Why Rudolph’s nose is red: observational study from the Netherlands

rudolph_the_rednosed_reindeer_by_guitarhero188rock-d4k147bResearchers from the Netherlands and Norway published an observational study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) explaining the morphology behind Rudolph’s famous red nose. They hypothesized that the extreme redness was caused by “the presence of a highly dense and rich nasal microcirculation”. In other words, Rudolph’s nose has an abundant supply of red blood cells flowing through a vast number of tiny blood vessels. Results of the study show that the hypothesis was proven. After a careful comparison with five human subjects, the researchers determined that while similar, the vascular network in a reindeer’s nose is 25% denser than that in a human.

Also, perhaps even more interestingly, the tiny blood vessels in the reindeer’s nose do not contain red blood cells during diastole (the time between heart beats); with systole (heart beat), an excess of blood is forced through the vessels. The figure below shows the infrared image of a reindeer’s head after a treadmill test. Notice the presence of a red nose.

reindeer imageThe reindeer nasal anatomy and physiology observed in this study testifies to the eminent suitability of Rudolph to lead Santa’s sleigh.

 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jill Turner, Librarian Consultant

 

Article: Ince, C., van Kuijen, A. M., Milstein, D. M., Yuruk, K., Folkow, L. P., Fokkens, W. J., & Blix, A. S. (2012). Why rudolph’s nose is red: Observational study. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 345, e8311. doi:10.1136/bmj.e8311 [doi]

 

Graphics:

Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer: GuitarHero188Rock

Infrared image of reindeer: Blix, As. Arctic Animals. Tapir Academic Press, 2005.

 

Uncategorized , Updated: December 15, 2014

Pictures of Nursing: An NLM Online Exhibition

Pictures of Nursing - NLM Exhibition Program

The National Library of Medicine’s, (NLM) History of Medicine Division is featuring an  online exhibit entitled “Pictures of Nursing“. Pictures of Nursing is an archival collection of 2,588 postcards acquired from Micheal Zwerdling, an American nurse and collector.  “The full collection consists of postcards with images of nurses and the nursing profession from around the world, produced between 1893 and 2011.” NLM has divided the collection into several categories: the art of nursing; nursing and respectability; picturing the gender of nursing; picturing nursing as a career; and picturing a women’s mission.

If you have a chance, check out the digital gallery, a selection of over 500 postcards. The cards can be sorted and viewed in a variety of ways, like “topic”. Some of the topics are fascinating:

Enjoy!

Jill

 

 

 

Uncategorized , , Updated: November 19, 2014

Ebola Resources … and a book recommendation

 

Ebola_virus_particlesI had decided that I wasn’t going to blog about Ebola because frankly, I feel the media coverage has been over the top and created an unnecessary public panic. But just this morning, I received a text from my son informing me that his university had created an Ebola Task Force. Wow, ok. So, here’s me … succumbing to peer pressure.

As health professionals, I am confident that you are aware of how the Ebola virus is transmitted … and conversely how it is NOT transmitted. According to a WHO news release, the live Ebola virus has never been found in sweat and only in the saliva of people in the advanced stages of the disease.

The following resources have include not only transmission information but also information on PPE guideline updates, risk of exposure, treatment, situation reports, maps, clinical trials, and … really everything you wanted to know about Ebola (and probably more).

If you are looking for a good read about the Ebola virus, check out The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It is located in the library: RC 140.5 .P74 1995. It is about the initial outbreak of Ebola and its appearance in the United States just outside of Washington, D.C.

 

Jill

 

Photo courtesy of “Ebola virus particles” by Thomas W. Geisbert, Boston University School of Medicine – PLoS Pathogens, November 2008 direct link to the image description page doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000225. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ebola_virus_particles.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Ebola_virus_particles.jpg

Uncategorized , Updated: November 3, 2014

The State of Obesity

1024px-Feet_on_scale

 

The State of Obesity is a report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It provides annual stats on the obesity epidemic in America. When the project commenced 11 years ago, it highlighted prevention and reversal strategies.

According to the latest numbers that were publicized in September 2014: 34.9% of Americans are considered obese. 68.5% are overweight or obese.

 

Here are a few fast facts from the 2013 report:

  • the 10 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South and Midwest
  • 20 states have adult obesity rates of 30% or higher
  • nearly 40% of adult Americans age 40-59 are obese
  • 82% of Black women are overweight or obese
  • Michigan ranks 11th in the nation, with 31.5% of obese adults

The data indicates that obesity rates appear to be stabilizing for both adult and children, although the rates remain high.

Check out the website, it has lots of graphics as well as state-specific information, and a link to the full report.

Jill

Uncategorized , , Updated: October 20, 2014

CINAHL Personalized Accounts

CINAHL Create new Acct

 

 

Have you set up a personalized account in CINAHL? If not, here is a list of 5 reasons why you should: personalized accounts let you…

 

1. Organize you research into online folders

2. Share your folders with other group members

3. Save your searches, so you don’t need to re-construct them

4. Create email alerts for newly published articles on your research topic

5. Reach your saved references from other computers

 

Plus setting up an account will let you access EBSCOhost eBooks from off campus. You will use your account to log into the eBook when you see the above screen.

Need assistance setting up an account? Here is an Instruction sheet to help… or contact me. I will walk you through the process.

 

Jill Turner, Nursing Library Liaison

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncategorized , , Updated: September 30, 2014

Office(less) hours @ CHP Resume

CHP imageWelcome Back!

I will be resuming CHP hours this term beginning Monday September 8th.  I will be holding “office” hours in the student lounge (or perhaps Rm 129, if it is not in use) on Mondays from 2:30- 4:30pm. I plan to be available at CHP most Mondays throughout the Fall and Winter terms.

I will still be available on Wednesdays over at the McNichols library or by appointment during the rest of the week.

Have a great term!

Jill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncategorized Updated: August 28, 2014

Nursing Web Resources

PREVIEW Home - Nursing tabs - Web ResourcesThe Nursing, Health Systems Management and Health Information Management library guides have a tab at the top of the page labelled Web Resources.

This tab contains a variety of resources that you may find useful when completing some assignments. The resources are arranged alphabetically by topic. Under each topic is a list of recommended websites. The topics were chosen by me, based on questions I have received from students in the past. Do you need to find medical images for a poster presentation? Need help finding sources for health and workforce stats? How about resources for patient education? All of these topics and more can be found within Web Resources.

Please feel free to recommend a website or topic that you think should be included. I will evaluate the site and include a link if appropriate.

 

 

 

Uncategorized , Updated: August 6, 2014

Safety of Vaccines used for Routine Immunization of US Children: Systematic Review

323px-Is_your_child_vaccinated_Vaccination_prevents_smallpoxThere has been a big controversy in the realm of primary care for the last several years after a British study linked childhood vaccines with autism. The study has since been retracted and a resulting investigation found that the study author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, perpetrated an “elaborate fraud” and falsified data. Still parents continue to voice concerns regarding the safety of childhood immunizations and many continue to decline to vaccinate their children resulting in a resurgence of these diseases.

On July 1, 2014, the journal Pediatrics published a systematic review entitled “Safety of Vaccines used for Routine Immunization of US Children” (full text pdf is freely available online). The authors concluded, “We found evidence that some vaccines are associated with serious [adverse effects]; however, these events are extremely rare and must be weighed against the protective benefits that vaccines provide.”

The RAND Corporation published these additional key findings on their website:

  • There are some risks associated with some childhood vaccinations, but overall the evidence shows that vaccines are very safe.
  • There is strong evidence that the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine is not associated with autism in children.
  • There is strong evidence that several common vaccines for children—MMR, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), Td (tetanus-diphtheria), Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b), and hepatitis B—are not associated with childhood leukemia.

 

Maglione, M. A., Das, L., Raaen, L., Smith, A., Chari, R., Newberry, S., . . . Gidengil, C. (2014). Safety of vaccines used for routine immunization of US children: A systematic review. Pediatrics, doi:10.1542/peds.2014-1079.

 

Uncategorized Updated: July 17, 2014

Medical Mobile Apps: Lippincott’s Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN

Preparing for your NCLEX exam? Pass the time by studying while you stand in line at Starbucks or Cedar Point! Lippincott has an app for your mobile device that will create personalized NCLEX practice quizzes from approximately 1,000 exam-style questions covering 40 nursing content areas.

Lippincott's Q&A Review for NCLEX-RNThe app allows users to bookmark questions for future study. Users can enable “reference mode” to display correct answers immediately. And, stats tracking provides feedback so users can distinguish which content areas will require more study.

The Lippincott’s Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN app is available through iTunes, and it is FREE. Unfortunately, it is available only for Apple devices. Sorry Android users :(

Questions? Contact me.

Jill

 

Uncategorized Updated: July 2, 2014
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