NLM’s Emergency Access Initiative, http://eai.nlm.nih.gov, is now available through November 20 for access to resources usually available only by subscription. Publishers are providing access only for those affected by the cholera outbreak in Haiti and for those providing assistance to the affected population.

Click on Online Databases for access to Cochrane, DynaMed, and UpToDate. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews has relevant materials under “cholera,”  and both spellings: “diarrhea” or “diarrhoea,” and “diarrhoeal” or “diarrheal.” DynaMed has an entry for “Cholera” and UpToDate has a section titled “Overview of Vibrio cholerae infection.” Over 70 online textbooks and over 200 journals are also available.

NLM also has a topic page, “Health Resources for Haiti, Post-Earthquake,” http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/haitiearthquake.html with information about cholera in the top section labeled “Earthquakes and Health.” Some resources are also in Spanish, French, or Haitian Creole.

MedlinePlus offers cholera information for the general public at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cholera.html in English and http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/cholera.html in Spanish. 

 Reprinted from Cindy Love’s post on the DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB discussion group.

Most people in the United States spend a significant amount of time indoors. The indoor air we breathe can be more polluted than outdoor air.

Tox Town, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) interactive guide to commonly encountered toxic substances, has added an Indoor Air topic. Visit the new Indoor Air location pages, in both English and Spanish, to learn about possible indoor air pollutants and how these pollutants can increase the risk of illness.

In 2007 and 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services held four town halls in the U.S. to solicit input for a health literacy action plan. The result of these efforts is the recently released National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

Every organization involved in health information and services that could benefit from a health literacy plan is encouraged to read the plan and use the vision, goals and strategies as a blueprint for health literacy activities. For questions about the National Action Plan, please contact the CDC Health Literacy Senior Advisor.

The November issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now available at their new, improved website!

In this edition:

• Feeling Out of Joint: The Aches of Arthritis
• Herpes in Hiding: Genital Herpes Often Unrecognized
• How Salmonella Bacteria Spread
• Older Adults and Alcohol Use
• Featured Web Site: Science Serving People

Please pass the word on to your colleagues about NIH News in Health. They are offering a limited number of print copies free of charge for display in offices, libraries, or clinics. Call at 301-435-7489 for more information.

LinkOut® for Libraries Frequently Asked Questions Page

Libraries interested in participating in LinkOut may also be interested in the new LinkOut for Libraries Frequently Asked Questions page. On this page, librarians will find answers to questions such as “What is LinkOut?” and “What is the LinkOut Library Submission Utility?” Additional questions and answers will be added in the future.

These questions are also available on the LinkOut for Libraries Training and Educational Resources page.

From the 10/27/10 NLM Technical Bulletin

The PubMed abstract display for PubMed Central articles will be enhanced to include a new image strip generated from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) image database. The image strip will display thumbnails of the article’s images and captions. For more information and screenshots of the image strip in action, read the NLM Technical Bulletin.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Division of Specialized Information Services home page has been refreshed in an effort to streamline information and to make the resources easier to access. In addition to new banners for some secondary pages, the home page now includes the same “Search Our Web Site” feature included on the Toxicology and Environmental Health (TEHIP) page. Please note that TOXNET searches should be initiated on the TOXNET home page or via the “Search TOXNET” feature of the TEHIP page.

The NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) Web pages also have a new look. DIMRC is a part of the Specialized Information Services Division. The DIMRC pages have been redesigned to enhance access to the many and diverse NLM resources useful for disaster and emergency readiness, response, and recovery. Emergency responders will find links to the WISER resource for hazardous materials incidents and the Radiation Emergency Medical Management site.

A growing list of guides to online disaster information includes titles such as “Crude Oil Spills and Health,” “Special Populations: Emergency and Disaster Preparedness,” and “Floods.” New features include an A to Z Index, links to the latest articles and reports from PubMed and the Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness, and news about disaster events, publications, and online resources from both US and international sources.

Based on feedback provided from the Toolkit Usability Report, the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit now has a new look, with a “cleaner” presentation of content. New features have been added, including a section for EP&R related Twitter feeds, and easier access to weather alerts and warnings. There’s also a new tutorial on how to navigate the toolkit.

With thousands of mobile device apps to choose from, it stands to reason that some of the very best ones can get lost in the crowd. However, most mobile devices offer ways to help you narrow down and select some that you might actually like and find useful.

If you’re using an Apple mobile device, you can use the Genius feature in Apple’s App Store. Turning this on allows it to make recommendations based on the apps you purchased. You can also filter apps that you don’t like by choosing the ‘Not Interested’ option. Chomp is another app-finding tool available free on these devices. You can search for apps by category or price. It makes recommendations based on user reviews.

Another way to discover apps is through Appolicious. It is supported on several platforms and is available free on iPhone and Android devices. Appolicious scans your app library and makes personalized recommendations using an algorithm based on ratings, in-depth reviews, and comments from the Appolicious community. You can also keep track of recommendations and trends on its Yahoo-based website at www.appolicious.com.

You can now easily create QR codes with Google’s URL Shortener (http://goo.gl/). To create the QR code, append “.qr” to the end of the shortened URL in your brower’s URL bar. You can then copy the QR code image from your browser.

If you’re not familiar with QR codes, see a previous discussion of QR codes in NewsBits, see http://nnlm.gov/psr/newsbits/?p=687.