Email Discussion Research Articles

Nomenclature of Cutaneous Vasculitis: Dermatologic Addendum to the 2012 Revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Vasculitides.

To prepare a dermatologic addendum to the 2012 revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Vasculitides (CHCC2012) to address vasculitides affecting the skin (D-CHCC). The goal was to standardize the names and definitions for cutaneous vasculitis. A nominal group technique with a facilitator was used to reach consensus on the D-CHCC nomenclature, using multiple face-to-face meetings, e-mail discussions, and teleconferences. Standardized names, definitions, and descriptions were adopted for cutaneous components of systemic vasculitides (e.g., cutaneous IgA vasculitis as a component of systemic IgA vasculitis), skin-limited variants of systemic vasculitides (e.g., skin-limited IgA vasculitis, drug-induced skin-limited antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis), and cutaneous single-organ vasculitides that have no systemic counterparts (e.g., nodular vasculitis). Cutaneous vasculitides that were not included in the CHCC2012 nomenclature were introduced. Standardized names and definitions are a prerequisite for developing validated classification and diagnostic criteria for cutaneous vasculitis. Accurate identification of specifically defined variants of systemic and skin-limited vasculitides requires knowledgeable integration of data from clinical, laboratory, and pathologic studies. This proposed nomenclature of vasculitides affecting the skin, the D-CHCC, provides a standard framework both for clinicians and for investigators.

Use of Social Media to Support Nursing Students’ Learning in Zambia

This study seeks to explore the use of social media to support the learning of nursing students in Zambia. Data was collected from the WhatsApp and email conversation chats involving 76 nursing students at the University of Zambia School. The content of the conversation chats was analyzed in terms of common themes, patterns and interrelationships. It was established that nursing students can take a leading role in empowering themselves by taking charge of their continued learning by using social media responsibly. Key findings that emerged from the WhatsApp and e-mail discussions are: Knowledge enhancement and sharing of best practices were significant in the WhatsApp Group, Virtual Classroom community, was significantly stronger in the WhatsApp group, WhatsApp group had a minimally more positive placement experience, other measures (social capital/knowledge application/learning dimension community) did not differ significantly. The use of social mobile media is not only limited to professional nurses but also nursing students. As the training of nurse professionals evolves in the midst of high technology use, more and more students may seek to prefer the use of social mobile media as a tool for continuous learning. In comparison to the email platform, students in the WhatsApp were able to maintain conversations up to the end of the allocated period of the study. The information gathered from this project can be useful to fostering a unified understanding of professional knowledge and a feeling of belongingness among nursing students.

Comparison of knowledge and perspectives toward cone-beam computed tomography among dentists in three Middle East regions: A cross-sectional study

Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate awareness, general attitudes and perspectives of a sample of dentists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan regarding their knowledge and future expectations of cone-beam computed tomography. Materials and Methods: The study included a convenience sample of dentists from different specialties throughout the three regions. They were contacted through E-mail and dental social discussion groups and completed an online questionnaire. The data were collected, sorted, cross-tabulated, and analyzed in view of the objectives of the study, using descriptive analysis and Chi-square tests of significance. Results: Age, sex, and years of experience had no effect on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) knowledge, whereas education level and place of work had a significant effect (P = 0.001 and P = 0.05, respectively). A change in diagnosis or treatment plan was also significantly related to the need for CBCT (P = 0.01 and P = 0.015, respectively). Requesting a dentomaxillofacial radiology (DMFR) board program was significantly related to the dentist's concern about medicolegal issues but not to the decision to refer the patient to a radiologist. Conclusions: This study showed that having a higher education level and being in a tertiary workplace improved CBCT knowledge, and better knowledge about CBCT increased the number of patient referrals when the indications justified it. With the increasing demand for CBCT, there have been more changes in diagnoses and treatment plans, and thus, more dentists are requesting DMFR board programs in the region to avoid medicolegal issues.

Satellite stories: capturing professional experiences of academic health sciences librarians working in delocalized health sciences programs.

ObjectiveHealth sciences training programs have progressively expanded onto satellite campuses, allowing students the opportunity to learn in communities away from an academic institution’s main campus. This expansion has encouraged a new role for librarians to assume, in that a subset of health sciences librarians identify as “satellite librarians” who are permanently located at a distance from the main campus. Due to the unique nature of this role and lack of existing data on the topic, the authors investigated the experiences and perceptions of this unique group of information professionals.MethodsAn electronic survey was distributed to health sciences librarians via two prominent North American email discussion lists. Questions addressed the librarians’ demographics, feelings of social inclusion, technological support, autonomy, professional support, and more.ResultsEighteen surveys were analyzed. While several respondents stated that they had positive working relationships with colleagues, many cited issues with technology, scheduling, and lack of consideration as barriers to feeling socially included at both the parent and local campuses. Social inclusion, policy creation, and collection management issues were subject to their unique situations and their colleagues’ perceptions of their roles as satellite librarians.ConclusionsThe results from this survey suggest that the role of the academic health sciences librarian at the satellite campus needs to be clearly communicated and defined. This, in turn, will enhance the experience for the librarian and provide better service to the client.

Esotropia and Exotropia Preferred Practice Pattern®

Esotropia and Exotropia Preferred Practice Pattern®

Meanderings Here and There in Poe's “Balloon Hoax”

Meanderings Here and There in Poe's “Balloon Hoax”

Expert Search Strategies: The Information Retrieval Practices of Healthcare Information Professionals.

BackgroundHealthcare information professionals play a key role in closing the knowledge gap between medical research and clinical practice. Their work involves meticulous searching of literature databases using complex search strategies that can consist of hundreds of keywords, operators, and ontology terms. This process is prone to error and can lead to inefficiency and bias if performed incorrectly.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the search behavior of healthcare information professionals, uncovering their needs, goals, and requirements for information retrieval systems.MethodsA survey was distributed to healthcare information professionals via professional association email discussion lists. It investigated the search tasks they undertake, their techniques for search strategy formulation, their approaches to evaluating search results, and their preferred functionality for searching library-style databases. The popular literature search system PubMed was then evaluated to determine the extent to which their needs were met.ResultsThe 107 respondents indicated that their information retrieval process relied on the use of complex, repeatable, and transparent search strategies. On average it took 60 minutes to formulate a search strategy, with a search task taking 4 hours and consisting of 15 strategy lines. Respondents reviewed a median of 175 results per search task, far more than they would ideally like (100). The most desired features of a search system were merging search queries and combining search results.ConclusionsHealthcare information professionals routinely address some of the most challenging information retrieval problems of any profession. However, their needs are not fully supported by current literature search systems and there is demand for improved functionality, in particular regarding the development and management of search strategies.

A Copy of Blake’s <i>Adam and Eve Asleep</i>

Martin Butlin has recently attributed to William Blake a previously unrecorded watercolor drawing of Adam and Eve Asleep based closely on the work of the same title in the series of Blake’s Paradise Lost designs commissioned by Thomas Butts in 1808. Butlin further claims that the newly discovered drawing is a fourth member of the John Linnell series of Paradise Lost designs of 1822 (Butlin no. 537), modeled on the Butts group. I first became aware of this work when a London art dealer kindly sent me a high-resolution JPEG image of it late in August 2016. My first reaction was that the drawing was both beautiful and unfinished, as I told the dealer in an e-mail. As I continued to study the work, I became increasingly disturbed by the weakness (or absence) of pen and ink outlining of forms and the awkward face of the rightmost angel. After e-mail discussions with a few fellow Blake enthusiasts, I concluded that the drawing is a copy of the Butts version by a hand other than Blake’s. This assessment is based on the digital image provided by the dealer; I have not seen the drawing itself.

A Tribute to Janice Glime—A Stalwart Contributor to Bryology

We are very happy to dedicate this book to Janice M. Glime, Professor Emerita at Michigan Technological University. Her name is probably familiar to more bryologists around the world that any other. This is largely a result of her management (since 1996) of Bryonet (bryonet-L@mtu.edu), a wonderful bryophyte email discussion and news blog. Under Janice’s management, Bryonet subscribers grew from about 170 in 1996 to 1,379 members as of March 2017 (http://iab-bryologists-website.blogspot.com/p/past.html). Bryonet was originally established by Swedish bryologist Gillis Een in 1991 and then managed by Jan-Peter Frahm from 1991–1996. Under Janice’s management, Bryonet has flourished and provides a key resource to graduate students and biologists from many continents, allowing persons to find sources, identify specimens, have questions answered, and have serious conversations on a variety of questions and methods related to bryophytes. She was also a long-time IAB Council member and its president from 2005–2009. In addition, Janice (pronounced Janeece) has been and continues to compose a comprehensive treatise on Bryophyte Ecology, (digitalcommons.mtu.edu/bryophyte-ecology/). Details are updated regularly with new information that anyone can download. This is the only textbook-style treatment that is available for beginning classes in bryology and thanks to Janice is available free on the internet.

Sharing, Evaluating and Organizing E-mail: The KM-Mail Approach Towards a Platform for Enterprise-Wide Knowledge Management

Knowledge is gaining importance in the world's economy, and the Internet is playing a significant role in the knowledge economy especially with knowledge sharing tools such as web-based and e-mail discussion groups. Present discussion groups have weaknesses in their effectiveness in knowledge sharing and reuse in many enterprises. To address these weaknesses, alternative strategies can be employed to enhance the knowledge menagement capabilities of the Internet in general and e-mail in particular. We present a novel knowledge management-based e-mail (KM-Mail) framework that capitalizes on the ubiquitous utilization of e-mail for knowledge sharing and reuse. We will also outline a mechanism to allow the evaluation and organization of knowledge shared via e-mail. Finally, we discuss the incorporation of KM-Mail into a wider enterprise-wide knowledge management platform.

Quoting and retweeting as communicative practices in computer mediated discourse

In this paper, quoting in e-mail communication and retweeting in Twitter message streams is analysed as users’ recontextualization practices which share formal features but serve different communicative needs. After a short discussion of user related push factors and medium specific pull factors and their interplay in computer mediated discourse, quoting in e-mail discussions is characterised as a CMD practice through which users manage interactional and topical coherence problems caused by technological factors. Retweeting, conversely, is characterised as a platform-specific variant of “sharing” digital objects which is afforded through social network sites. A formal and functional analysis of edited and unedited retweets reveals that this recontextualization practice shares formal properties with quoting but that it is mainly used for interpersonal rather than for topic- and interaction-oriented ends. The results lay the basis for some generalisations concerning the conceptualization and the interplay of communicative push and pull factors in current accounts of the adaptation of existing and the emergence of new social practices and genres in CMD.

Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies (StaRI): explanation and elaboration document

ObjectivesImplementation studies are often poorly reported and indexed, reducing their potential to inform the provision of healthcare services. The Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies (StaRI) initiative aims to develop guidelines...

Investigating the need for scholarly communications positions in Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries member institutions.

BackgroundThe role of health sciences librarians has expanded in the scholarly communications landscape as a result of the increase in federal public access mandates and the continued expansion of publishing avenues. This has created the need to investigate whether academic health sciences libraries should have scholarly communications positions to provide education and services exclusively related to scholarly communication topics.MethodsA nine-question online survey was distributed through the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) email discussion list to gather preliminary findings from and opinions of directors of health sciences libraries on the need for scholarly communications positions.ResultsThe survey received a 38% response rate. The authors found that AAHSL members are currently providing scholarly communications services, and 46% of respondents expressed the need to devote a full-time position to this role.DiscussionOur survey reveals a juxtaposition occurring in AAHSL member libraries. While administrators acknowledge the need to provide scholarly communications services, they often experience budget challenges in providing a full-time position for these services.

Culturally competent library services and related factors among health sciences librarians: an exploratory study.

ObjectiveThis study investigated the current state of health sciences libraries’ provision of culturally competent services to support health professions education and patient care and examined factors associated with cultural competency in relation to library services and professional development.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected with a survey questionnaire that was distributed via SurveyMonkey to several health sciences librarian email discussion lists.ResultsOut of 176 respondents, 163 reported serving clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Various services were provided to develop or support initiatives in cultural competency in health professions education and patient care. A considerable number of respondents were unsure or reported no library services to support initiatives in cultural competency, although a majority of respondents perceived the importance of providing culturally competent library services (156, 89.1%) and cultural competency for health sciences librarians (162, 93.1%). Those who self-identified as nonwhites perceived culturally competent services to be more important than whites (p=0.04). Those who spoke another language in addition to English had higher self-rated cultural competency (p=0.01) than those who only spoke English.ConclusionsThese findings contribute to our knowledge of the types of library services provided to support cultural competency initiatives and of health sciences librarians’ perceived importance in providing culturally competent library services and cultural competency for health sciences librarians. The results suggest implications for health sciences libraries in fostering professional development in cultural competency and in providing culturally competent services to increase library use by people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds.

Open-access mega-journals

PurposeOpen-access mega-journals (OAMJs) represent an increasingly important part of the scholarly communication landscape. OAMJs, such as PLOS ONE, are large scale, broad scope journals that operate an open access business model (normally based on article-processing charges), and which employ a novel form of peer review, focussing on scientific “soundness” and eschewing judgement of novelty or importance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the discourses relating to OAMJs, and their place within scholarly publishing, and considers attitudes towards mega-journals within the academic community.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a review of the literature of OAMJs structured around four defining characteristics: scale, disciplinary scope, peer review policy, and economic model. The existing scholarly literature was augmented by searches of more informal outputs, such as blogs and e-mail discussion lists, to capture the debate in its entirety.FindingsWhile the academic literature relating specifically to OAMJs is relatively sparse, discussion in other fora is detailed and animated, with debates ranging from the sustainability and ethics of the mega-journal model, to the impact of soundness-only peer review on article quality and discoverability, and the potential for OAMJs to represent a paradigm-shifting development in scholarly publishing.Originality/valueThis paper represents the first comprehensive review of the mega-journal phenomenon, drawing not only on the published academic literature, but also grey, professional and informal sources. The paper advances a number of ways in which the role of OAMJs in the scholarly communication environment can be conceptualised.

Review of Participatory Epidemiology Practices in Animal Health (1980-2015) and Future Practice Directions.

In this study we combined an inventory of the major applications, geographic regions and diseases covered by participatory epidemiology (PE) activities in the field of animal health since 1980, together with an email discussion forum with PE practitioners from different regions of the world. The inventory included the search of peer-reviewed papers, master and technical reports, conference proceedings, manuals, training materials and projects. The search resulted in a low number of PE activity results until the year 2000, followed by a considerable increase (especially from 2012). Most of the identified activities were implemented in Africa and Asia, and focused on surveillance, disease survey and prioritization, and disease control. Seventy-nine PE practitioners working predominantly in Africa, Asia and Europe (29, 22 and 18 respectively) contributed to the email discussion forum. They proposed various modifications to the existing PE definition and discussed different issues related to the applicatoin of PE, its institutionalization for use in policy development, as well as the priorities for future development. The need to increase the number of PE trained people together with some methodological developments and the application of this methodology in developed countries, were some of the points highlighted during the forum. These factors stress the importance of further developing PE as a useful approach for engaging communities in addressing animal and related public health risks.

Reflecting on bisexual identities and relationships: Nikki Hayfield in conversation with Annukka Lahti

Annukka Lahti is a Doctoral Student (Gender Studies) in the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland1. Before starting her doctoral studies, she taught psychology at The Open University of the University of Jyväskylä. In her Doctoral studies, she explores how bisexuality – which is persistently culturally associated with temporariness, multiple partners and promiscuity – fits, fights and expands the normative cultural understandings of relationships. Her research specifically examines how a sample of Finnish bisexual women and their (ex-)partners of various genders negotiate bisexuality in their relationships, as psychosocial subjects. She considers how intersecting cultural constructions of relationships, genders and (bi)sexualities shape those negotiations and analyses her interview data through a psychosocial lens. Her analysis shows that negotiations around bisexuality and relationships are made not only through discursive regulation, but are also shaped in interaction with affective, non-rational psychic dimensions of being in a relationship. She has recently published on bisexual women’s and their partners’ relationships in Feminism & Psychology and has a number of papers under review. She is currently finishing her dissertation and plans to start her post-doctoral research project focusing on the separation experiences of LGBTIQ persons. Nikki Hayfield had an email discussion with Annukka over the summer to find out more about her research and interest in bisexuality.

International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care Position Statement: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide.

Background: Reports about regulations and laws on Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) are becoming increasingly common in the media. Many groups have expressed opposition to euthanasia and PAS while those in favor argue that severely chronically ill and debilitated patients have a right to control the timing and manner of their death. Others argue that both PAS and euthanasia are ethically legitimate in rare and exceptional cases. Given that these discussions as well as the new and proposed laws and regulations may have a powerful impact on patients, caregivers, and health care providers, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) has prepared this statement.Purpose: To describe the position of the IAHPC regarding Euthanasia and PAS.Method: The IAHPC formed a working group (WG) of seven board members and two staff officers who volunteered to participate in this process. An online search was performed using the terms “position statement”, “euthanasia” “assisted suicide” “PAS” to identify existing position statements from health professional organizations. Only statements from national or pan-national associations were included. Statements from seven general medical and nursing associations and statements from seven palliative care organizations were identified. A working document including a summary of the different position statements was prepared and based on these, an initial draft was prepared. Online discussions among the members of the WG took place for a period of three months. The differences were reconciled by email discussions. The resulting draft was shared with the full board. Additional comments and suggestions were incorporated. This document represents the final version approved by the IAHPC Board of Directors.Result: IAHPC believes that no country or state should consider the legalization of euthanasia or PAS until it ensures universal access to palliative care services and to appropriate medications, including opioids for pain and dyspnea.Conclusion: In countries and states where euthanasia and/or PAS are legal, IAHPC agrees that palliative care units should not be responsible for overseeing or administering these practices. The law or policies should include provisions so that any health professional who objects must be allowed to deny participating.

Osteoarthritis action alliance consensus opinion - best practice features of anterior cruciate ligament and lower limb injury prevention programs.

AIMTo identify best practice features of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lower limb injury prevention programs (IPPs) to reduce osteoarthritis (OA).METHODSThis consensus statement started with us performing a systematic literature search for all relevant articles from 1960 through January 2017 in PubMed, Web of Science and CINAHL. The search strategy combined the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) and keywords for terms: (1) ACL OR “knee injury” OR “anterior cruciate ligament”; (2) “prevention and control” OR “risk reduction” OR “injury prevention” OR “neuromuscular training”; and (3) meta-analysis OR “systematic review” OR “cohort study” OR randomized. We found 166 different titles. The abstracts were reviewed for pertinent papers. The papers were reviewed by at least two authors and consensus of best practice for IPP to prevent OA was obtained by conference calls and e-mail discussions. All authors participated in the discussion.RESULTSThe best practice features of an IPP have the following six components: (1) lower extremity and core strengthening; (2) plyometrics; (3) continual feedback to athletes regarding proper technique; (4) sufficient dosage; (5) minimal-to-no additional equipment; and (6) balance training to help prevent injuries. Exercises focused on preventing ankle sprains, hamstring injuries and lateral trunk movements are important. Plyometric exercises should focus on correcting knee valgus movement. Exercises should focus on optimizing the hamstring to quadriceps strength ratio. In order for IPP to be successful, there should be increased education and verbal feedback along with increased athletic compliance. Additional equipment is not necessary. Balance training alone does not significantly reduce injuries, but is beneficial with other exercises. Not enough evidence to recommend stretching and agility exercises, with no ill effects identified. Therefore, we suggest making these optional features.CONCLUSIONBest practice features for ACL and lower limb IPPs to help prevent OA contain six key components along with two optional.

Meeting at the crossroads: collaboration between information technology departments and health sciences libraries.

ObjectiveThe purposes of this survey were to determine the nature and extent of collaboration between health sciences libraries and their information technology (IT) departments, to identify strengths and issues connected to this relationship, and to provide examples demonstrating exceptional collaborative success.MethodsA fourteen-question survey was sent to a broad selection of health care and academic libraries through a variety of email discussion lists and was limited to one response per institution. Convenience sampling was used to collect the responses.ResultsAn overwhelming majority of libraries described the relationship with their IT departments as good or excellent, and there were a variety of creative joint initiatives underway. Opportunities exist for continued and expanded library/IT collaboration.ConclusionsGood quality relationships between libraries and their IT departments are essential due to the interconnected nature of their services, and fortunately, this appears to be the norm at a variety of institutions. Mutual respect, open communication, realization of each department’s mission, and responsiveness to each other’s needs are part of what makes these relationships successful, which in turn leads to successful collaborative ventures that bode well for the future of both services.