PNR Weekly Digest: December 8, 2020

Posted by Carolyn Martin on December 8th, 2020 Posted in: PNR Weekly Digest

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Items regarding COVID-19 information are indicated with an *

In the Dragonfly:

PubMed Tip: Clinical Queries
The Clinical Queries search in PubMed provides a way to quickly locate clinical studies. Clinical Queries was recently updated and now retrieves results for two searches: Clinical Studies and COVID-19 Articles…learn more about how to use Clinical Queries on the blog

Consumer Health Minute: Holiday Safety
As we all know, this holiday season will be celebrated a little differently this year. Despite knowing this, we long to experience the traditions that bring us the joy and cheer we expect this time of year. We can still continue to decorate, to prepare favorite foods, and give gifts…learn more about holiday safety on the blog

December’s NNLM Reading Club: Inherited Diseases
We inherit many things from the people who went before us – our physical characteristics, aspects of our personality and, sometimes, our health. December’s Reading Club selections discuss inherited diseases, focusing specifically on cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell disease, and cancer caused by the BRCA mutation…learn about the book selections on the blog

Professional Development:

NNLM CE Opportunities:
NNLM offers training on a variety of topics related to health information. A complete listing of NNLM educational opportunities is available. Please note you need to create an NNLM account prior to registration if you don’t already have one. This is not the same as being a member of NNLM.  Learn how to register for clases and create a free account

Library Carpentry Workshop: The NNLM Training Office is pleased to announce a new opportunity for information professionals to build data skills through online Library Carpentry workshops, at no cost to participants. 5 workshops will be offered October through January. This course is eligible for 20 continuing education credits through the Medical Library Association. Applications and more information available here. Questions can be directed to nto@utah.edu

Better On The Outside After Being Inside – Improving Health Literacy and Self-Care For Incarcerated Persons: This presentation describes findings from an Information Resource Grant to Reduce Health Disparities project, funded by the National Library of Medicine. The project aims to engage justice-involved individuals with health education to enhance their knowledge and use of health services and resources. This project won the Frank Bradway Rogers Health Information Advancement Award from the Medical Library Association in 2020. Join the PNR Rendezvous session to learn more about this award winning project. December 9 at 1:00 p.m. PT. (1 MLA CE) Register

Citizen Science & Libraries: Help Develop RNA-based Medicines Online Presentation and Q&A: Do Soon Kim is a PhD candidate in the Jewett Lab at Northwestern University. In his research, he works on designing variant ribosomes using experimental and computational methods. December 16 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT (1.5 MLA CE) Register

Evaluation Pathways: 5 Steps to Evaluation: The pathways were developed to help NNLM members who are implementing projects with underserved communities, design and carry out effective evaluations that will help showcase all that you have achieved, while identifying ways that programming can improve. The first webinar provides an overview of the 5 steps to evaluation, while the following webinars focus on the special considerations for carrying out evaluations of programs targeting specific sub-groups or populations. December 18 at 11:00 a.m. PT. No MLA CE. Register

Serving Library Users with Mental Illness: A Crash Course on Controlling Clashes: What rights do the mentally-ill have with regard to public services, and what legal liabilities are associated with their presence in the library? This webinar increases your understanding of mental illness, teaches effective methods of communicating with mentally-ill patrons who are creating a disturbance in the library, helps you protect staff and patrons in rare instances of possible violence, and shows you how to locate resources you can lean on when necessary. February 17 at 1:00 p.m. PT. (1 MLA CE) Register

Additional Educational Opportunities:
These learning opportunities are provided by organizations beyond NNLM. All are free unless otherwise indicated.

Using BLAST+ in Docker and on the cloud: Attend this NCBI webinar to learn about containerized BLAST+ in Docker that is ready to use locally and in the cloud. We are staging BLAST databases in some cloud providers making running containerized BLAST as part of a pipeline in the cloud even easier. In this webinar you will learn about the advantages of containerized BLAST and learn how to use it in some practical examples. You will also learn about Elastic BLAST, a cloud application that is useful for aligning extremely large numbers of sequences against BLAST databases. December 9 from 9:00 – 9:45 a.m. PT. Register

Georgia Tech Webinar on Face Masks: This webinar outlines CDC’s face mask guidelines and explores solutions to challenges some people with disabilities experience in attempting to follow the guidance. Participants will receive tips, resources, and guidance for wearing face masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. December 9 at 11:00 a.m. PT. Register
This webinar is part of a series hosted by Georgia Tech’s Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation in partnership with the CDC Foundation and CDC. Future webinars in this series include:

• A Closer Look: Mental Health and Resilience within the Disability Community During COVID-19 – Wednesday, December 16, at 11:00 a.m. PT. Register
• Making Social Media Accessible for People with Disabilities – Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. PT. Register
• A Closer Look: Guidance for Business and Employers Considering the Needs of People with Disabilities during COVID-19 – Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. PT. Register

News from the National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health:

“Building Bridges Throughout My Career”, from the NLM Director’s blog

Applications are being accepted until January 28, 2021 for the NLM Associate Fellowship program for librarians

Explore the new Preprint Pilot Librarian Toolkit from NLM

MEDLINE Data Changes—2021

Cataloging and Metadata News – 2021 

NCBI Taxonomy Identifiers Added to MeSH

NCBI Virus: Test drive our new SARS-CoV-2 interactive data dashboard!

Education in the Eighties: Preserving HIV/AIDS Audiovisuals

*”Study of Healthcare Workers Shows COVID-19 Immunity Lasts Many Months” from the NIH Director’s blog

The December issue of NIH News in Health includes information about abusive relationships, Blepharitis, and more

*31 minute video of NIH Director, Dr. Francis Collins, featured speaker for the Association of Health Care Journalists’ 2020 Journalism Summit on Infectious Disease

Asthma Management Guidelines: Focused Updates 2020

Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications in All of Us

*Getting and sharing the facts about COVID-19, trusting science can help turn tide for pandemic-strapped communities of color

High-dose influenza vaccine shows no additional benefit for heart disease patients

NIH Announces Restructured HIV Clinical Trials Networks

Employment Opportunity, Assistant Director, Regional Medical Library at UW

FYI:

*AUCD Vaccine Distribution FAQ
The Association of University Centers on Disability is providing answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccine distribution considerations for the disability community. The FAQ includes information on the approval, manufacturing, allocation, and distribution of potential COVID-19 vaccines, The document also includes additional vaccine resources from the national network of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and links to federal, state, and local public health resources.

*FDA Authorizes First COVID-19 and Flu Combination Test for use with home-collected samples
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the first diagnostic test for at home collection of patient samples to detect both COVID-19 and influenza A and B (flu). The FDA authorized Quest Diagnostics RC COVID-19 +Flu RT-PCR Test for prescription use with the Quest Diagnostics Self-Collection Kit for COVID-19 +Flu by individuals who are suspected of respiratory viral infection consistent with COVID-19 when home collection is determined to be appropriate by an individual’s healthcare provider. Under a health care provider’s order, patients can collect a sample at home and ship it to a Quest Diagnostics laboratory for analysis following the instructions included with the self-collection kit. Read the complete press release

Say No to Raw Dough
When you prepare homemade dough for cookies, cakes, and bread, you may be tempted to taste a bite before it is fully baked. But steer clear of this temptation—you can get sick after eating or tasting unbaked products that are intended to be baked, such as dough or batter. Children can get sick from handling or eating raw dough used for crafts or play clay, too. Learn more about the risks of consuming raw dough from the CDC

HHS Office of Women’s Health Launches New Maternal Health Site
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced maternal health as a national priority. As a part of these efforts, the HHS Office on Women’s Health is excited to announce the launch of the new Maternal Health site on Womenshealth.gov. The new maternal health site outlines the HHS vision for ensuring the United States is one of the safest countries in the world for women to give birth. It also highlights resources such as the HHS Maternal Health Action Plan, the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Improve Maternal Health and two innovative competitions to address maternal health disparities.

The State of Obesity 2020
The Trust for America’s Health has released its 2020 The State of Obesity Report: Better Policies for a Healthier America. This report provides a snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity nationwide including by age, gender, race and state of residence. This 2020 update highlights COVID-19 related food insecurity, as well as obesity-related data, trends, policies and programs.

*COVID-19 Resources:

• SAMHSA and the American Red Cross have published a fact sheet on Coping with Disasters During the Holidays that features tips that can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic. SAMHSA has also recently published a Tips for Managing Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic wallet card.
• The NIH Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public-private partnership has developed the Rise Above COVID campaign to promote participation in the ACTIV-2 Study, which is testing different medicines to see if they are safe and can help adults with COVID-19.

* Intent to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Rises to 60% as Confidence in Research and Development Process Increases
As vaccines for the coronavirus enter review for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the share of Americans who say they plan to get vaccinated has increased as the public has grown more confident that the development process will deliver a safe and effective vaccine. Still, the U.S. public is far from uniform in views about a vaccine. A majority says they would be uncomfortable being among the first to take it, and a sizable minority appear certain to pass on getting vaccinated. Learn more on the Pew Research website

Mountain Pacific Health Science Libraries Conference 2021
Join colleagues and friends at the Mountain Pacific Health Science Libraries (MPHSL) Conference to share ideas about adapting to change in health librarianship during times of upheaval. Health library organizations within the Mountain-Pacific region of Canada and the United States have joined together to host the inaugural virtual conference. The Conference is open to all working within a health sciences or medical library environment.  The three-day virtual Conference is free for all to attend. February 9-11, 2021. Learn more and register