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Biomedical subjects

A M Rees

Publications and source records attributed to A M Rees.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Characteristics, content, and significance of the popular health periodicals literature.

An analysis of the content of sixty popular health periodicals covered in 1986 by the Consumer Health & Nutrition Index was made to identify the characteristics and concerns of popular health magazines and newsletters. The literature mirrors the health values and anxieties of the American public. While some of the literature diverges from mainstream allopathic medicine, most popular publications succeed in presenting coherent, reasoned, and documented viewpoints. Because there is no consensus on many medical problems, it is important that individuals have the freedom to read dissenting and alternative points of view and consider multiple options before making informed and reasoned health decisions. The popular literature is a valuable yet inexpensive source of reliable information on topics of current concern. The publications are not as well known as they deserve to be because they have not been adequately indexed, while they have not been indexed because they are not well known. The Consumer Health & Nutrition Index now provides expanded subject access to sixty health-related periodicals plus all health-related articles in sixteen general interest magazines.

Health Education↗
PubMed1976

Routine preoperative chest radiography in non-cardiopulmonary surgery.

Preoperative radiography was performed on 667 consecutive patients undergoing elective non-cardiopulmonary surgery in a large hospital in Wales. Of all significant findings reported 54% were due to cardiomegaly and 19% to chronic respiratory disease, and no appreciable abnormality was found in any patient under 30. Out of a subsample of 152 examined prospectively, 38% had received a chest radiograph within the last year, and the maximum marrow dose had been exceeded in 12-5%. It is concluded that the procedure, as presently practised, is not only being considerably overused but is also exposing many recipients to the potentially harmful effects of over-irradiation. The findings provide further evidence in support of the Royal College of Radiologists' proposal that a national multicentre study of diagnostic radiology should be set up with some urgency.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

The involvement of receptro sulphydryl groups in the binding of steroids to the cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptor from rat thymus.

The glucocorticoid receptor protein present in the high-speed supernant fraction of rat thymus tissue is extremely unstable, having a half-life of about 2 h at 4 degrees C. It was found that the decline in steroid-binding capacity could be slowed, though not arrested completely, by the addition of sulphydryl-protecting agents such as 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol, and by EDTA. The inactivation was also partly reversed by these agents. 0.5 mM N-ethylmaleimideor p-chloromercuriphenylsulphonic acid inactivated the recptor at 4 degrees C, but the presence of bound steroid protected the receptor against this inactivation. Bound steroid did not protect the receptor against the action of higher concentrations of these reagents. Treatment of intact thymus cells with 2,4-dinitrophenol resulted in a reduction in the steroid-binding capacity of the supernatant fraction derived from these cells. This effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol could not be reversed by the presence of dithiothreitol in the extraction buffer. It is concluded that the inactivation of the receptor in vitro is at least partly due to the oxidation of one or more sulphydryl groups necessary for steroid binding; the process of oxidation does not account for the reduction in steroid binding observed in intact thymus cells under conditions of energy deprivation.

Animals↗
PubMed1971

An investigation of the education needs of health sciences library manpower. V. Manpower for hospital libraries.

The extent of library service and the character of the library staff of hospitals in the United States are reported from the results of a survey conducted by the American Hospital Association in 1968. These data supplement the data reported on the nonhospital institutional population to make up a composite picture of health sciences library manpower today. Only 2,918 hospitals (48.5 percent) out of a total of 6,018 surveyed reported the existence of a library of any kind, though some of the hospitals reported multiple libraries. For all of these libraries only 2,872 individuals were reported under the rubric for "librarians," and of these only 726 were reported as having the master's degree or better. Of the total staff almost half are non-salaried (volunteer or contributory) and almost half of the salaried staff are half time. It is obvious, therefore, that hospital libraries must be substantially strengthened if they are to fulfill their important function in the biomedical information network.

Education, Graduate↗
PubMed1971

An investigation of the educational needs of health sciences library manpower. 3. Manpower supply and demand in health sciences libraries.

An investigation of the manpower requirements of health sciences libraries and of educational programs appropriate to these manpower needs was begun in March 1968. To date, 4,727 libraries have been identified as being used by 14,000 health sciences institutions and programs. Of this total, 2,628 are hospital libraries; 1,328 are health sciences libraries and collections located outside of hospitals; and 771 are academic or public libraries. Within these libraries some 14,938 persons are directly involved, either full- or part-time, in the delivery of health sciences library services. Of the total work force, 5,861 persons are employed in hospital libraries and 9,077 are employed in health sciences libraries and collections. The ratio between professional and nonprofessional employees is 1:2; professional and nonprofessional status was assigned by the chief librarian. Survey data indicate a 7 percent manpower shortage in positions classified as professional, and a 3 percent shortage in positions classified as nonprofessional.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1971

An investigation of the educational needs of health sciences library manpower. IV. Characteristics of manpower in health sciences libraries.

A statistical description based on a mail survey of personnel in 2,099 health sciences libraries located outside of the hospital setting is reported. Respondents to the survey were divided into three groups: professionals (those possessing a graduate library degree); nonprofessionals (those not possessing a graduate library degree); and chief librarians (those responsible for a library's operations). Survey items dealt with education, sex, age, salary, job mobility and preference for continuing education programs. Some 60 percent of the respondents were professionals; 40 percent were nonprofessionals. Seven hundred and twenty-eight chief librarians were identified in the population: 57 percent were professional librarians while the remainder were without a graduate library degree. Approximately (1/5) of all survey respondents were men. The age distribution for the work force tended to be bimodal, reflecting the career patterns of women and the later entry of men into librarianship. The annual salary for male professionals was calculated at $12,732; for female professionals at $10,044; for male nonprofessionals at $7,878; and for female nonprofessionals at $6,313. Male professionals were found to have the highest rates of job and geographic mobility. Conversely, female nonprofessionals were lowest in mobility. In expressing a preference for continuing education programs in library science, professionals tended to request courses dealing with the organization of libraries, health sciences institutions and their relationships, while nonprofessionals inclined towards courses in technical processing.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1970

An investigation of the educational needs of health sciences library manpower. I. Definition of the manpower problem and research design.

In order to plan adequately for education in health science librarianship and to be able to project future demands and needs we need to know a great deal more about existing manpower in health science libraries. This paper, the first in a series of reports on an investigation to gather this data, discusses the research methodology and the development of an inventory of the institution-program population upon which the survey is based. An analysis in terms of geographic location, type (educational, research, etc.), administrative control, and primary cognate area of these institutions is presented, and their distribution through the various Regional Medical Library areas is noted. Preliminary estimates are made, based on a questionnaire to the libraries, on the size of the library population, their relationship to reporting programs or institutions, exclusive of the hospital population which is being covered in an independent survey. A questionnaire to library personnel is underway which will establish, along with the other questionnaires, a basis for exploring the relationships which exist between institutions or programs, libraries and manpower.

Libraries, Medical↗
PubMed1970

An analysis of the demographic, educational, and employment characteristics of participants in the continuing education program of the Medical Library Association, Denver, Colorado, June 1968.

A survey was performed to elicit details about attendees of the continuing education program given in Denver at the 1968 MLA Annual Meeting. Factors considered included sex, age, geographic distribution, professional mobility, educational background, current jobs, and interest in further continuing education.

Colorado↗
PubMed1970

An investigation of the educational needs of health sciences library manpower. II. Health-related institutions and their library resources.

As part of an investigation of health sciences library manpower, the universe of health-related institutions and programs (excluding hospitals) was surveyed by postcard questionnaire to produce an inventory and description of libraries providing services to these institutions and programs. Seventysix percent (5,215) of the institutions reported access to library resources, indicating usage of some 2,207 non-hospital libraries. Eighty percent (2,431) of the institutions reported that the library used was "within" their own institution; 20 percent (608) noted that the library was "outside" of their institution. The distribution of health-related institutions and libraries is shown by RML districts, together with relevant census data. A classification of libraries, based on the degree of involvement of the libraries' facilities, resources and personnel in supplying services to health-related institutions, was developed. It is concluded that projections of manpower needs should take into account institutions and programs not at present possessing health sciences libraries as well as documented demand in existing health sciences libraries.

Health Occupations↗
PubMed1968

Profesional medical library education in the United States in relation to the qualifications of medical library manpower in Ohio.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION FOR MEDICAL LIBRARY PRACTICE IN THE UNITED STATES CONSISTS OF FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS: graduate degree programs in library science with specialization in medical librarianship; graduate degree programs in library science with no such specialization; postgraduate internships in medical libraries; continuing education programs. Data are presented illustrating the flow of graduates along these several educational pathways into medical library practice.The relevance of these educational components to the current medical library work force is discussed with reference to manpower data compiled for Ohio. The total number of medical library personnel in Ohio in 1968 is 316. Of this total, only forty-two (approximately 14 percent) have received any formal library training. Seventy persons have only a high school education. From these figures, it is concluded that there is no standard or essential qualification which is universally accepted as educational preparation for work in medical libraries; that the comparative sophistication of the educational programs in medical librarianship has yet to be reflected widely in general medical library practice; that an increasingly large number of non-professional or ancillary personnel are being, and will continue to be, utilized in medical libraries; that large numbers of untrained persons have sole responsibility for medical libraries; and that appropriate educational programs will have to be designed specifically for this type of personnel.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1966

Medical libraries and the assessment of user needs.

Users of information in science and technology have been studied in great detail with respect to material read, amount of time spent in reading and searching the literature, categories of questions asked, and so on. Probing for this information has been undertaken by means of structured and unstructured interviews, diaries, surveys, and questionnaires.Although a large amount of data has emerged on information usage and flow, the subjective response of scientists furnishes comment only on the satisfaction produced by present information services and does not yield insight into the extent to which needs remain unsatisfied. Relevance figures based upon the response of systems to questions cannot be equated with satisfaction of needs, since questions constitute, in most cases, inadequate representations of underlying information needs. Assessment of the needs of users of medical libraries and information systems must, in fact, be made in relation to the observed behavior and experience of biomedical scientists. There is room for well-designed experimentation which can explore the interaction of both psychological and environmental factors. Significant differences in information needs exist among and between individuals such as researchers and clinicians in the same environment. With respect to environment, it is hypothesized that the information needs of medical practitioners in remote areas might differ significantly from those of their colleagues working in large metropolitan centers in close proximity to medical schools, research institutions, and other rich sources of information fallout. It is anticipated that experimentation will eventually result in a methodology which will permit the determination and prediction of the information needs of any identified groups of users in a specific environment.

Libraries, Medical↗