Reference Challenge – How Hot or Cold is Warm?

 

 Submitted by Marcia Zorn, Reference and Web Services Section

We received a question from a health professional asking about bath temperatures.  Specifically he said:

“Found several references in the site of the benefits of a warm bath but never found what the temperature range is considered to be for a warm bath.

Did find references to studies warning about the adverse effect of a hot bath, so what temperature range are considered to be a hot bath.  My concern over hot baths is exacerbating autoimmune conditions.

Thinking you will find the same subject would like to have what the temperature range for a cold bath is considered.

It would really be helpful if you would reference where this above information can be found.”

Our challenge was to find a reference for him giving bath temperatures for age groups and conditions. How hot is too hot? What temperature is cold?  He also tells us his concern is that a “hot” bath might exacerbate autoimmune conditions.

What do you think is the answer? Next week:  the librarian’s response to this question.

 Photo Credit:  Center for Universal Design, 2000

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We invite you to ask questions or make comment about the ReferencePoint blog or its content. Use the space at the end of each posting.

Please do not send reference questions to the ReferencePoint blog. For reference questions, visit our FAQ page and our RWS Home Page.

April 25, 2012  Tags: bath water temperature, reference challenge  Posted in: The Reference Challenge Column  No Comments

National Autism Awareness Month

 

by Marcia Zorn, Reference and Web Services Section

Is autism an epidemic? The increased prevalence in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), including autism, might make it seem so. The numbers are staggering: one in 88 children in the United States is identified as having ASD.

Autism is a developmental brain disorder characterized by impaired social interactions, communication problems, and repetitive behaviors. ASDs, as a group of related developmental disorders, include Asperger syndrome and Rett syndrome. Some sources group Autism, Asperger Syndrome (or Asperger’s Disorder) and Rett Syndrome with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and PDD-Not Otherwise Specified with Pervasive Development Disorders (PDDs). The HuffPost and New York Times discuss controversial changes proposed to the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-4) definition of Autism. Proposed changes exclude diagnoses such as Asperger’s and Pervasive Developmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS). The revised entry for Autism  is to be released in 2013 with the DSM-5.

The exact cause of autism isn’t known; and it isn’t a single disorder. Autism is a behavioral syndrome of hundreds of genes and rare genetic variants that may cause a common autism phenotype or ‘idiopathic’ autism. Research progress is being made according to Dr. Gerald Fischbach, Director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. In his YouTube lecture, “Autism Research: Progress and Promises” he says diagnostic increase is more likely due to broadening public awareness and continually expanding definitions of the disorder rather than an “epidemic.”  We know more from research, especially from genomics. But he says “In the end, we need to develop theories and models to account for the link between genes and behavior…We need more specific hypotheses about autism and how it relates to social behavior.”  To such ends, Drexel University recently established the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, our nation’s first autism center focused on public health science. The Institute seeks to build core capacity in exposure biology, environmental risk factor epidemiology, risk communication, early detection/intervention, and adolescent and adult outcomes.

To pool larger datasets for research, the NIH and Autism Speaks announced adding Autism Genetic Research Exchange (AGRE) information to the National Database for Autism Research (NDAR), which is supported and maintained by the NIH. The NDAR federation is the largest source of autism research data to date.

For more information, explore these selected resources:

• HHS Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research: Calendar Year 2010
• NLM MedlinePlus Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders  
• NLM PubMed Health Autism evidence-based resources
• NLM DIRLINE information about 45 organizations/agencies that identify autism as an interest
• Thomas R. Insel, MD, NIMH Director, Autism Blog Posts
• NIH Workshop  Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Autism Research materials (2011)
• Report on State Services to Individual with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ASD Service Project (April, 2011)
• Autism Speaks social networks http://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/social-networks 
• Autism Friendly Spaces for persons with ASDs, families, and professionals 
• Autism’s First Child , Atlantic Magazine (October 2010) by Donvan and Zucker about Donald T, 77, the first person diagnosed with autism, and his “long, happy, and surprising” life
• Parallel Play: A lifetime of restless isolation explained by Tim Page whose Personal History in NewYorker.com describes his “driven, uncomfortable personality” until he got an “objective explanation”

 

Photo Credit:  Image from HHS image and icon library http://www.hhs.gov/web/library/index.html#HHSWidgets

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We invite you to ask questions or make comment about the ReferencePoint blog or its content. Use the space at the end of each posting.

Please do not send reference questions to the ReferencePoint blog. For reference questions, visit our FAQ page and our RWS Home Page.

April 18, 2012  Tags: ASD, Asperger, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Metadata: Autism, PDD, PDDNOS, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Rett Syndrome  Posted in: Child & Maternal Health, Health Observances, NLM Databases  No Comments

Toxic or Poisonous? What is the Difference?

By Marcia Zorn, Reference and Web Services Section

Do you wonder about the difference between the words toxic and poisonous? Although explained in dictionaries, the words can be especially confusing when constructing a MEDLINE/PubMed search.

For a MEDLINE/PubMed search, consider multiple terms from the MeSH Database page of poison terms. A houseplant, for example, can be both toxic and poisonous because toxic properties make some houseplants poisonous. You might search Plant Poisoning [mh] OR Plant Leaves/poisoning [mh] OR poisoning [mh] combined with a plant name.  Note that Plants, Toxic [mh] is also an option.

Use Poisoning [mh] if the focus is on a condition. Poisoning [mh] describes “life-threatening exposure to something in the surroundings (environmental agents) and the condition or physical state produced by the ingestion, injection, inhalation of or exposure to a deleterious agent” (Definition for Poisoning, MeSH: Medical Subject Headings, NLM).

Use poisoning [subheading] with “drugs, chemicals, and industrial materials for human or animal poisoning, acute or chronic, whether the poisoning is accidental, occupational, suicidal, by medication error, or by environmental exposure” (Definition for Poisoning [subheading], MeSH, NLM). The focus is on the substance.

Use toxicity[subheading] with names of drugs and chemicals for experimental studies of their ill effects (human or animal), or to search for exposure to environmental agents. The MeSH Database page of Toxicity terms includes many different toxicity terms. An example of using the toxicity subheading is Morinda/toxicity for articles about the scientific studies of the ill effects of Noni juice. The focus is on studies of the properties of the substance, not the condition of the patient or an event.

Photo Credit: Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) taken by Donna R. Ellis, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org. Photo used with permission, through the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Invasive.org is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, and The University of Georgia.

Question: What other search hints do you think are helpful for a PubMed/MEDLINE search?  Do you use a particular glossary for poisoning or toxicology terms?

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We invite you to ask questions or make comment about the ReferencePoint blog or its content. Use the space at the end of each posting.

Please do not send reference questions to the ReferencePoint blog. For reference questions, visit our FAQ page and our RWS Home Page.

April 11, 2012  Tags: Medical Subject Headings, MeSH, Poisoning, toxic  Posted in: MEDLINE, NLM Databases, Poisoning, PubMed, Specialized Information Services (SIS)  One Comment

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