The potential dual role of transcallosal inhibition in post-stroke motor recovery.

Up to now, the mechanism of motor impairment and recovery after stroke has been thought to be based on the interhemispheric competition model. According to this model, which assumes that suppressing the excitability of contralesional hemisphere will enhance recovery by reducing transcallosal inhibition (TCI) of the stroke hemisphere, many clinical trials used non-invasive brain stimulation to improve motor function. Despite some positive findings, meta-analysis shows an important source of variability in the results, questioning whether the interhemispheric competition model would be exhaustive enough to explain the positive results or whether other mechanisms could explain the motor effects of inhibitory stimulation in the contralesional hemisphere. The goal of this study was to review the relationship between increased TCI and motor impairment after stroke.A systematic review of clinical studies investigating TCI through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in stroke patients and the relationship of this metric with motor recovery was then performed. After a literary search in PubMed eleven articles were included. The potential role of several covariates was examined and discussed.Overall, the importance of TCI as a putative mechanism for stimulation of the contralesional hemisphere seems to depend on the baseline motor function. In other words, from evidence coming mostly from chronic patients, modulation of abnormal TCI seems to be useful for patients with good motor function and less important in patients with poor motor function. TCI seems to be negatively correlated with mirror movements of the paretic hand. It can be inferred that suppressing the activity of the contralesional hemisphere could be beneficial for patients with good residual motor function and strong TCI, but not for those with poor motor function and weak TCI. Baseline motor function and measure of TCI should be taken into account for stratification of patients in clinical trials and for the design of customized treatment.

La recuperación de información de cuidados a través de Cuiden® / Healthcare information retrieval through CUIDEN®

Este cuarto artículo de la serie 'Puesta al día en la búsqueda de información científica' se centra en la base de datos CUIDEN®. Está gestionada por la Fundación Index y es considerada como una de las herramientas de información fundamentales para estar al día sobre la producción científica generada en el espacio iberoamericano sobre cuidados en salud y temática clínico-asistencial en todas sus especialidades. La base de datos tiene una opción de acceso gratuito bajo modalidad de usuario registrado, CUIDEN®, y otra opción de acceso bajo suscripción, CUIDEN® Plus. El objetivo de este artículo es describir las principales características y funcionalidades de esta herramienta a través de las distintas opciones de búsqueda simple, avanzada y por palabras clave. Además, se destacan las diferencias entre la versión gratuita y la de suscripción, de modo que el usuario pueda tener en cuenta las limitaciones y ventajas de una y otra a la hora de afrontar una búsqueda de información

This fourth article of the series 'Update in the search for scientific information' is focused on the CUIDEN® database, managed by the Index Foundation, and considered one of the essential information tools in order to be updated about the scientific developments within the Ibero-American area in terms of healthcare and clinical practice in all its specialties. This database has a free access option under the Registered User mode, CUIDEN®, and another option of access by subscription, CUIDEN® Plus. The objective of this article is to describe the main characteristics and features of this tool, through its different search options: simple, advanced, and by key words. Besides, the differences between the free and the subscription versions are highlighted, so that the user can take into account their specific limitations and advantages at the time of initiating a search for information

Identification of biomedical journals in Spain and Latin America.

OBJECTIVES: Journals in languages other than English that publish original clinical research are often not well covered in the main biomedical databases and therefore often not included in systematic reviews. This study aimed to identify Spanish language biomedical journals from Spain and Latin America and to describe their main features. METHODS: Journals were identified in electronic databases, publishers' catalogues and local registries. Eligibility was determined by assessing data from these sources or the journals' websites, when available. FINDINGS: A total of 2457 journals were initially identified; 1498 met inclusion criteria. Spain (27.3%), Mexico (16.0%), Argentina (15.1%) and Chile (11.9%) had the highest number of journals. Most (85.8%) are currently active; 87.8% have an ISSN. The median and mean length of publication were 22 and 29 years, respectively. A total of 66.0% were indexed in at least one database; 3.0% had an impact factor in 2012. A total of 845 journals had websites (56.4%), of which 700 (82.8%) were searchable and 681 (80.6%) free of charge. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the identified journals have no impact factor or are not indexed in any of the major databases. The list of identified biomedical journals can be a useful resource when conducting hand searching activities and identifying clinical trials that otherwise would not be retrieved.

En relación con "Recursos bibliográficos para atención primaria en las bibliotecas virtuales de salud de las comunidades autónomas" / Statement by SemFYC on the access to scientific information by general practioners

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Assessing availability of scientific journals, databases, and health library services in Canadian health ministries: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-informed health policymaking logically depends on timely access to research evidence. To our knowledge, despite the substantial political and societal pressure to enhance the use of the best available research evidence in public health policy and program decision making, there is no study addressing availability of peer-reviewed research in Canadian health ministries. OBJECTIVES: To assess availability of (1) a purposive sample of high-ranking scientific journals, (2) bibliographic databases, and (3) health library services in the fourteen Canadian health ministries. METHODS: From May to October 2011, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among librarians employed by Canadian health ministries to collect information relative to availability of scientific journals, bibliographic databases, and health library services. Availability of scientific journals in each ministry was determined using a sample of 48 journals selected from the 2009 Journal Citation Reports (Sciences and Social Sciences Editions). Selection criteria were: relevance for health policy based on scope note information about subject categories and journal popularity based on impact factors. RESULTS: We found that the majority of Canadian health ministries did not have subscription access to key journals and relied heavily on interlibrary loans. Overall, based on a sample of high-ranking scientific journals, availability of journals through interlibrary loans, online and print-only subscriptions was estimated at 63%, 28% and 3%, respectively. Health Canada had a 2.3-fold higher number of journal subscriptions than that of the provincial ministries' average. Most of the organisations provided access to numerous discipline-specific and multidisciplinary databases. Many organisations provided access to the library resources described through library partnerships or consortia. No professionally led health library environment was found in four out of fourteen Canadian health ministries (i.e. Manitoba Health, Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services, Nunavut Department of Health and Social Services and Yukon Department of Health and Social Services). CONCLUSIONS: There is inequity in availability of peer-reviewed research in the fourteen Canadian health ministries. This inequity could present a problem, as each province and territory is responsible for formulating and implementing evidence-informed health policies and services for the benefit of its population.

Fuentes de información bibliográfica (II). Bases de datos bibliográficas españolas en ciencias de la salud de interés en pediatría: IME, IBECS y MEDES / Sources of bibliographic information (II). Spanish bibliographic database in Health Sciences of interest in pediatrics. Databases of IME, IBECS and MEDES

En este trabajo se describen las bases de datos españolas en ciencias de la salud más relevantes, tanto las de carácter general, Índice Médico Español (IME), Índice Bibliográfico Español en Ciencias de la Salud (IBECS) y Medicina en Español (MEDES), como las específicas, CUIDEN (Enfermería), ENFISPO (Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Podología) y Compludoc (con referencias de artículos publicados en más de 4.000 revistas científicas españolas y extranjeras recibidas en la biblioteca de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid). Se detallan sus principales características, como la entidad que las elabora, el año de inicio, su tamaño o número de registros que contienen, el número de revistas biomédicas, la lista de revistas pediátricas y el número de registros incluidos en ellas. También se comentan otras características, como las diversas posibilidades de buscarla información (búsqueda simple, avanzada por campos y por índices), el uso de operadores booleanos o sus equivalentes, el truncamiento de términos y la existencia o no de control de la terminología empleada. El IME es la base de datos con una mayor cobertura en pediatría y la revista Acta Pediátrica Española está incluida en las tres bases de datos de carácter general (AU)

This paper describes the most relevant Spanish health bibliographic databases, those of general subjects such as the Índice Médico Español (IME), Índice Bibliográfico Español en Ciencias de la Salud (IBECS) and Medicina en Español (MEDES), as well as those of specific subject as CUIDEN (specialized in Nursing), ENFISPO (Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry) and Compludoc (with references from articles published in more than 4.000 Spanish and foreign journals received in the library of the Complutense University of Madrid). Main features are detailed such as the producing entity, the starting year, size or number of records contained, the number of biomedical journals, the list of pediatric journals and the number of records included in them, are detailed. Some other features, such as the various possibilities of finding information (simple, advanced by fields or by indexes), the use of Boolean operators or their equivalent, truncation of terms and the existence of control of the terminology, are also discussed. IME is the database with greater coverage in pediatrics, and the Spanish journal Acta Pediátrica Española is included in the three general databases (AU)

Recursos sobre envejecimiento y salud en internet / Internet resources on ageing and health

El envejecimiento general de la población mundial es un hecho cierto a principios del siglo xxi, y en los próximos años será un tema de debate y de interés entre los ciudadanos y, muy especialmente, entre los profesionales sanitarios. Internet, como fuente inagotable de información de distinta índole, puede ser un recurso útil de consulta y actualización para dichos profesionales. En este artículo se presentan y comentan los principales recursos que, desde las ciencias de la salud, y disponibles en la red, pueden ser de utilidad para cuantos profesionales deseen identificar la información más relevante sobre envejecimiento(AU)

The general ageing of the world population at the beginning of the XXI century is an established fact, and in the next few years it will be a topic for debate and of interest to the public and, in particular, among health professionals. The Internet, as an inexhaustible information source of a different kind, could be a useful resource for consulting and updating for these professionals.The main health sciences sources that are available on the Internet are presented and commented upon. These may be useful for those professionals who wish to identify the most relevant information on ageing(AU)

Patrimonio público y libre acceso a la ciencia / Social patrimony and free access to Science

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Enfermería en la red (II): recursos institucionales internacionales / Nursing on the net (II): international institutional resources

Hoy en día, prácticamente todas las instituciones relacionadas con la prácticay la investigación de la Enfermería tienen su sitio en la red. Continuando conla línea del anterior trabajo de esta serie, en el que se daba cuenta de la existenciade distintos recursos institucionales españoles relacionados con elentorno de la Enfermería, en esta segunda parte se ofrecen una serie de fuentes,también de carácter institucional, pero de ámbito internacional. La descripciónde estos recursos se ha estructurado en: Sociedades y AsociacionesProfesionales (Consejo Internacional de Enfermería, American NursesAssociation, etc.), Colegios Profesionales (Royal College of Nursing y Colegiode Enfermeras Chilenas, etc.) y Organismos Gubernamentales (OrganizaciónPanamericana de la Salud y Organización Mundial de la Salud)

At present, nearly all the institutions involve in the practice and research innursing have a place on the Internet. In line with the previous work of thisseries which showed the existence of different Spanish institutional resourcesrelating to the Nursing setting, this second part presents a series of institutionalresources at international level. The description of these resources hasbeen structured into: Societies and professional associations (InternationalNursing Council, American Nurses Associations, etc.), professionals colleges(Royal College of Nursing and “Colegio de Enfermeras Chilenas”, etc.) as wellas governmental entities (Pan-American Association of Health and WorldHealth Organisation)

Chasing the sun: a virtual reference service between SAHSLC (SA) and SWICE (UK).

AIM: In 2002, a discussion in the United Kingdom (UK) between South-west Information for Clinical Effectiveness (SWICE) librarians and a member of the South Australian Department of Human Services Libraries' Consortium (SAHSLC) raised the possibility of developing an after-hours virtual reference service between the two consortium groups. The aim of the service is to put medical practitioners in contact with a librarian when urgent help is required in finding clinical medical information after hours. METHODS: A trial project has begun and has been given the name 'Chasing the Sun'. The service will make use of time-zone differences between the UK and Australia, so that librarians at work in another country will be able to answer urgent patient-related queries that cannot wait until normal office hours. RESULTS: This paper looks at the development of 'Chasing the Sun' from initial concept, funding proposal and trial project stage to implementation. It includes details of the groundwork, software evaluation, trials, outcomes, cost and benefits, future directions and potential problems yet to be experienced or overcome. CONCLUSION: This service is the first of its kind between health libraries in the world and offers potential for future worldwide expansion.

Best paediatric evidence; is it accessible and used on-call?

BACKGROUND: Paediatricians wanting to use evidence based medicine (EBM) strategies, need to be able to track down and critically appraise evidence. This requires access to quality filtered resources (for example, Cochrane Library), bibliographic databases (for example, Medline), and paediatric journals. AIMS: To determine whether paediatricians have access to these resources when on-call and if they use them to answer clinical questions. METHOD: A telephone survey of paediatric and neonatal units was performed during November 2001. The "paediatrician-on-call" was asked whether they could access Medline, Cochrane, and paediatric journals, and if they used these when on-call. RESULTS: Paediatric trainees were available in 87 of the 97 units contacted. All except one had access to Medline; although only 56 (64%) could do this near their ward. Eighty had access to Cochrane. Thirteen (15%) could not gain access to their library out-of-hours. All except one department had local guidelines, with 71% having >15 guidelines. Access to any of the top seven "best evidence" paediatric journals varied from 64% to 100%. Only 26% of trainees had read the evidence based section of Archives of Disease of Childhood, Archimedes. Many trainees claimed to use guidelines when on-call (61; 70%), but few used Medline (14; 16%). CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric trainees mostly have access to facilities to help them to track down and critically appraise evidence. However, few of them have used it to help make clinical decisions when on-call. Many of the doctors contacted said they used local guidelines as their source of information on-call.

La búsqueda de información toxicológica: módulo práctico de aprendizaje / Searching for toxicological information: a practical learning project

Los toxicólogos del siglo XXI han de ser capaces de buscar y manejar con eficacia la exponencialmente creciente información toxicológica, gran parte de la cual está disponible gratuitamente en Internet. Con esta finalidad el Área de Toxicología de la Universidad de Sevilla ha desarrollado un módulo práctico específico para toxicólogos establecidos y estudiantes de Toxicología, tanto presenciales como virtuales. Se facilita la distinción entre los diferentes tipos de fuentes de información toxicológica, su localización, interpretación y manejo para muy diversas áreas toxicológicas (reguladora, ocupacional, clínica, experimental, ambiental, etc.). Atendiendo a la amplitud del campo de búsqueda se utilizan buscadores generales, buscadores para compuestos químicos y buscadores especializados. Se han seleccionado 50 direcciones de gran interés y, para acelerar el aprendizaje, se ha desarrollado BUSCATOX, un buscador que facilita el acceso a bases de datos bibliográficas y de información depurada, estando disponible en la página http://www.farmacia.us.es/toxicologia.htm. En el módulo se plantea una serie de preguntas que se han agrupado temáticamente, lo que permite la familiarización sucesiva con diferentes formas de presentación de la información toxicológica (AU)

Recursos de Internet en drogodependencias: la hoja web del Instituto de Drogas de Abuso de EE UU (NIDA) / Internet resources for drug addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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What can bibliographic software offer you?

This article provides an introduction to bibliographic software products, common uses for bibliographic software, and some suggestions on how to choose the right software product. The focus of this article is on software for individual, rather than institutional, use. Bibliographic software is designed to allow information to be catalogued and retrieved with ease. Bibliographic software products range from catalogue database software to more specialized bibliographic database and management software products. Each type of product meets the needs of a specific user group.