New Find

Fall Library Newsletter

The latest issue of the LibraryÔÇÖs Newsletter has been released. Archives of the newsletter are also available from 1998 to the present.

Free Online Homework Help

When children ask parents for help with their homework, no doubt there are moments of blank-stares and head-scratching. After all, hasn’t it been years since we delved into the exciting world of geometry?

In these situations an easy-access tutor would certainly be useful. Well- this idea is no longer a dream.

A press release from Louisiana Public Libraries yesterday stated “The State Library of Louisiana today launched the free educational service HomeworkLouisiana, an online tool that connects Louisiana K-12 students, adults preparing for the GED and college students to a live tutor online for one on one help with homework. It also offers studying and test preparation in all core academic subjects including math, science, social studies and English.”

This amazing resource is available at www.homeworkla.org.

Tutors are available Sunday through Thursday 2 p.m. – 10 p.m. And yes, they are all certified graduate students, teachers, or professional experts.

See the full press release for further information. Spread the word to every student, teacher and parent you know!

What Vaccines do you need?

School is now in session for most states across the U.S. and right on time for National Immunization Awareness Month. The main goal is to increase awareness about immunizations which are very important because they can help protect yourself and others against life-threatening infections.

Throughout the U.S. there are?ástill some?ádeaths associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. Last year in Louisiana there was an?áincrease in reports of Hepatitis B and Pertussis (whooping cough)?áthan in 2008, which are two vaccine-preventable diseases. ?á

Not sure about what vaccines you might need? Check out the following link & take a brief quiz so that you can get a better idea of what you and your doctor should discuss on your next visit:

http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched/

?áFor more information, please visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niam/default.htm

http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/page.asp?ID=249&Detail=7428

New Orleans Index @ 5

The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) is commemorating the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with the New Orleans Index at Five. The index “provides a comprehensive examination of the region through 20 key indicators, as well as seven topical essays informed by on the ground experience and research.” Of particular interest to the health science community is the essay on Community Health Clinics (pdf).

Deadliest Occupation?

A recent USMMWR article ranked commercial fishing as one of the most dangerous occupation in the United States, even without oil spills and dispersants. This won’t come as a surprise to fans of the Deadliest Catch.

49th place

For the ninth consecutive year, Louisiana is ranked 49th among the 50 states in the Kids Count Databook – an annual publication from the Annie E. Casey Foundation on child well-being assessment, reports the Times-Picayune today.

A full report on the state is available.

An Odyssey of Knowledge

The Exhibition Program of the National Library of Medicine produced a new online exhibit, An Odyssey of Knowledge, Medieval Manuscripts and Early Printed Books from the National Library of Medicine. Featuring twenty one medieval manuscripts and five early printed texts scanned at high resolution, the exhibit displays some of the most prized items held by the National Library of Medicine. It gives viewers a rare look at texts that are normally kept under lock and key, containing medical knowledge which spans over two millennia.

77 oilspill links (con’t)

Continued from here
Mental Health
69. Traumatic Incident Stress: Information for Deepwater Horizon Response Workers and Volunteers ÔÇô CDC

70. Mississippi Dept. of Mental Health ÔÇô oil spill resources

71. Alabama Dept. of Mental Health – Gulf Coast Oil Crisis Assistance

72. Louisiana Dept. of Mental Health

73. The Gulf Oil Disaster: Developing a Positive Outlook in the Face of Tragedy (American Psychological Association)

74. Shore Up Your Resilience to Manage Distress Caused by the Oil Disaster in the Gulf (American Psychological Association)

Mobile apps
75. Oil spill tracker & reporting tool for Android phones

76. MoGo: Mobile Gulf Observatory: Oiled wildlife tracker & reporting tool for iPhone

77. Deepwater Horizon Response Text Message Alerts

And for a little lagniappe, the best related t-shirt money can buy**:

** Solely the opinion of the author. LSUHSC-NO in no way supports, condones or authorizes the purchase of above product.

unhappy anniversary ya’ll. See you in 154 days.

77 oil spill links

courtesy NASA

1. Oil Spill Human Health Research Coordinating Group at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans

General public
2. CDC – Information for Coastal Residents – discusses the effect of the spill on food and water, and describes various oil smells and what health effects you may experience from inhaling them

3. CDC – Dispersants Quick Facts for Coastal Residents: Corexit 9500, 1,2-Propanediol, & other chemicals in the Gulf

4. Light crude oil and your health: CDC

5. Gulf Oil Spill Information for Pregnant Women (CDC)

6. Oil spill issues- Public information: what to do and why (FAQ from the Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals) ÔÇô English

7. Oil spill issues-Public information: what to do and why (FAQ from the Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals) ÔÇô Spanish

8. Oil spill issues-Public information: what to do and why (FAQ from the Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals) ÔÇô Vietnamese

9. What you should and should not do in areas affected by the oil spill (Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals) ÔÇô English

10. What you should and should not do in areas affected by the oil spill (from Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals)- Spanish

11. What you should and should not do in areas affected by the oil spill (from Louisiana Dept. of health and hospitals) ÔÇô Vietnamese

12. Questions and Answers about the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast (EPA)

13. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ÔÇô Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

14. Oil spill resources ÔÇô Louisiana Dept. of Public Health

15. Resources for individuals affected by oil spill ÔÇô Louisiana (food banks, support for children, BP claims/workforce assistance, homeowners insurance support and more )

16. Pubmed Search on oil spills and health

17. Odors from the BP Oil Spill (EPA) ÔÇô describes the different aromas & health effects, how to report

18. Table of Chemical Constituents Commonly Found in Crude Oil (CDC)

19. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection ÔÇô Deepwater Horizon Response ÔÇô hotlines, FL response phone numbers, maps & surveillance

20. Disasterassistance.gov: file a BP claim

21. Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards: chemicals and health effects (From Sciencecorps.org)

22. Crude Oil Spills and Health (National Library of Medicine)

23. Children and the oil spill ÔÇô American Academy of Pediatrics:

24. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Update (FDA): seafood safety

25. Volunteer ÔÇô Louisiana

26. Volunteer ÔÇô Mississippi

27. Volunteer ÔÇô Florida
28. Volunteer – Alabama

29. What are tarballs and how do they form? (NOAA):

30. Health and Safety Aspects of In-situ Burning of Oil (NOAA)

31. Oil Well
Fires (U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine)

32. Exposure to Oil Fires/Oil Fire Smoke (U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine)

33. Shoreline Assessment (NOAA) Photographs demonstrating oil spill terminology: Oil distribution Surface oiling, Surface oiling types, Sediment types, Shoreline types, Cleanup methods

Response workers
34. Safety and Training of Oil Spill Response Workers (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) awareness-level health and safety resource training tools in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese for response workers

35. Gulf Oil Spill 2010: Information for Response Workers (CDC)

36. Deepwater Horizon Guidance for Workers (NIOSH/OSHA)

37. Reducing Occupational Exposures while Working with Dispersants During the Deepwater Horizon Response (NIOSH/OSHA)

Maps
38. Beach advisories/status map ÔÇô Louisiana

39. Beach advisories/status map ÔÇô Florida

40. Beach advisories ÔÇô Alabama

41. Beach advisories-Mississippi

42. Beach advisories-Texas

43. Federal Fisheries Closure and Other Information (NOAA)

44. Where the oil is: A daily status of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

45. NOAA interactive map: Environmental response management application (ERMA) ÔÇô (Very, very cool!)

46. Air monitoring on the Gulf Coast (EPA) air quality maps, reports

47. Coastal Water Sampling (EPA): maps, location analysis

48. Coastal Sediment Sampling (EPA): maps, analysis

49. Oil spill trajectory hindcast/forecast (Ocean Circulation Group and the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at College of Marine Science, University of South Florida)

50. OSHA’s Efforts to Protect Workers: interactive maps showing OSHA presence and chemical sampling in the Gulf

51. Oil spill crisis map (Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Tulane University)

Surveillance
52. NIOSH Report of BP Illness and Injury Data (April 23 ÔÇô June 6, 2010)

53. Press Release: REPORTING OF OIL SPILL-RELATED ILLNESSES & INJURIES TO THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HOSPITALS (call 888-293-7020 or fax 225-342-8117)

54. Number of Patients Reporting Possible, Suspected, or Known Exposure to Oil in Baldwin and Mobile Counties (Alabama) by Week – link removed Jan.7, 2011
55. Monitoring and sampling information (BP)

56. The Oil Spill and Calls to Poison Centers – American Association of Poison control Centers (so far theyÔÇÖve received 621 exposure calls & 459 information calls. Louisiana has the highest number of calls):

57. Gulf oil spill health surveillance (CDC)

Chemicals and Dispersants
58. Oil Spill Dispersant (COREXIT ?«EC9500A and EC9527A) Information for Health Professionals

59. COREXIT?« EC9527A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

60. COREXIT?« EC9500A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

61. COREXIT?« EC9500A Technical Product bulletin (primary distributors, special handling information, physical properties like specific gravity, pH, toxicity, analysis for heavy metals etc )

62. COREXIT?« EC9527A Technical Product bulletin (primary distributors, special handling information, physical properties like specific gravity, pH, toxicity, analysis for heavy metals etc )

63. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

64. NIOSH Topic Page on 2-butoxyethanol (COREXIT EC9527A contains between 30-60% of 2-butoxyethanol, a dispersant chemical):

65. 2-butoxyethanol from the Hazardous Substances Databank: human health effects, emergency medical treatment, animal toxicity studies, environmental exposure, pharmacology, chemical properties, occupational exposure, etc.

66. 2-butoxyethanol from HazMap ÔÇô exposure assessment, adverse effects

67. Pubmed search on 2-butoxyethanol

68. Dispersants: a guided tour (NOAA)

Continue to #69-77, because our blogging software leaves much to be desired.

NOLA Neighborhood Recovery

Maybe it makes me a statistics nerd, but I love the numbers that the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) puts out. Last week they released a map demonstrating the “Resiliency of New Orleanians Shown in Neighborhood Repopulation Numbers.” Check out the number of addresses actively receiving mail in New Orleans.

LOUIS Libraries & Funding

A new video was posted this morning in support of LOUIS. Check it out!

Practicing MDs & Smartphones

A marketing survey by SDI Health, has been making the news rounds. According to the “Mobile & Social Media Study: PhysiciansÔÇÖ Views of Emerging Technology Survey,” 30% of physicians have used a smartphone to access medical applications. Of the physicians who own a smart phone, 95% have downloaded a medical application. The most popular applications were: Epocrates, Medscape, and Skyscape. The study was conducted in October 2009; I wonder how much those numbers have jumped in the last 8 months. For more information on mobile resources, check out the Libraries’ guide.

Iconography of Contagion

Drink Only Approved Water

The History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine has a new online exhibit, the Iconography of Contagion, an exhibition of twentieth century health posters. The exhibition offers some posters from NLM’s collection as well as an historical perspective on their necessity.

Blood Pressure & Sugary Drinks

Liwei Chen, an LSUHSC School of Public Health faculty member is making news (WebMD, NPR, UPI, Reuters, and HealthDay News) because of her study on the connection between sugary drinks and blood pressure. The study (pdf) is in the “publish ahead of print” section of Circulation. The study was released as a EurekAlert by LSUHSC Information Services.

Link to the pdf of the article is available to LSUHSC faculty, staff & students. It can be accessed off-campus with a valid LSUHSC library barcode & PIN. You can find more information at our remote access webpage.

College Health

College life can be overwhelming to some, with all the new responsibilities and challenges that one might face. Medline Plus offers several tips in order for college students to maintain healthy lifestyles, such as:

Getting enough sleep

Eating a balanced diet

Keeping up with vaccinations and checkups

Getting regular exercise

Making smart choices about alcohol and drugs

Practicing safe sex

Seeking help if you are depressed or stressed

Finding the right balance might be tough at first but once you implement these practices into your lifestyle you should remain healthy.

For more information visit:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/collegehealth.html