Association for
Veterinary Informatics
NEWSLETTER

March - April, 1997

Harmon Rogers (Lake Stevens, WA) - President; - President-Elect; James T. Case (UC-Davis) - Secretary Treasurer; Ronald D. Smith (Illinois) - Newsletter Editor

IN THIS ISSUE

ASSOCIATION NEWS
- AVMA/AVI Talbot Informatics Symposium
- How to Contact AVI
CORRESPONDENCE
- Three Veterinary Informatics Projects
THE VETERINARY TECHNOLOGY DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM
PRODUCT AVAILABILITY/REVIEWS/COMPARISONS
INTERNET RESOURCES
NEWS AND COMMENTARY
MEETINGS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
SUGGESTED READING
- Knowledge-Based Patient Screening for Rare and Emerging Infectious/Parasitic Diseases (Craig N. Carter)
CLOSING BITS

ASSOCIATION NEWS

AVMA/AVI Talbot Informatics Symposium

The AVMA/AVI Richard B. Talbot Informatics Symposium will be held Monday, July 21 from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM in Room B-13 of the Reno/Sparks Convention Center. The program is as follows:

08:30 - Introduction and Afternoon Panel Discussion (Harmon Rogers)
08:45 - Management of Data Information in the Diagnostic Laboratory (Judy Mullen)
09:45 - Introduction to Corporate Veterinary Software (Hugh Lewis)
10:40 - Specialty Practice Software - Animal Intelligence Software (Michael F. Philbrick)
11:45-13:00 - Lunch
13:00 - The Algorithms of Veterinary Medicine (Steven J. Ettinger)
14:00 - Internet and World Wide Web Resources (Jeff R. Wilcke)
14:45 - Elecronic Publishing. What it Means to Practitioners (Charles A. Cohen,
Francis X. Buckingham, William P. Pratt)
15:45 - The Electronic Zoo and AVMA.ORG Grow Up. Where We've Been, Where We're
Going, and How We're Going to Get There (James Brewer and Karl Wise)

How to Contact AVI

Applications for membership, accompanied by a check for $35 payable to the AVI, should be sent to:

Dr. James T. Case; Secretary Treasurer, AVI; 1590 Augusta Ct., Dixon, CA 95620
Phone: 916/752-4408; FAX: 916/752-5680; e-mail: JimCase@aol.com

Dr. Case is responsible for distribution of the hardcopy version of the AVI Newsletter.

Newsletter items can be sent to:

Dr. Ronald D. Smith, Newsletter Editor, AVI; UI College of Veterinary Medicine; 2001 South Lincoln; Urbana, IL 61801.
Phone: 217/333-2449; FAX: 217/333-4628; e-mail: rd-smith@uiuc.edu

If you are an AVI member and would like to be on the AVI Newsletter electronic distribution list, send an e-mail message to the Newsletter Editor. Although the electronic version is only an ASCII (text) file, it's faster, searchable, easier to store and retrieve, and environmentally friendly.

Current and past issues of the AVI Newsletter are also available on the Web at the following URL:

http://netvet.wustl.edu/avi.htm

CORRESPONDENCE

Three Veterinary Informatics Projects
From: Fred Smith <smith.f@CALC.VET.UGA.EDU>

I am working on three projects that may be of interest to members of this list. They address these three questions:

1. How can I convert hundreds of ILINK DOS+videodisc lessons to Web format?

2. How can I help vet. med. teachers get up to speed on Web-based teaching/learning tools?

3. How can I get veterinary practitioners to understand what the Web can do for them?

I have provided a short description of each project below and you can get more details from my Web site. Your comments and suggestions would be welcome. http://WWW.VAR.VET.UGA.EDU

1. ILINK to the Web. ILINK (LTNT, LIHM) is an old DOS program that used the videodisc to present image-rich lessons. Hundreds of lessons have been written in this format and are still in use (!). I am writing a translator (in Perl) that takes the ILINK script and automatically produces an HTML/JavaScript version of each lesson. If you are interested you can see samples of output and obtain copies of the Perl program as it develops. Click on the ILINK TO HTML link. http://WWW.VAR.VET.UGA.EDU/ilk2html/

2. Many of our faculty here at the CVM are interested in the Web as a teaching/learning tool but they don't know where to start. We are planning a workshop for veterinary educators that will highlight the special Web-based tools that help produce interactive lessons - not just links from document to document. Click on the WEB-BASED LEARNING TOOLS WORKSHOP link for details. If you have a lesson-oriented Web page we could refer to during the Workshop please drop me a note with your URL.
http://WWW.VAR.VET.UGA.EDU/ivd9/

3. Veterinary practitioners are hearing lots about the Web and how they should be using it. They want to know about VIN and NOAH and how to get connected. I have done a series of one-day workshop for practitioners and they have been popular. If you would like details about them visit the COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS WORKSHOP link. Have you done something similar and could you suggest anything else to include? Could we share notes?
http://WWW.VAR.VET.UGA.EDU/ce/

Fred G. Smith, DVM, PhD
Voice: (706) 542-5550 FAX: (706) 542-0051 SMITH.F@CALC.VET.UGA.EDU
http://WWW.VAR.VET.UGA.EDU

THE VETERINARY TECHNOLOGY
DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM

Guy Hancock, DVM
Program Director

St. Petersburg Junior College
Veterinary Technology Program
Health Education Center
PO Box 13489, St. Petersburg. FL 33733
(813)341-3653

whiteg@email.spjc.cc.fl.us
http://hecweb.spjc.cc.fl.us/CHIP/VT1.html or
http://www.spjc.cc.fl.us/catalog/cathvet.html

This program began in the fall of 1994 as a way to serve students employed by veterinarians and who cannot move or give up full time jobs in order to attend school. The goal is to use technology to bring school to students, wherever they are, and to take advantage of the facilities and expertise available in the workplace.

As of the second semester in the 1996-97 academic year there are 84 students enrolled from Florida and 12 other states. The Distance Education Program was awarded provisional accreditation by the AVMA in November of 1995. This enables graduates to sit for state certification or licensing exams in all states.

Students in the program use computer conferencing through America Online for real-time interaction with faculty and other students. Students have reported that because of online conferencing and email they have more interaction with faculty than in traditional on-campus lecture courses. Typical students will take about 3 years to earn the veterinary technology portion of the degree, at the rate of 5-7 credit hours per semester.

The following information applies to On-Line Program students who are accepted into the Veterinary Technology Program to begin in either the January or August classes. Application should be sent several months in advance. Applicants will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.

A complete application requires the following:

1. The white application and the $22 fee if you have never been a student at SPJC.

2. The yellow selective admissions application and a $10 fee.

3. The supplemental application form for distance students.

4. Transcripts from high school and any colleges attended, to be sent directly to SPJC from each school.

For answers to questions call 813-341-3653 between 8 am and 4 PM.

Applicants are considered as soon as their file is complete. Higher priority will be given to applicants meeting the following qualifications:

1. Completion of most of the general education requirements.

2. Significant computer experience or ability.

3. Currently employed by a veterinarian and have one year of full time veterinary employment or significant work experience.

4. High cumulative college grade point average.

We recommend that the place of employment have a graduate veterinary technician or two full time veterinarians who are AVMA members.

The Veterinary Technology Distance Education Program is based on the following assumptions:

1. Students complete any unmet general education course requirements at their local community college.

2. Students have the initiative, resourcefulness, and perseverance to work independently.

3. Students have a solid relationship with their employer veterinarian.

4. Students have experience using a computer.

Facts about the Distance Learning Program:

1. Registration fees (subject to change) are $39.78 per credit hour for state residents, and $142.66 per credit for students who have not met the residency requirement. Additional fees are $20 per course and an insurance fee of $12.50 with Work Experience Seminars I and III.

2. Students must subscribe to America Online. The $19.95/month fee includes free software and unlimited connect time per month. Most subscribers can connect via a local number, but those without a local access number will have to pay additional long distance phone charges, an 800 number surcharge, or pay for internet access.

3. Students will also subscribe to the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), a service available through America Online. The fee is specially discounted at $19 per month. Students may use the membership account of their employer if he or she belongs to or joins VIN. To learn more or to join please call 1-800-700-INFO (California).

4. Each lecture course will meet online for approximately 45 minutes per week to "chat." Chats are interactive discussions between students and the instructor. In addition to online chat time students will spend time downloading assignments and uploading completed work. Chats are scheduled at 7, 8 or 9 pm EST Monday-Thursday.

5. Final exams in lecture courses will be proctored by the employer or by test administrators at the local community college.

6. Lab practical final exams are on-campus in St. Petersburg, unless special arrangements can be made with another veterinary technician program closer to the student.

7. Each lab course requires work in a veterinary hospital. The employer must agree to teach specific skills, proctor exams and do evaluations.

8. Additional veterinary sponsors will be needed to help students learn about species their employer does not treat and equipment not present in their hospital. Books and course packets will be ordered by mail or phone through the SPJC Health Education Center bookstore at 813-545-0261.

9. The District Board of Trustees requires all health program students to furnish proof of accident and sickness health insurance and provide a physical exam form signed by a physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse practitioner. No special tests or vaccinations are required. Following acceptance, the physical exam, insurance, and textbook order forms will be sent by regular mail.

The credit earned by distance education is exactly the same as credit earned on campus. Some students will mix distance education courses with on-site courses in order to better accommodate work and family obligations. The difference between local and distance learning is in the method of delivery, not in the content or the desired outcomes.

Those interested in pursuing either program should call or E-mail us your complete name, address, and phone number. We will then provide the necessary applications, transcript request form, and college catalog.

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY/REVIEWS/COMPARISONS

Computer Predicts Presence of Food Pathogens
Food Safety Network <FSNET-L@LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA>

An updated computer software package can help the food industry predict the fate of harmful microorganisms in products, say scientists at USDA's Agricultural Research Service.

Scientists developed the Pathogen Modeling Program to track the survival and growth of E. coli 0157:H7 and other pathogens.. The program supplies a first-round estimate of the safety potential of foods during product development by industry or during safety evaluation by regulatory agencies. It gives microbiologists in the food industry and regulatory agencies a quick, accurate, inexpensive way to engineer safety into foods. The user types in information on food formulation or storage conditions, including temperature, salt levels and acidity. Then the program graphically predicts the growth or death of the pathogen. The newest version of the program contains growth models for Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica. Earlier versions have been distributed worldwide to more than 800 users.

The program can be downloaded from the ARS web site (http://www.arserrc.gov).
For more information, contact Robert Buchanan, USDA-ARS, (215)233 6636, email: rbuchanan@arserrc.gov.

Patient Interview Application on the Web
From: Jim Warren <cisjrw@ARES.LEVELS.UNISA.EDU.AU>

At the University of South Australia, we have developed a system that supports a non-expert clerk in conducting an interview of a primary care patient. The Patient Interview Support Application (PISA) employs natural language processing, a knowledge-base of medical key terms and a knowledge-base of questions to prompt the clerk to ask a parsimonious series of relevant questions about the patient's condition, forming a coded electronic medical record. The PISA has been in clinical use at a trial site since 1994.

We have recently ported the PISA from Windows to the World Wide Web and are inviting people to try it out at http://pisa.levels.unisa.edu.au/

We are interested in any comments about how to improve the system and any inquiries regarding research and development collaboration.

Dr. Jim Warren
School of Computer and Information Science
The University of South Australia
Warrendi Road
The Levels SA 5095, AUSTRALIA
http://www.cis.unisa.edu.au/~cisjrw
Ph: +61 8 8302 3446; Fax: +61 8 8302 3381
email: james.warren@unisa.edu.au

ClienTraxTM Version 3.4 Released!
From: FXBUCK@aol.com

ClienTraxTM version 3.4 is now available. (You will normally receive a new version after your software support renewal is paid.) You will find many new features and improvements in this version. We have added a lot of small conveniences and messages that will prevent errors and speed data entry. We have also added some major new features in four areas including medical records.

New Features Added . . .

Support for Automatic Cash Drawer
ClienTraxTM version 3.4 now adds support for an automatic cash drawer. This steel drawer mounts under or on top of a counter or desk. It can also sit under a computer or monitor. It has a lock and will open with a key or when prompted by ClienTraxTM when the Payment window is completed. The drawer chimes when it opens. It features a removable tray so that a different tray can be used for each shift if desired. Each workstation can have a separate drawer if desired. (Remember, ClienTraxTM Daily Totals reports can be printed to show totals for each operator.) Please call for more information.

New Log Reports
There are now two new log reports in the Reports menu. You select Reports menu and then select Daily Logs (Expanded), or Daily Logs (Patients). These reports give you two new ways to get information on the items and/or services you have provided over any range of dates and range of item numbers. The new "Patients" Log option will provide all of the information required by most local government agencies for reporting Rabies vaccinations.

Hospital Census
You can now keep track of the location of your Patients from the time they come in the door until they are discharged! This is especially useful for larger practices. Now, you can see from any ClienTraxTM screen where your patients are located. To change a Patient's location, bring up the Client card, select the Patient and click the Census button on the lower right side of the screen above the Patient list. Then click the button representing the appropriate location for that patient and click the OK button. You can change the location of any Patient at any time by repeating the same steps and selecting a different location. When you want to see a summary of the locations of all Patients currently in the practice, click the Main Menu and select Census List.

Medical Records: What's New
Because of its point and click operation ClienTraxTM is an ideal means to go to "paperless" medical records. You can select a Template, (see above) enter a few extra words, and complete a record with just a few keystrokes. The new medical records screen features a section at the top that allows you to link to any item in the Inventory list. This means that you can establish a list of problems, diagnoses or other items. One item can be associated with each page in the medical records.

You can also "pop-up" a list of Templates or forms that you will use to create a record. Most records can be completed with a minimum of typing. Support: Toll-Free vs. Toll
You can reach us anytime you are working on the computer. Our software includes fully-staffed support lines Monday through Friday, 8:30-5:30 Central Time. We handle almost all calls as them come in. If we need to return your call, it is usually done within a few minutes. If you need after-hours ClienTraxTM support, you can call our regular support line and leave a voice-mail message. One of our staff will be paged automatically and you will receive a call in a few minutes.

We have noticed about one half of our support calls concern problems not relating to our software but to other software problems with Windows, the Macintosh, printers, tape backup software, etc. Some users have a hard time understanding which areas belong to our software and which more properly belong to Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Dell, etc. We are always willing to help our clients, but we also don't want these costs to be borne by all of the users. We are considering providing more support options to include support for Windows and backup software as well as our software. We are also considering making support calls a regular toll call instead of toll-free. Please help us with your suggestions and ideas!

New Proceedings
The Proceedings of the North American Veterinary Conference and the American Animal Hospital Association annual meetings for 1997 are now available. They are available on diskette (and very soon on CD-ROM) for Windows, MS-DOS and Macintosh. These Proceedings provide the text of the printed Proceedings in a completely indexed and readily searchable form. Multiple Proceedings can even be searched simultaneously! Please call or see our catalog for more information.

3 New Client Instructions Sets
Mosby Yearbook Publishing has released three new Client Instructions sets and granted Veterinary Software Publishing, Inc. the rights to publish these on disk. The newest titles are Instructions for Veterinary Clients: Canine and Feline Medical and Surgical Problems Third Edition, by Erlewein and Kuhns; Instructions for Veterinary Clients: Canine and Feline Behavior Problems, Second Edition, by Stefanie Schwartz and Instructions for Equine Clients by Mansmann and Miller. These sets feature hundreds of useful client handouts.

Many illustrations are also included. Each document can be modified on the screen and then printed. Clinic name, address, and veterinarian's name, etc. can be set in a Header or Footer to automatically print on each document. Please see the V.S.P, Inc. Catalog for more information and pricing.

Four Multimedia Titles Available
Please call for more information on Multimedia Cats, Dogs, Horses and Exotic Pets on CD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh computers. These four titles make great client education tools! They provide advice on when to seek veterinary attention for an animal, assistance in selecting the right pet or breed, and feature hundreds of color pictures and many full-motion videos.

STUDVET - Full Version on the Web
From: Michael Shaw <mshaw@GIL.COM.AU>

Dear colleagues,

Finally the finished Windows 95 version of STUDVET is on the Web. This version will not expire until September 1 in demonstration mode. The downloaded version can now be converted to the fully useable registered version by purchasing a license key. This means no delays to get a working version, just a quick fax or email, enter the provided key, and you are up and running.

Educational institutions please note. There has been a change in structure of the STUDVET organization, and with the new release there is a very generously discounted site license available to Universtities etc. wishing to use and teach with the program. Email for details.

Those of you who downloaded a previous version will find it has expired. The site is unchanged at

http://www.gil.com.au/comm/karavet

As always, anyone needing a copy mailed out need only email and ask.

Michael Shaw B.V.Sc.
mshaw@gil.com.au
Studvet Enterprises Pty. Ltd.
304 Mt. Crosby Road Chuwar
Queensland
Australia 4306
Ph: +61 7 32827888 Fax: +61 32827899

Successful Farming Online

http://www.agriculture.com/contents/sfonline/index.html

Successful Farming Online is a site dedicated to the monthly print magazine Successful Farming, the largest paid subscription farm magazine in the U.S. Approximately one-quarter of the magazine's features articles are available online, as well as a number of back issues. Successful Farming publishes articles, editorials and news related to agribusiness; farm products, legistation, and management; and other topics of importance to a farming family.

Contact: Loren Kruse, Editor-in-Chief, lkruse@dsm.mdp.com

or for other editors and support staff see:

http://www.agriculture.com/contents/sfonline/editors/whoswho.html

View3 Product Description
From: Eluem Blyden <eblyden@khepera.com>

http://www.khepera.com/kg/v3/index.html

I invite you to discover a revolutionary new product -- View3. View3 is an imaging and 3D modelling program designed for use by medical practitioners, radiologists and educators in research and teaching.
We would like to introduce our software to your members and would like to know if there is any newsgroup or forum where we can publicise it.
View3 is a powerful imaging application that fits into the familiar environment of your desktop PC! Working side-by-side with your word processor, web browser and other desktop applications, view3 lets you build and dissect detailed 2D and 3D models of your CT-, MRI or confocal microscopy data. Cut and paste sophisticated images into your reports with ease! Send 3D anatomical models to colleagues by email or publish them on the world wide web for remote viewing using our view3viewer! View3 can store, analyze and manipulate 2D and 3D images on a standard IBM compatible PC. It has an easy-to-use interface, file import functions and a built-in database that you will be comfortable with in minutes. Print out color pictures or build 3D models on your laptop at home!

Khepera Group, LLC is offering the complete DOS version of the program at an introductory price to customers who agree to take part in the beta testing program of view3WIN. View3WIN is a Windows application which allows color and stereographic viewing of 3D models built in the view3 system. The application has many sophisticated cutting, viewing and saving options that can be used to view models downloaded from the Web or built locally using the DOS view3 program.

More detailed information is to be found at our website.

Eluemuno R. Blyden,PH.D. Khepera
http://www.khepera.com

INTERNET RESOURCES

All the Virology on the WWW Update!
From: "Dr. David M. Sander" <DMSander@ix.netcom.com>

"All the Virology on the WWW" (http://www.tulane.edu/~dmsander/garryfavweb.html) is pleased to announce several updates of interest to our users:

- Our new AIDS/HIV links make our collection the most comprehensive available

- "The Big Picture Book of Viruses" has new VIRUS PICS from Abadina to Zirqa

- Our index of Microbiology and Virology Departments continues to grow....

- New additions to our unique JOBS page have made it a very popular addition

- We've added numerous labs to our list of VIROLOGY LABS - Do we have yours?

- Even more sites have been added to our WEIRD VIROLOGY section!

All the Virology on the WWW has also been adding to its already substantial collection of internet links of use to Virologists, Microbiologists and the general public. If you aren't familiar with the site, or would like to add a URL to my collection, please read "About All the Virology on the WWW" below, and don't miss the TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Thanks for your continued support!
David

Flea News
From: james <jrenfro@seas.upenn.edu>

Flea News <http://www.ent.iastate.edu/FleaNews/AboutFleaNews.html>

This biannual electronic newsletter is devoted to matters involving insects belonging to the order Siphonaptera (fleas). It is compiled and distributed free of charge by Robert E. Lewis, with the support of the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University in Ames, IA and a grant in aid from the ZOECON CORPORATION, a Sandoz company based in Dallas, TX. It is mainly bibliographic in nature, but recipients are urged to check any citations given here before including them in publications. Many of the sources are abstracting journals and title pages and not all citations have been checked for accuracy. Additional information will be provided upon written request. Further, recipients are urged to contribute items of interest to the profession for inclusion herein.

Articles are available in HTML and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Contact: Robert E. Lewis
Email: relewis@iastate.edu

Food Safety Listserv
From: Douglas A Powell <dpowell@uoguelph.ca>

Thanks to computer technology, the latest global developments in food safety risks - from mad cow disease to outbreaks of E. coli - are being made available to an audience worldwide of scientists, policy makers and laypeople through a University of Guelph-based daily listserv known as the Food Safety Network (Fsnet).

"There has been a huge interest in microbial food safety since the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant issue (in which an outbreak of the bacterium E. coli 0157:H7 traced to hamburgers caused the deaths of three children) broke," says Doug Powell, a U of G assistant professor and Science and Society Project Director who initiated the listserv. "The public is increasingly demanding to be involved in the decision-making process regarding food safety and health-related issues." Powell's office also produces Agnet (Agriculture Network), a listserv which carries material related to plant agriculture, including food biotechnology, chemical hazards, productivity and sustainability to various audiences.

These free electronic communications tools were initiated to promote awareness of public concerns in scientific and regulatory circles, to rapidly identify issues for risk management and communication activities, and to assist in risk analysis activitities. After a three-month trial period with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, FSnet went on-line in May 1995; Agnet, with funding from OMAFRA's plants program at the University of Guelph, was established in May 1996.

The daily creation of these listservs requires high-tech electronic sleuthing. Every day, Powell and two graduate students search a mass of electronic and paper information from Canadian, U.S. and international sources relating to agriculture and food safety. These articles are edited, condensed and posted daily on the FSnet and Agnet listservs, which are read by 900 and 700 members respectively, from 20 countries. Powell notes that analyzing and tracking articles related to food safety and agricultural issues functions as a tool to understand the formation of public opinion. In fact, it is possible to predict trends and how the public will react to perceptions of risks or benefits from these sources, which act as an early warning system.

"For example, after the mad cow disease story broke on March 20, 1996, it was clear that the main issue besides health was moral outrage over the fact rendered protein was beng used in cattle fed, which some described as feeding cows to other cows," says Powell. He notes that because uncertainty in scientific assessments often translates into public apprehension, effective risk communication must involve carefully constructed risk messages.These messages require up-to-the minute information as new risks are identified in the public arena. And given the fact that more people are being entrusted with decision-making without proper information, there is a greater need for services such as FSnet and Agnet.

"Speed in identifying and responding to claims that appear in the media is a crucial factor in the formation of public perceptions," he says. The information posted on the listservs also serves as a valuable research tool for students for qualitative and quantitative risk assessment; in fact, the listservs are required reading for several courses on campus. Recent case histories of risk communication and management are being published by McGill Queens University Press in May in Mad Cows and Mother's Milk. Written by Powell and Queens University professor Bill Leiss, the book's case histories concern plant biotechnology, breast implants, mad cow disease, hamburg disease, PCBs, dioxins and bovine somatotrophin.

To subscribe to FSnet, send mail to: listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca. Leave subject line blank, then type: subscribe fsnet-L firstname lastname. The two listservs are currently supported by OMAFRA, the U.S. National Food Processors Association, the U.S. National Pork Producers, AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment), Monsanto Canada, Hedley Technologies, Pioneer HiBred Limited (Canada) and the Ontario Soybean Growers Marketing Board. For media information, contact Doug Powell at Ext. 2367 or Communications and Public Affairs at Ext. 3338 at the University of Guelph, 519-824-4120. Send email to dpowell@uoguelph.ca or mboyd@exec.admin.uoguelph.ca. Check out our Web page at http://www.uoguelph/mediarel/

Web based Autotutorials
From: Phil Tillman <pctillman@UCDAVIS.EDU>

Some time ago I put some basic autotutorial materials on our website in the form of interactive tests seen through Netscape. I've intended for some time to modify the program so that anyone could use it. I finally got around to it.

It's very simple, it isn't polished or perfect, and it represents about 1994 technology, BUT, it's free, and it's yours if you want it. The only condition is that I don't have time to provide product support and won't be able to entertain phone calls about it. Compmeders are welcome to send me email if they have questions.

If you don't have access to the Web, the program won't be of interest to you. The program and instructions are posted at:

http://clueless.ucdavis.edu/autotoot/

Sample tests are posted at:

http://clueless.ucdavis.edu/autotoot.html

Phil Tillman
Phone: (916) 752-2357
FAX: (916) 752-4994
email: pctillman@ucdavis.edu

Food Safety CAI Lessons Available on the World Wide Web
From: "Ronald D. Smith" <rd-smith@uiuc.edu>

I invite you to help us beta test our "Simulated Antemortem and Postmortem Inspection" lesson on the World Wide Web. This is the first of a series of lessons that we will be making available from our "Food Safety CAI" site at...

http://sable.cvm.uiuc.edu/

The "Food Safety CAI" Web site is intended to provide distance learning
exercises in food safety and foodborne diseases for those whose current or future employment includes direct or indirect involvement in foods of animal origin. This would include the following audience:

1. Veterinary students as part of their professional curriculum.
2. Food animal veterinarians as part of a continuing education program.
3. FSIS inspectors and trainees as part of their normal training and CE programs.
4. Individuals working in local and state pubic health departments whose professional responsibilities include food safety.
5. Others (students and academics) in related food safety/public health programs.

The lessons are also intended to demonstrate how the Web can be used to provide continuing education (CE) credit. Student progress through each computer-assisted instruction (CAI) lesson is monitored by "TRACKER", a client-based system developed through a USDA-CSREES Higher Education Challenge Grant.

TRACKER includes the following features:

o Interactive scoring - evaluates and scores student responses to individual questions and each lesson overall.

o Distance learning support - instructor can assign lessons without any intervention. Student progress can be monitored through e-mail verification or captured on a local server.

o Platform independence - each lesson can be run using any Netscape 3.0-comparable, JAVA-enabled browser.

o Server independence - all functions are performed on the user's computer.

o Transportability - lesson modules can be distributed and run over the World Wide Web, on CD-ROM, or other high-density media.

o Easy editing - file name, location, and most recent revision are listed at the bottom of each page to facilitate editing. Lessons can be edited with Netscape Gold and other comparable editing programs.

o Interchangeable authoring tools - each lesson includes a number of client-side modules and help reference pages that can be used for authoring other lessons.

o Feedback to the authors - users can provide feedback to authors through e-mail links or forms.

At the end of each case the user is given an opportunity to fill out a very brief survey form and be added to our e-mail distribution list.

I would like to enlist others in this Web-based educational effort. If you or your colleagues have food safety/foodborne disease lesson content that you would like to adapt to an interactive Web-based delivery system I would be glad to provide programming support through the USDA-CSREES grant that has made this project possible.

Ronald D. Smith <rd-smith@uiuc.edu>

Cattlemen on the Hill Web Site
From: katwood@mail.earthlink.net

Came upon a new site called "Cattlemen on the Hill" <http://www.beef.org/hill> which may be of interest to folks. The site is maintained by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and appears to have a wealth of up-to-date information divided into these topic areas:

-Science & Regulatory
-Conservation
-Federal Lands
-Property Rights
-Farm Policy
-Tax & Credit
-Food & Nutrition
-Foreign Trade

In addition, it has judicial, regulatory and legislative updates covering the above topics as well as beef safety, cattle health & well-being, international markets, live-cattle marketing, inspection, check-off, position papers, bills, press releases, you name it.

It's worth a look.

Brazilian Virtual Veterinary Hospital
From: Cristina Jorge <cristina@SERVER.NIB.UNICAMP.BR>

Now Internet users can count on a new site to help veterinary research. The Brazilian Virtual Veterinary Hospital ( http://www.nib.unicamp.br/hvvb) is the first one in the world and hopes to help veterinarians and students all around the world in an unique information exchange, with both basic and specialized levels of information.

The Brazilian Virtual Veterinary Hospital also means to help breeders with information on feeding, reproduction, genetics, handling, emergencies, and much more. For this, the Hospital counts with a special department with easy reading information and professionals ready to answer questions and guide breeders with problems. This Hospital shows our concern in updating professionals, offering information on diseases,their causes, pathologies, diagnosis, and other usefull texts and links so that veterinary medicine can be shared world wide.

This project is one of many at the Center for Biomedical Informatics and is directed by Lucia Helena Salvetti de Cicco, journalist associated researcher. The project was idealized by Professor Dr. Renato M. E. Sabbatini, Director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Virtual Lab
From: patdaino@aol.com

HHMI's Virtual Lab: Test diagnostic skills in a Shockwave lab!

I am writing to alert you about a Web site where tomorrow's scientists can learn how our bodies fight infections, how vaccines work to prevent disease, and how some pathogens have evolved mechanisms of eluding our bodies' defense mechanisms.

Prepared by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the site is filled with cool "science stuff" for teenagers and teachers, including the most recent addition - - the HHMI Virtual Lab. This interactive laboratory, developed with Shockwave, will demonstrate how an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is carried out and some of the key experimental problems that may be encountered.

By completing this exercise, students will gain a better understanding of experimental design, key concepts in immunological reactions, and interpretation of data -- and have fun doing it!

YOU can become the scientist at HHMI's Virtual Lab by visiting http://www.hhmi.org/lectures/hiband/neat/start.htm at the HHMI Holiday Lectures on Science Web site. A free Shockwave plugin is required, and can be obtained through a download at http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/.

Surfers can also visit the rest of the Institute's Web site-- http://www.hhmi.org. Among its most popular new features is a full-length "Web book" on the remarkable transformation under way in undergraduate science education across the United States. "Beyond Bio 101"-- http://www.hhmi.org/BeyondBio101 --is filled with original reporting, lively graphics, and useful resources for biology educators at all levels.

All of the material is offered free as a public service by the Institute, which has awarded nearly $600 million in grants since 1988 to enhance science education at all levels -- the largest private initiative of its kind in U.S. history.

For more information on the HHMI Virtual Lab and Web site, educators should call (800) 219-7874,
send an e-mail to granthl@hq.hhmi.org, or visit http://www.hhmi.org/lectures/hiband/neat/start.htm

Reporters only should contact HHMI's David Jarmul at jarmuld@hq.hhmi.org
(301) 215-8857

We have also created colorful icons and text snippets for Web links, complete with instructions at http://drwebby.com/hhmi/how2link.html For help with the links, contact Steffanie Lynch at link2hhmi@drwebby.com
(804) 739-0165

NEWS AND COMMENTARY

Canine Mortality Project
From: James Case <jcase@CVDLS.UCDAVIS.EDU>

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Small Animal practitioners are invited to participate in a new venture, a Canine Mortality Surveillance Program. After submitting an application, participants will be given access to a password protected Web site to submit data on cases. Submissions should take less than 10 to 15 minutes per week. Participants will also be given access privileges to results, rates, trends, geographic distribution of canine diseases as seen in clinical practice, an invaluable tool to aid in making patient health care decisions and recommendations.

There is no charge to the participating practitioner.

For more information, visit

http://sphinx.ucdavis.edu/users/g/ggobar/survey/info.htm.

To become a participant, complete the application at

http://sphinx.ucdavis.edu/users/g/ggobar/survey/application.htm

"Universities Won't Survive"
From: Edupage Editors <educom@elanor.oit.unc.edu>, 27 February 1997

Renowned management consultant and author Peter Drucker says: "Thirty years from now the big university campuses will be relics. Universities won't survive. It's as large a change as when we first got the printed book. Do you realize that the cost of higher education has risen as fast as the cost of health care? ... Such totally uncontrollable expenditures, without any visible improvement in either the content or the quality of education, means that the system is rapidly becoming untenable. Higher education is in deep crisis... Already we are beginning to deliver more lectures and classes off campus via satellite or two-way video at a fraction of the cost. The college won't survive as a residential institution. " (Forbes 10 Mar 97)

Online Journal of Veterinary Research (OJVR)
From: Vincent Guerrini <jvet@powerup.com.au>

This is an invitation to your professional staff to consider publishing research work in Online Journal of Veterinary Research (OJVR). OJVR relies on its highly qualified international professorial editorial board and external review process to maintain its long term reputation. We offer higher quality publication with color graphics and interactive results as well as faster processing and publishing time than the standard fare (paper print) The journal has recently published two manuscripts with color graphic data and microphotographs "Experimental intoxication by yellow-wood (terminalia oblongata) in sheep" by Filippich et al (1997) and "Rule of thumb for by vaporizers" W-Reynolds (1997).

The journals main page can be located at http://www.cpb.uokhsc.edu/OJVR/jvet196a.htm (Oklahoma State, USA) or http://www.powerup.com.au/~jvet/jvet196a.htm or http://www.uq.edu.au/~zzjvet/jvet196a.htm (University of Queensland, Australia)

Details for submissions and the articles can be viewed by following the links on the main page cited above.

Sincerely,
V. H. Guerrini DVM, MMedVet, PhD.
Editor-In-Chief

MEETINGS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

See the informatics section of NetVet for a more complete and current list of informatics-related activities at <http://netvet.wustl.edu/info.htm>

May 1 - 30, 1997
Electronic Conference on Surveillance for TSEs of Livestock

The New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture is planning to host an international Electronic Conference on Surveillance for the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies of Livestock. The conference will run from 1 May until 30 May 1997. You are invited to participate in this Electronic Conference on Surveillance for the TSEs of Livestock if;

*you are involved in national, state, area or industry sector livestock disease surveillance programmes or;
*you are involved in policy formulation with respect to livestock disease surveillance and control at national, state or industry sector level or;
*you are involved in quarantine policy formulation or;
*you are involved in the laboratory diagnosis of TSEs of animals or;
*you are a veterinary epidemiologist with an interest in surveillance for diseases, disease control programmes or diagnostic test validation or;
*you are a researcher with an interest in the TSEs.

The conference is to be conducted as a moderated discussion via electronic mail and all participants will require access to the Internet. The language of the Electronic Conference on Surveillance for the TSEs of Livestock will be English.

The intention of this electronic conference is to provide a forum for wide-ranging discussion and debate on appropriate, realistic and practicable approaches to maintaining surveillance for scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and chronic wasting disease in sheep, goats, cattle, deer and other domestic animals.

Most of the opinions offered by participants will be on an individual basis and will not represent official national or international positions except when explicitly stated.

Specific issues to be discussed in the Electronic Conference on Surveillance for the TSEs of Livestock include;

*Current surveillance programmes for scrapie, BSE and chronic wasting disease.
*Structured surveys for TSEs in livestock populations; are they meaningful?
*Investigation of suspected cases of TSE in livestock.
*The place of various diagnostic tests in surveillance programmes.
*The genotyping of sheep for scrapie susceptibility; how might this be applied in surveillance programmes?
*On what basis might a herd or flock be certified as free from TSEs?
*On what basis might a country be considered free from scrapie? From BSE?

Recommendations arising from the Electronic Conference on Surveillance for TSEs of Livestock will have no official status. However, we hope that conclusions reached as a result of this conference will form a basis for discussions within the national veterinary services of the countries participating. The conclusions may also form a basis by which national veterinary services can carry on further official discussions in international fora.

How to Join

In order to participate in the electronic conference, you need to have access to electronic mail (email). The listserver and list that we will be using for the conference has been set up on a computer at Netlink, an Internet access provider in Wellington, New Zealand. To join the conference please:

Step 1

Send an email message to the address: majordomo@netlink.co.nz

Leave the subject line of your email blank but in the body of the message type:

subscribe tse-conference

After you send this email message you should receive from majordomo (the name of the listserver) an acknowledgement that your subscription request has been received and will be processed. In a separate message you will be asked to introduce yourself.

Step 2

To introduce yourself send a message to the address:

owner-tse-conference@netlink.co.nz

NOTE! this address is different from the address that you used to subscribe. It is also different from the address that we will be using for the conference. Please follow the instructions and send an email that includes the following information:

Your name
Institution
Address
Fax
Email
No more than two sentences outlining your interest in surveillance for livestock diseases or the TSEs of animals.

We require that all participants provide this information before we subscribe them to the conference. As soon as you are subscribed to the conference you will receive a message confirming your subscription and giving instructions on how to unsubscribe.

You may unsubscribe at any time by sending an email to majordomo@netlink.co.nz with the following one line message: unsubscribe tse-conference

Please subscribe and introduce yourself as soon as possible! The formal conference will begin May 1. If you have any problems subscribing or introducing yourself, please send an email message to either Stuart C MacDiarmid (macdiarmids@ra.maf.govt.nz) or Howard Pharo (pharoh@ra.maf.govt.nz).

We look forward to your participation in this Electronic Conference on Surveillance for the TSEs of Livestock.

Ian R. Dohoo,
Associate Dean - Research, Atlantic Veterinary College
University of P.E.I.,
Charlottetown, P.E.I. C1A 4P3 CANADA
e.mail <dohoo@upei.ca> phone 902-566-0640 FAX 902-566-0958

May 28-31, 1997
1997 AMIA Spring Congress; Fairmong Hotel; San Jose, CA
(See the Jan-Feb, 1997 AVI Newsletter for details)

June 16-20 and August 18-22, 1997
Stanford Medical Informatics Short Course
(See the Jan-Feb, 1997 AVI Newsletter for details)

August 23-29, 1997
15th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence; Nagoya, Japan
(See the Jan-Feb, 1997 AVI Newsletter for details)

September 4-6, 1997
GEOMED '97; Rostock, Germany
(See the Jan-Feb, 1997 AVI Newsletter for details)

September 10-14, 1997
Veterinary Informatics at the 5th World Equine Veterinary Association; Padova, Italy
(See the July-August, 1996 AVI Newsletter for details)

CLOSING BITS

Teacher of the Year Shuns Information Technology
From The Chronicle of Higher Education, Monday, March 24.

Last year's "TEACHER OF THE YEAR" at California State University at Chico has given away his $1,000 prize to protest the increasing use of computers and technology in education.

Association forVeterinary InformaticsNEWSLETTER