|
Association for
Veterinary Informatics
NEWSLETTER
September - October, 1997
Chuck Cohen
(Branford, CT) - President; Robin Starr-Chichester (Conifer, CO) -
President Elect, James T. Case (UC-Davis) - Secretary Treasurer;
Ronald D. Smith (Illinois) - Newsletter Editor
IN THIS ISSUE
ASSOCIATION
NEWS
AVI
Election Report - 1997
From:
JimCase@AOL.COM
Mailed
ballots were sent out to all eligible AVI members on June 19,
1997. The total number of ballots mailed was 128. The deadline for
return of the ballots was July 15, 1997. All ballots had prepaid
postage attached to encourage return. Fifty-six ballots were
returned for a rate of 43.75%.
The ballots contained
nominees for President, President-Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer.
The results of the voting are:
President
Dr. Chuck
Cohen - 54
Other - 0
President-Elect
Dr. Robin
Starr-Chichester - 54
Other - 0
Secretary-Treasurer
Dr.
Jim Case - 56
Other - 0
Respectfully submitted,
James
T. Case DVM, Ph.D.
Secretary/Treasurer
Minutes
of the CAI special interest group at AVMA
From:
"Cheryl R. Dhein" <crd@VETMED.WSU.EDU>
The
minutes for the CAI discussion group at the AVMA meeting in Reno
are posted at:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/avicai/avicai.html
Please send
me any information about CAI programs or about your interests,
skills, etc (related to CAI) that you would like to have posted at
this site.
Thanks
Cheryl Dhein
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
Wildlife
Medical Database
From: Mark
Pokras <MarkPokras@infonet.tufts.edu>
We
are setting up a homepage on wildlife medical values that may be
of interest to rehabilitators, researchers and veterinarians.
http://www.WPI.EDU/Projects/Tufts/
We would
appreciate it if you would take a look at it, fill out the
questionnaire and send us any comments you may have.
Also,
if anyone has data sets of hematologic or serum chemistry info for
any wildlife species, we'd love to talk to you about incorporating
your info on the list. We are looking for good quality data,
preferably from "normal" populations of wild
animals.
Mark Pokras
Wildlife Clinic
Tufts Univ.
School of Veterinary Medicine
200 Westboro Rd.
N. Grafton,
MA 01536 USA
TEL: 508-839-7918
FAX: 508-839-7930
e-mail:
<markpokras@infonet.tufts.edu>
Year
2000?
From: "Ken
Boschert, DVM" <KEN@WUDCM.WUSTL.EDU>
I'm
sure most of you are aware of the looming "Year 2000"
problem. It certainly forced us to obtain new database software
for our operation. Anyway, I am seeking any individuals who have
studied the issues re: Year 2000 and its impact on the veterinary
profession. I have been asked by one of the Veterinary print
publications to either refer someone or be interviewed. My own
knowledge of the issues are really just how it applied to our
local situation....though I know there are larger issues as well.
So I'm looking for anyone who considers themselves conversational
about the topic in general and are willing to be interviewed. If
you write to me (offlist), I will forward you the additional
details. Thanks, Ken
CAMOUFLAGE
COMPUTERS -
GLOBAL AUTOMATION IN THE VETERINARY SERVICE
Colonel
Stephanie Sherman
<col_stephanie_sherman@medcom2.smtplink.amedd.army.mil>
and
Major Bruce
Williams
<williams@afip.mil>
Introduction
of the Veterinary Information Plan (VIP)/Veterinary Service
Information Management System (VSIMS) - COL Sherman
The U.S. Army Veterinary Service has a unique mission
within the Department of Defense (DoD). The US Army is the
Executive Agent for Veterinary Services for DoD. The US Army
Veterinary Service (VS) performs this mission at the direction of
the Army Surgeon General. VS must provide support to Army, Navy,
Air Force, Marine Corps, all other DoD agencies, and several other
federal agencies. The assorted, required services can be reduced
to four broad mission categories: (1) food hygiene, safety and
quality assurance, (2) preventive medicine and public health, (3)
research and development, (4) animal health care. In global terms,
the Army Veterinary Service directly supports the readiness
posture of the national defense effort.
The Veterinary
Service in 1993 developed a working team, the Veterinary
Information Plan (VIP) Team, to explore, coordinate and pursue the
development of a world wide, all veterinary service inclusive
program of information management. In connection with the Office
of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) (OASD[HA])
Military Health Services System (MHSS) program, the VIP Team
developed the Veterinary Service Information Management System
(VSIMS) in 1995 as the backbone of the Veterinary Service's
information system. The goal was to develop and implement a user
friendly, reliable information management system to effectively
and efficiently transfer and use information within the Veterinary
Service in support of medical readiness and the digitized force.
Using a modular approach to deployment of VSIMS, the
Veterinary Service (VS) has established a World Wide Web Home
Page; Internet electronic mail with discussion groups and
newsletters; a daily updated, on-line Directory of Sanitarily
Approved Establishments via Lotus Notes; and teleradiology between
US Customs at Ft. Myer and the DoD Dog Center. Under current
development, with deployment anticipated soon, are computer based
and multimedia training programs, a DoD Military Working Dog
medical record data base, an RC Home Page and a prime vendor data
base.
The objectives of this system are to:
Be driven
by customer needs
Promote a
more unified DoD Veterinary Service
Disseminate
information throughout the Veterinary Service in a timely fashion
Support
exportable training
Increase
employment of veterinary subject matter experts
Promote
the Veterinary Services mission throughout the AMEDD, the DoD,
the veterinary profession, and the general public
Enhance
interaction with remote duty sites
Provide
an architectural base for future telemedicine initiatives
Promote recruiting and retention
What does this mean for an AVMA member?
With the increase in group practices with multiple separated
sites, large corporate practices, and centralized referral centers
of board certified specialists, many of the mechanisms of
information exchange used by the Veterinary Service may be
applicable and practical for others. Also provides another source
for information sharing. Potential for interaction between AVMA
systems, the Army VSIMS, and other sources of veterinary
information is great.
An
introduction to the Army Veterinary Service's Home Page and
mailing list concepts - MAJ Williams
Several years ago, the leadership of the Veterinary Corps
realized that the Internet provided an efficient, low-cost
solution to communication difficulties which had been present
within the Vet Services for many years. Due to the worldwide
distribution of Veterinary Services personnel, distribution of
important information concerning everything from animal medicine
to food safety often took days to weeks to thread its way though
distribution channels. Today, thanks to the Internet and concerned
volunteers within the Veterinary Services, information travels
rapidly around the globe keeping everyone from Adak, Alaska to
Bangkok, Thailand aware of the latest news.
Veterinary
Services WWW Site
The
Veterinary Services WWW site is accessible not only to Veterinary
Service personnel around the world, but also to the general
public. On the site, we attempt to not only provide timely
information to Vet Services personnel, but also to offer the
general public information on the US Army Veterinary Services and
its many missions around the world. Of course, because the
World-Wide Web is a non-secure means of information distribution,
we do not post any information of a sensitive or potentially
inflammatory nature.
Because of the varied computer
resources available at Veterinary units and our sister services
throughout the world, the Veterinary service WWW site is not a
graphic intensive site. It is our intention to maximize the amount
of information delivered, and minimize the time the user spends
waiting for graphics.
Let's take a look at some of the
features available on the Vet Services Web site, located at...
http://vetpath1.afip.mil/Vet_Services/VS.html
When we look at the Home page, we see a
variety of subjects available to visitors. Probably the most
important page of interest to Veterinary personnel - VSNews.
Formally known for years as the Good News Notes, via the WWW, the
Veterinary Services now is able to transmit news electronically
around the world, eliminating the long delays previously
associated with the print version of the Good News notes. Inside
VSNews we can find whose recently transferred, who's been
promoted, advice for increasing your potential for promotion,
upcoming courses, and much more.
Another popular page at
the WWW site is directed at veterinary students who are
considering a career in the Army Veterinary Corps. At the Vet
Corps Home page, they can find out information on the many
missions that a Veterinary Corps Officer may participate in, as
well as the great benefits a career in the Army will offer, and
information on points of contact at their schools, as well as
links to Vet Corps officers who can answer any of their
questions.
There is medical material available for military
veterinarians, as well as civilian veterinarians who choose to
access it. The MWD Center at San Antonio offers a comprehensive
review of the radiologic changes seen in hip dysplasia, as well as
tips on taking a good hip radiograph. Clicking on any of these
thumbnails will bring up a larger, higher resolution radiograph
for closer inspection. Also, the Web site contains the latest
information on importation and quarantine requirements of many
countries where U.S. servicemen and women are stationed.
The
American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine utilizes the
Veterinary Services Web Server to serve its web page. At this
site, you can view the newsletters from the ACVPM its bylaws, and
a list of current officers.
Any specialty group within the
U.S. Army Veterinary Service is welcome to link to the Army WWW
page. Currently pages exist for the Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology and the Laboratory Animal Medicine Program. The AFIP
page is currently the largest Web site dealing with Veterinary
Pathology in the world today.
The Veterinary Services Web
site also offers information on many food pathogens via electronic
posting of the Handbook on Food Borne Pathogenic Organisms from
the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Food safety
personnel not only in the Veterinary Services but in other related
fields can now find out the latest information on a wide variety
of food borne pathogens, from Salmonella to botulism and
everything in between.
Finally, the Veterinary Services
offers a comprehensive listing of addresses and phone numbers of
veterinary treatment facilities around the world. You can search
by state or country, as well as by keyword. Due to privacy act
requirements, listings of assigned personnel are not available.
The Veterinary Service's WWW site is the result of the
effort of many individuals who give of their own personal time. It
has proven to be an extremely popular and efficient method of
distributing information to Veterinary Service's personnel around
the world as well as the general public and our civilian
veterinary colleagues about the many exciting things that the
Veterinary Service is doing today.
VSMail
But
not all information is applicable for public dissemination. The
Veterinary Service also uses the Internet to distribute
information of a more sensitive nature, or information which would
not be of interest to the general public. While we do not use the
Internet for transmission of any secure data, the Veterinary
Service uses a list server to conduct ongoing discussions about
current issues in veterinary medicine and food safety, as well as
disseminate timely information on a wide range of subjects of
interest to U.S. Army personnel. The Army veterinary Service
currently uses three separate lists, VSMail (for general purpose
information of interest to all VS personnel), Clinical Med (for
discussion of topics of interest to practicing veterinarians), and
RCMail (for dissemination of interest and discussion of topics
between veterinarians currently serving in the Reserve
Components.)
Currently, over 400 individuals and
activities receive VSMail on a daily basis. While subscription to
VSMail is closely monitored by Veterinary Service personnel,
VSMail is open to personnel of any rank, colleagues in sister
services, and retirees as well.
VSMail is delivered on a
daily basis via email to all participants. Participants may choose
to post new articles, reply to current discussions, or simply just
read the info and keep abreast of the latest goings-on in the
Veterinary Service.
Participating in VSMail is as easy as
reading and writing any other type of electronic mail. Current
veterinary topics are always of interest to our 400 Veterinary
Corps Officers around the world. Recently, a spate of postings
about vaccine-associated sarcomas in cats drew a number of posts
from subject matter experts throughout the Veterinary Corps, in
clinical postings as well as research in development.
The
beauty of Clinical Med is that it allows a young Captain
practicing at a remote assignment the opportunity to ask questions
of more experienced specialists at training centers. The Military
Working Dog Center, the Armed forces Institute of Pathology, the
US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and
many other centers of excellence subscribe to Clinical Med daily.
Well, those are the current Internet initiatives which the
Veterinary Information Program is currently pursuing. Through our
successes in delivering information to veterinary personnel
throughout the world in an efficient and cost-effective manner,
the Veterinary Information Program has become a vital and much
appreciated facet of the DOD Veterinary Service's mission.
PRODUCT
AVAILABILITY/REVIEWS/COMPARISONS
DEMO
- VetBase Software
VetBase
is a database of literature references to over 12,000 doses of
drugs for 800 veterinary drugs in 130 species. The species covered
include traditional farm and laboratory animals, zoo species,
fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Doses for primates are
excluded. Over 4500 of these doses concern the relief or
prevention of pain. The doses are derived from British, American,
French, German and Dutch sources (journal articles, books,
conference proceedings etc.). They are included whether they are
licensed for use for a particular species or not. The
classification of the drugs is an adapted version of the
Anatomical Therapeutical Classification System for veterinary
medical products, which classifies by site of action, therapeutic
effects and chemical characteristics. Generic drug names are used
exclusively.
VetBase is produced by Dr. Hans Kuiper and Dr.
H.J. Kuiper in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The database is a
custom-made MS-Windows application, requiring Windows 3.1 or
Windows 95. A free demo of VetBase for IBM Windows is now
available. The demo is fully functional for a limited range of
drugs (anthelmintics in rodents). Searches for other drug
categories return the number of references that the full version
contains.
This file (1.2 MB) must be unpacked using the
shareware program pkunzip. Type 'pkunzip vetbase.zip' on your
local computer. Then run the vbsetup.exe program and follow the
instructions on the
screen.
-----------------------------------------
Adrian
Smith <adrian.smith@veths.no>
writes:
Those (of you) who have used our web pages
featuring databases that address the three R's
(http://oslovet.veths.no/databasesintro.html) will be aware of
VetBase, produced by Compmedder Hans Kuiper and his brother in
Utrecht, The Netherlands. VetBase is a database of doses of
veterinary drugs derived from the literature. It contains
references to over 12,000 doses for 800 veterinary drugs in 130
species.
A free demo version of VetBase is now available.
The demo is fully functional for a limited range of drugs
(anthelmintics in rodents). Searches for other drug categories
return the number of references that the full version contains.
The demo can be downloaded from our web site:
http://oslovet.veths.no/databasesintro.html#VetBase
Professor
Adrian Smith,
Laboratory Animal Unit,
Norwegian College of
Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box 8146 Dep.,
N-0033
Oslo,
Norway
------------------------------------------
Ken
Boschert <KEN@WUDCM.WUSTL.EDU>
writes:
Having seen the preview copy of the software and
using it's predecessor, I think many veterinarians would be
interested in this product. The brothers Kuiper have done another
excellent job of programming.
Free
Demo - CourseSite Generator
From:
Stephen Gilfus <srg7@CORNELL.EDU>
For those of you
interested in finding tools for distance education and distance
learning. CourseInfo is offering free demos of it's CourseSite
Generator. Make yourself a course and use the tools to change the
information. If you decide you would like to keep the course send
us an e-mail with the appropriate information and we will leave it
on our server. Otherwise we will be deleting them every two weeks.
I think you will find the demo user friendly and easy to
use. You may find the generator at...
<http://www.courseinfo.com/generator.html>
Please
let us know any comments or suggestions you may have.
Stephen
Gilfus
Vice President
CourseInfo
Making education
easier!!!
<sgilfus@courseinfo.com>
Review
our materials at <http://courseinfo.com>
Education should be easy! CourseInfo provides academic
institutions with an educational advantage by creating products
that facilitate communication, between the
teacher and the
learner, through innovative uses of Internet technology.
Ear
Tag Traces Beef from Cow to Carcass
From:
Food Safety Network <FSNET-L@LISTSERV.UOGUELPH.CA>
July
10, 1997; Western Producer; p.71
Barbara Duckworth
Electronic
technology to trace and gather data is available for breeders so
that they can track carcasses back to bloodlines so they can
choose sires with the ability to produce better meat. The
electronic tags were developed by Allflex USA and 500 reusable
tags have been bought by the Canadian Simmental Association and
will be leased to producers interested in gathering carcass data.
The tags will link cattle to packaging plant computers that can
provide information on carcass quality, grade and yield. The tags
will be linked to a program that ties directly into a national
initiative to identify all the cattle in Canada to trace possible
health records as well as carcass information.
New
Fish-Vet Programme
From: "Mr.
Shawn Prescott" <fishvet@jagunet.com>
Fish-Vet
r Inc, is pleased to announce that after some 3 years of intensive
work, it will release at the upcoming AquaNor conference and trade
show in Trondheim Norway next month, Fish-Vet r 2.0.
This
programme, which is an aid to the diagnosis of problems with fish,
has built on the experience of Fish-Vet r 1.0, but we have been
honored to have the cooperation (numerous) collaborators, who have
given their expertise to help make this programme a real state of
the art tool for all those persons, whose work brings them into
daily contact with fish.
We are most grateful to all the
under-mentioned and especially so to Dr. Tor Hastein of the
Central Veterinary Laboratory in Norway, for all his encouragement
and help to start the long process, of further development. Also
to Mr. Kent Hauck of the Dept. of Agriculture (Fish Pathology
division), in Utah, for his tremendous help in both his
contributions, as well as his enormous assistance in helping us
with many of the day to day problems of editing, and finding other
experts. Both of these persons, as well as the 37 others, we hope
will be pleased with the results of their work, and we hope to
continue the work with them and others as by definition, we can
never finish such a programme.
There are so many new
features in Fish-Vet r 2.0, that it is impossible to mention them
all here. Many have been suggested by existing users of Fish-Vet r
1.0, others by our contributors. There are well over original
colour photos. Comparative determination of parasites is a new
feature, as well as Bibliographical material, essays by the
contributors and much more.
Free demo of the Fish-Vet
software at our Web site...
http://www.jagunet.com/~fishvet
For full illustrated description of all
our Videos & books please visit our web site at
http://www.jagunet.com/~fishvet
We welcome your inquiries.
Shawn
Prescott
Director Fish-Vet Inc.
INTERNET
RESOURCES
FDA
Veternarian - Electronic Version
From:
fdacvm@vetmed.vt.edu
http://www.cvm.fda.gov/fda/TOCs/fdavettoc.html
FDA Veternarian is an electronic version
of the bi-monthly print newletter of the same title.
Recent
Table of Contents
CELEBRATING
NATIONAL PET WEEK
RABBITS
AS PETS
UPDATED
POLICY ON THE USE OF ANIMAL ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATION
PRODUCTS
IN SWINE
TIME
EXTENDED FOR RELABELING OF CTC/OTC FEEDS
CVM
KICKS-OFF LICENSING
ANTIDOTE
FOR ETHYLENE GLYCOL POISONING APPROVED
FDA
VETERINARY MEDICINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO MEET
CVM
REORGANIZES
FOOD
SAFETY EDUCATION CONFERENCE SCHEDULED
APPROVAL
WITHDRAWN
TECHNICAL
AMENDMENT
REGULATORY
ACTIVITIES
CORRECTION
NEW
ANIMAL DRUG APPROVALS
ABBREVIATED
NEW ANIMAL DRUG APPROVALS
SUPPLEMENTAL NEW ANIMAL DRUG
APPROVALS
Changed
URL for New Animal Drug Approval Abstracts
From:
Diane Gildersleeve <dgilders@mail.vt.edu>
The
www pages formerly known as the "FDA Approved Animal Drug
Database" that were located at
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/vetfda.html have been
moved!
The new name of the page more accurately reflects
the page's resources: New Animal Drug Approval Abstracts. **The
old URL no longer contains any substantive information concerning
animal drug approvals.** The URL for the new page is:
http://www.cvm.fda.gov/index/iHNADA.html
The page allows you to search the text of
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) abstracts for each Product on
the FDACVM Approved Animal Drug List. These abstracts are created
monthly by the Drug Information Laboratory at Virginia Tech.
This
page was created as part of the redesign of the FDA's Center for
Veterinary Medicine pages. The new look for the CVM pages begins
on:
http://www.cvm.fda.gov/
**Please note** that if you formerly
linked to the CVM "What's New" page, the new URL for
that page is:
http://www.cvm.fda.gov/fda/mappgs/whatsnew.html
A few other
pages have also been moved, so check your links if you think they
might be outdated! Please update your links to our pages, and feel
free to add links to our pages if you wish.
You can direct
any questions about the CVM site to
fdacvm@informatics.vetmed.vt.edu
or to me.
American College
of Veterinary Surgeons New Web Wite
From:
Diane Gildersleeve <dgilders@mail.vt.edu>
The
American College of Veterinary Surgeons ("ACVS") has
launched its world wide web homepage. The URL is:
http://www.acvs.org/
The page
provides general information about the ACVS, as well as specific
information about diplomate status, ACVS governance and
operations, and the annual ACVS symposium. The symposium pages
include a full schedule of the October 1997 symposium
presentations and speakers, as well as a registration form and
information about travel and accomodations.
Please feel
free to link to the ACVS page from your own pages!
If you
have any questions about the ACVS site, you can contact Dr. Peter
Shires at shirespk@mail.vt.edu
or me.
Diane Gildersleeve
Drug Information
Laboratory
Phase IV, Room 285
Virginia-Maryland Regional
College of Veterinary Medicine
Blacksburg,
Virginia
dgilders@vt.edu
(540)
231-4427
(540) 231-2798 (fax)
WWW:
Hardin Meta Directory update - Microbiology/Infectious Diseases
From:
rumsey@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
(Eric Rumsey)
This is to announce an updated version of the
Hardin Meta Directory web page for Microbiology/Infectious
Diseases . All links have been checked to confirm connection and
new links have been added, including the following:
Internet
Microbiology & Infectious Disease Resources, Victorian
Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Australia
Infectious
Disease WebLink, Paul Deziel, Grace Hospital, Detroit, MI
Parasitological URL's, David Gibson,
Natural History Museum, London, UK
A *new and important feature* for Hardin
MD is that we are now using a link checker to check the connection
rate for the lists that are included. Generally the lists with
better connection rates are toward the top of their size category
(although size of the list is also a consideration in placement).
Lists on the updated Hardin MD Microbiology/Infectious Diseases
page with especially good connection rates include:
MedMark
Infectious
Diseases, DK Jang, MedMark Team, Korea
Karolinska
Institute MIC-KIBIC MeSH Index
Bacterial
and Fungal Diseases
Internet
Microbiology & Infectious Disease Resources, Victorian
Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Australia
Karolinska
Institute MIC-KIBIC MeSH Index
Virus
Diseases
Infectious
Disease WebLink, Paul Deziel, Grace Hospital, Detroit, MI
Yahoo:Science:Biology:Microbiology
Martindale's
Health Science Guide Virology
Karolinska
Institute MIC-KIBIC MeSH Index
Parasitic Diseases
Of course, using our link checker, the
links on our own pages have superlative connection rates,
generally above 98%.
The URL for the Hardin Meta Directory
Microbiology/Infectious Diseases page is -
http://www.arcade.uiowa.edu/hardin-www/md-micro.html
Please check
it out !
If you would like to receive e-mail notices for
all Hardin MD updates (1-2 messages per wk), please e-mail me
directly at rumsey@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu.
DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY TO THIS MESSAGE.
Eric Rumsey, Hardin
Library for the Health Sciences University of Iowa, Iowa City IA
52242
<eric-rumsey@uiowa.edu>
319-335-9875
(voice), 319-335-9897 (fax) Hardin Meta Directory of Internet
Health Sources http://www.arcade.uiowa.edu/hardin-www/md.html
Reviewed in Consumer Reports, Feb 1997, p 29
Foodborne
Disease Outbreak Investigation Exercises on Food Safety CAI Web
Site
From: "Ronald D.
Smith" <rd-smith@uiuc.edu>
Earlier
this year I announced the availability of "Simulated
Antemortem and Postmortem Inspection" lessons on our "Food
Safety CAI" Web site. I now announce the availability of a
second set of food safety-related exercises focusing on the
investigation of foodborne disease outbreaks.
These
exercises can be found on 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:
Veterinary
students as part of their professional curriculum.
Food
animal veterinarians as part of a continuing education program.
FSIS
inspectors and trainees as part of their normal training and CE
programs.
Individuals
working in local and state pubic health departments whose
professional responsibilities include food safety.
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:
Response
judging and scoring - evaluates and scores student responses to
individual questions and each lesson overall.
Intelligent
sequencing - user progression through each lesson is contingent
upon completion of lesson sequence prerequites.
Context-sensitive
help - help available on demand throughout each lesson.
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.
Platform
independence - each lesson can be run using any Netscape
3.0-comparable browser.
Server
independence - all functions are performed on the user's
computer.
Transportability
- lesson modules can be distributed and run over the World Wide
Web, on CD-Rom, or other high-density media.
Easy
editing - file name, location, and most recent revision are
listed at the bottom of each page to facilitate editing. Lesson
content can be edited with any text editor.
Intechangeable
authoring tools - each lesson includes a number of client-side
modules and help reference pages that can be used for authoring
other lessons.
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. Compressed versions of the
lessons for Windows95 and Macintosh can be downloaded by selecting
the "Download" button at the bottom of the opening
screen.
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.
RD Smith
NEWS
AND COMMENTARY
Network
Administrator Job Opening
From:
Charles E Branch <branch@MAIL.AUBURN.EDU>
We
have a position opening for a network administrator. This person
is responsible the college's UNIX network, including both the
clinical and academic servers. If you know of any UNIX gurus
looking for a wonderful place to live and work, please mention it
to them.
The position is described at
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/home.html#jobs
Soon we expect to have another vacancy for a
database applications programmer.
Charles Branch
-
Charles E. Branch, Ph.D.
- Department of Physiology and
Pharmacology - - 213 Greene Hall
- Auburn University, AL
36849
- Phone: 334-844-5414 FAX: 334-844-5388
- Internet:
Branch@Mail.Auburn.edu
- WWW URL: http://www.auburn.edu/~branch
AVMA
Will Maintain NetVet and the Electronic Zoo
From:
"Ken Boschert, DVM" <KEN@WUDCM.WUSTL.EDU>
It's
awkward to talk about oneself, but I thought I'd explain a bit
about what's going on with my Webserver. I have come to an
agreement with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
whereby they will maintain and update my 4 year effort known as
NetVet and the Electronic Zoo. I will remain involved with the
project as a consultant to AVMA.
It's been fun to
represent the veterinary profession (hopefully well) during this
time period, but it's also been a lot of work, usually at the
expense of my personal life, my sleep, and getting other projects
off the ground or completed. It's time to let others continue the
web effort and I have every confidence in the team assembled by
AVMA....who will have 4 people doing what I was doing by myself,
along with much more.
I also want to thank the people here
and elsewhere whose visits have made the NetVet/E-Zoo server such
a popular spot on the Internet (averaging close to 10,000 people a
day equalling a total of 66 million + hits during the time period
I kept track of it). Without your support, it would not be where
it is today.
I'm looking forward to the facelift the
NetVet/E-Zoo site will be getting over the next few weeks. Based
on what I know of their future efforts, you will want to keep a
permanent bookmark on the AVMA site as it takes shape during the
next year. For those interested, you can read further details at:
http://www.avma.org/conv/news97/cvtue10.htm
or see the AVMA's main home page at http://www.avma.org/
Also,
don't forget the original NetVet server (http://netvet.wustl.edu/)
entirely, as my remaining and future projects will continue to be
housed there. I'll also have another announcement soon regarding a
related Internet book project with Mosby.
Thanks
again,
Ken
RFP for WEB
Site Development for CONVINCE
From:
"Cheryl R. Dhein" <crd@VETMED.WSU.EDU>
CONVINCE
(Consortium of North American Veterinary Interactive New Concept
Education) is a not-for-profit organization allied with the
American Veterinary Medical Association. The primary purpose of
CONVINCE is to encourage cooperative development and sharing of
computer-aided instruction programs for veterinary medical
education. Additional information about the organization is
available at http://www.convince.org.
CONVINCE
is currently accepting proposals with a budget not to exceed
$10,000, to expand and manage the web site
(http://www.convince.org)
for the CONVINCE organization. The primary purpose of this project
is to develop a database of instructional software in Veterinary
Medicine, including stand-alone programs and programs for
presentation over the Internet. A complete description of the RFP
is at http://www.convince.org
Please address questions to
any member of the executive board; names and addresses are posted
at the web site.
Thank you
Cheryl R Dhein DVM MS
(CRD@vetmed.wsu.edu)
College
of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
Pullman,
Wa 99164-6610
Telephone: 509-335-0711
Virginia
Tech Wants Graduate Work Posted on Web
Virginia
Tech is the first American university to require that all graduate
theses and dissertations be posted on the Web. The new rule is
intended to make the latest graduate research more timely and
accessible and to strike a blow against the steadily increasing
subscription prices of scholarly journals. Journal publishers and
other critics maintain that posting of documents on the Internet
diminishes the effectiveness of the "peer review process"
for reviewing original research, but Virginia Tech vice president
Earving L. Blythes says that the publishers are part of the
problem: "What we've seen is cartel-like behavior.
Essentially, what's happening is the research and scholarly work
is produced on campus; they want it published so they give it to
publishers, who sell it at exorbitant prices." (New York
Times 28 Jul 97)
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>
November
5, 1997
World Congress on the
Internet in Medicine; Brighton, UK
The organisers of the
OMNI Project and the Society for the Internet in Medicine are
pleased to announce that the 3rd Annual OMNI Seminar will take
place at MEDNET 97, on 5th November in the Brighton Centre,
Brighton, UK.
OMNI's 3rd Seminar: "The Cure for
Information Overload", will showcase several projects and
services funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils for the
benefit of the higher education and research communities in the
United Kingdom. These include:
DERweb
(http://www.derweb.ac.uk/derweb.html)
Based at the University of Sheffield, DERWeb is the UK's
premier resource for dental education resources. DERWeb maintains
an image library, a database of teaching materials, an online
bookshop and acts as designer and maintainer of web sites for many
dentistry organisations.
MIDRIB
(http://www.midrib.ac.uk/home2.htm)
MIDRIB aims to create, maintain and deliver a
comprehensive collection of medical images in digital form, for
use in teaching and research. The project is gathering the best of
existing collections from respected professional sources, and
drawing them together into a coherent resource. This will be
available free to medical and healthcare faculties of UK
Universities and teaching hospitals, via the academic network.
OMNI (http://omni.ac.uk/)
On
the second anniversary of OMNI's birth on the World Wide Web, OMNI
will review the service's development, report on the options for
searching the Web for biomedicine today and look forward to the
future for eLib's Access to NetworkResources projects.
The
OMNI Seminar will be an integral part of MEDNET 97, the World
Congress on the Internet in Medicine. Attendees will register with
MEDNET as day visitors and will receive full delegate access to
the rest of the conference, including the technical programme, the
workshop sessions and the exhibition.
Brighton is an
international conference venue located on the South Coast of the
United Kingdom, with easy access by road and rail from London and
Gatwick Airport. The Brighton Centre itself is a purpose-built
conference centre located in the centre of town, directly on the
sea-front.
Further information and an on-line registration
form may be found at http://www.mednet.org.uk/mednet/mednet.htm or
e-mail info@mednet.org.uk.
Ramsey Badawi
Congress
co-ordinator, MEDNET 97
Fall
Web Workshops Still Open
From:
"Thomas P. Copley" <tcopley@GIGANTOR.ARLINGTON.COM>
The
fall '97 Arlington Courseware Web Workshops have been receiving an
excellent response. There are still openings left in the workshops
scheduled to begin Monday, October 13, Monday, November 3, and
Monday, December 1.
- MAKE THE LINK WORKSHOP -- This
eight-week, e-mail workshop focuses on how to gain maximum
advantage from the Web. It emphasizes navigation and searching
strategies, as well as introductory HTML authoring.
The
cost of the workshop is $20. For further information, see the Make
the Link Workshop home page:
http://www.bearfountain.com/arlington/links.html
- TUNE IN THE NET WORKSHOP -- Also
lasting eight weeks, this workshop concentrates on tools for
Internet interactivity. It is conducted via e-mail and the World
Wide Web (WWW). It introduces the beginner to the basic concepts
of interactivity, and assists the more experienced user in making
his or her Web pages into a stand-out interactive site.
The
cost is $40. For additional information, see the Tune In the Net
Workshop home page:
http://www.bearfountain.com/arlington/tune.html
The cost of both workshops taken together
is $55.
HOW TO SIGN UP
Two Make the Link Workshops
are scheduled for this fall:
November Session: November 3
- December 23
December Session: December 1 - January 23
Three
Tune In the Net Workshops are scheduled:
Session V:
October 13 - December 6
Session VI: November 3 - December
23
Session VII: December 1 - January 23
Sign up for ONE
session of each workshop only unless you plan to take it more than
once. To sign up, please send an e-mail message to the address:
majordomo@arlington.com
and in the body of the message, include
the words:
subscribe links-nov - to
subscribe to the November session of Make the Link
subscribe
links-dec - to subscribe to the December session of Make the
Link
subscribe tune5 - to subscribe to Session V of Tune In
the Net
subscribe tune6 - to subscribe to Session VI of Tune In
the Net
subscribe tune7 - to subscribe to Session VII of Tune
In the Net
This will automatically put you on the
mailing list for more information about each workshop, and you
will receive an acknowledgment with the particulars about signing
up, and unsubscribing, should you decide not to participate.
If
you have any difficulty with this procedure or fail to receive a
response, please send e-mail to the address in the signature line.
* A plain ASCII text version is also available.
THOMAS
P. COPLEY <tcopley@arlington.com>
Tune
In the Net Workshop <http://www.bearfountain.com/arlington/>
SUGGESTED
READING
Guide
to Medical Informatics, the Internet and Telemedicine
From:
J A Bergeron <jbergeron@MONMOUTH.COM>
Information
on the above book can be found at:
http://medical-informatics.chapmanhall.com/
Jan A
Bergeron, VMD
http://www.altvetmed.com/
jbergeron@compuserve.com;
jbergeron@aol.com
From
Data to Decision Making in Health: The Evolution of a Health
Management
Information System
From:
Bruce B. Campbell <campbell@mos.com.np>
This book
offers a step by step overview of the development of a Health
Management Information System (MIS). Issues related to system
design, training staff and information utilisation become clear;
lessons learned from MIS development in Ghana are highlighted.
These are generally applicable to the implementation of MIS in
developing countries. Finally, examples of MIS tools are given,
plus blank copies to adopt and use in your own context.
Extra:
Book buyers can obtain MIS tools on diskette, free of charge (for
DOS computers with Lotus 2.4 or later, or any Windows version of
Lotus/Excel)
Table of contents:
Introduction:
Converting data to information / Design principles
ch1.
Background and Setting
ch2.
Project design: what are the important ingredients?: Design
/Project implementation / Resource requirements
ch3. What
are the essential MIS tools?: Planning tools / Data collecting
tools
ch4.
Self-assessment, reporting and feedback: Primary health care
service coverage assessment / PHC continuity/quality of care
assessment / Out-patient department disease surveillance / Cause
of admission and death, plus Case Fatality Rates
ch5.
Expected and unexpected achievements of implementation: Results
of the internal review and assessment / Results of focus group
discussions / Rationalising the need for supervision / Planning /
National level impact
ch6. Critical questions and lessons
from MIS design and implementation
List of annexes:
Annex 1 -
Instructions for using the self-assessment tools (Examples of
completed self- assessment tools)
Annex 2 -
Primary health care coverage assessment
Annex 3 -
Primary health care continuity/quality of care assessment
Annex 4 -
Out-patient disease surveillance
Annex 5 -
In-patient disease surveillance
Blank self-assessment tools (can be used
to adopt to your own context):
Annex 6 -
Primary health care coverage assessment
Annex 7 -
Primary health care continuity/quality of care assessment
Annex 8 -
Out-patient disease surveillance
Annex 9 -
In-patient disease surveillance
Tally sheets (completed and blank):
Annex 10
- Multi-purpose tally sheet (completed)
Annex 11
- Disease surveillance tally sheet (completed)
Annex 12
- Multi-purpose tally sheet (blank)
Annex 13 - Disease surveillance
tally sheet (blank)
Other annexes:
Annex 14
- Sources of information: PHC coverage assessment
Annex 15
- Sources of information: PHC continuity/quality of care
assessment
Annex 16
- Sample national MIS budget
Annex 17 - MIS baseline
questionnaire
From Data to
Decision Making in Health
B. Campbell, S. Adjei, A.
Heywood
ISBN 90 6832 096 3
Published 1996 * Pages 95;
Paperback * Language English *
For further information on
ordering a copy please contact:
Max Mink /Lydia Wolters, KIT
Press
P.O. Box 95001, 1090 HA Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Tel
+31-20-5688272
Fax +31-20-5688286
e-mail:
kitpress@kit.support.nl
Technological
Horizons in Education
http://www.thejournal.com/
This electronic journal seeks to both
provide professional educators with a forum to discuss what they
are doing to achieve educational success and inform its readers on
developments in the world of computing and related technologies
that have applications in teaching. Technological Horizons in
Education is a peer-refereed academic journal; all features
undergo a blind review.
Some feature articles appearing in
the June 1997 issue of the journal include: "Technology in
Education and the Next Twenty-Five Years", "The Future
of Computers and Learning", and "Educational Computing:
How Are We Doing?". The title of this issue was: "Educational
Technology, the Bridge to the 21st Century".
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Sylvia Charp
CLOSING
BITS
Man
Shoots PC
From: Edupage
Editors <educom@educom.unc.edu>
An Issaquah, Wash.,
man apparently became frustrated with his personal computer,
pulled out a gun and shot it. The computer, located in the man's
home office, had four bullets holes in its hard drive and one in
the monitor. Police evacuated the man's townhouse complex,
contacted the irate PC owner by phone, and persuaded him to come
out. "We don't know if it wouldn't boot up or what,"
says one of the police officers at the scene. (St. Petersburg
Times 20 Jul 97)
September-October
1997 AVI Newsletter <http://netvet.wustl.edu/avi.htm>
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