crisis and to prevent more people from becoming obese.
Keynote speaker, Professor John Cawley from Cornell University, will focus on several aspects of the economics of obesity including the economic contributors to obesity, the economic consequences of obesity, and economic strategies for treatment and prevention.
Other speakers and topics to be addressed include
- :Professor Tim O’Brien, NUI Galway; An overview of the extent of the obesity problem in Ireland
- Dr Francis Finucane, NUI Galway; Cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery
- Brendan Walsh, NUI Galway; Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood obesity in Ireland
- Michelle Queally, NUI Galway; Exploring individual preferences for obesity treatment and willingness to pay for treatments
- Professor Fidelma Dunne; Obesity in Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes in Ireland
- Dr Anne Dee, Mid-West HSE; Economic cost of obesity in Ireland
- Professor David Madden, UCD; The distributional effects of a ‘fat tax’ in Ireland
The conference will be of interest to researchers, clinicians and policymakers working in this area and will take place in the Aula Maxima at NUI Galway. For more details please contact Brendan Kennelly at brendan.kennelly@nuigalway.ie or 091 493094.
See more information here
See more information here
Wednesday 15 January 2014
Atlas of Global Health
Winner of the BMA Board of Science Award for the Public Understanding of Science and the BMA Medical Book Award for Public Health.
This is a major new graphic profile of global health. The atlas maps the causes and incidences of the major diseases as well as the economic, social and environmental factors that impact on people's health worldwide. Bringing together the latest data and charting recent trends in health and disease, it also addresses how health needs are identified, health policy is developed and the delivery and quality of health services.
The atlas covers a wide range of topics including:
Life Expectancy
Malnutrition and Obesity
Water and Sanitation
The author of this book, Dr. Diarmuid O'Donovan, lectures on Health Promotion at NUI Galway and copies of 'The Atlas of Health' are available at shelf number 614.0233 ODO
Research: increasing value, reducing waste
Increasing value and reducing waste in biomedical research regulation and management
The Lancet, Volume 383, Issue 9912, Pages 166 - 175, 11 January 2014
Summary:
Correctable weaknesses in the design, conduct, and analysis of biomedical and public health research studies can produce misleading results and waste valuable resources. Small effects can be difficult to distinguish from bias introduced by study design and analyses. An absence of detailed written protocols and poor documentation of research is common. Information obtained might not be useful or important, and statistical precision or power is often too low or used in a misleading way. Insufficient consideration might be given to both previous and continuing studies. Arbitrary choice of analyses and an overemphasis on random extremes might affect the reported findings.
Several problems relate to the research workforce, including failure to involve experienced statisticians and methodologists, failure to train clinical researchers and laboratory scientists in research methods and design, and the involvement of stakeholders with conflicts of interest. Inadequate emphasis is placed on recording of research decisions and on reproducibility of research. Finally, reward systems incentivise quantity more than quality, and novelty more than reliability. We propose potential solutions for these problems, including improvements in protocols and documentation, consideration of evidence from studies in progress, standardisation of research efforts, optimisation and training of an experienced and non-conflicted scientific workforce, and reconsideration of scientific reward systems.
See full article in The Lancet here
The Lancet, Volume 383, Issue 9912, Pages 166 - 175, 11 January 2014
Summary:
Correctable weaknesses in the design, conduct, and analysis of biomedical and public health research studies can produce misleading results and waste valuable resources. Small effects can be difficult to distinguish from bias introduced by study design and analyses. An absence of detailed written protocols and poor documentation of research is common. Information obtained might not be useful or important, and statistical precision or power is often too low or used in a misleading way. Insufficient consideration might be given to both previous and continuing studies. Arbitrary choice of analyses and an overemphasis on random extremes might affect the reported findings.
Several problems relate to the research workforce, including failure to involve experienced statisticians and methodologists, failure to train clinical researchers and laboratory scientists in research methods and design, and the involvement of stakeholders with conflicts of interest. Inadequate emphasis is placed on recording of research decisions and on reproducibility of research. Finally, reward systems incentivise quantity more than quality, and novelty more than reliability. We propose potential solutions for these problems, including improvements in protocols and documentation, consideration of evidence from studies in progress, standardisation of research efforts, optimisation and training of an experienced and non-conflicted scientific workforce, and reconsideration of scientific reward systems.
See full article in The Lancet here
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