International survey on skin patch test procedures, attitudes and interpretation.

BACKGROUND Skin patch test is the gold standard method in diagnosing contact allergy. Although used for more than 100 years, the patch test procedure is performed with variability around the world. A number of factors can influence the test results, namely the quality of reagents used, the timing of the application, the patch test series (allergens/haptens) that have been used for testing, the appropriate interpretation of the skin reactions or the evaluation of the patient's benefit. METHODS We performed an Internet -based survey with 38 questions covering the educational background of respondents, patch test methods and interpretation. The questionnaire was distributed among all representatives of national member societies of the World Allergy Organization (WAO), and the WAO Junior Members Group. RESULTS One hundred sixty-nine completed surveys were received from 47 countries. The majority of participants had more than 5 years of clinical practice (61 %) and routinely carried out patch tests (70 %). Both allergists and dermatologists were responsible for carrying out the patch tests. We could observe the use of many different guidelines regardless the geographical distribution. The use of home-made preparations was indicated by 47 % of participants and 73 % of the respondents performed 2 or 3 readings. Most of the responders indicated having patients with adverse reactions, including erythroderma (12 %); however, only 30 % of members completed a consent form before conducting the patch test. DISCUSSION The heterogeneity of patch test practices may be influenced by the level of awareness of clinical guidelines, different training backgrounds, accessibility to various types of devices, the patch test series (allergens/haptens) used for testing, type of clinical practice (public or private practice, clinical or research-based institution), infrastructure availability, financial/commercial implications and regulations among others. CONCLUSION There is a lack of a worldwide homogeneity of patch test procedures, and this raises concerns about the need for standardization and harmonization of this important diagnostic procedure.

Visita facultat Biblioteconomia i Documentació de la UB

Presentació realitzada per la Biblioteca Virtual de la UOC a un grup d'alumnes de la Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació de la UB

Semantic web adoption: online tools for web evaluation and metadata extraction

This work briefly analyses the difficulties to adopt the Semantic Web, and in particular proposes systems to know the present level of migration to the different technologies that make up the Semantic Web. It focuses on the presentation and description of two tools, DigiDocSpider and DigiDocMetaEdit, designed with the aim of verifYing, evaluating, and promoting its implementation.

The Handheld Library: Developments at the Rector Gabriel Ferraté Library, UPC

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the mobile services developed by the Rector Gabriel Ferraté Library (BRGF) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC Barcelona Tech) in Barcelona, Spain.We hope this paper will be of use to other libraries exploring new technologies for communicating and delivering their services to users at a time when mobile services are an emerging topic in librarianship and information science literature. By setting out the successive steps involved in the as yet unfinished process of building our mobile services portfolio, we aim to offer a detailed picture of the mobile services and features offered by a university library from a case study perspective.The main topics to be discussed include:- The BRGF’s mobile website, including the information available, its interactivecapabilities and the services it provides to its users.- The mobile-friendly version of UPCommons (the UPC Library Service’s institutionalrepositories).- The UPC Library Service’s mobile OPAC.- The mobile version of u-win (BRGF’s videogame service).- The use of QR codes to deliver information to mobile devices.- Text message notifications.Additional topics for discussion include:- The library’s organisation and the organisational concepts that underpin andmake possible its technological developments (including mobile).- BRGF’s concern regarding the reduction of investment in the development of mobile services.- The criteria and tools used to guide the library’s decisions regarding thedesign and orientation of current and future mobile services.- How mobile services can help to improve the image of the library as a leadingtechnology site.- Selected mobile features that BRGF plans to offer in the near future.Ultimately, this paper aims to delineate the effectiveness and potential of deliveringlibrary services by the preferred means of communication of a new generation of studentsand teachers.

La enseñanza de la Biblioteconomía y la Documentación en la universidad española a finales de los noventa

Se describe la situación actual de la formación universitaria en Biblioteconomía y Documentación en España y las tendencias a considerar a corto y medio plazo para asegurar que las titulaciones de biblioteconomía y documentación sigan manteniendo una presencia notable en la universidad española. En la primera parte del texto se describe el estado actual de la formación universitaria en todos los ciclos (diplomatura, licenciatura y tercer ciclo), y también la presencia de la biblioteconomía y documentación en otras titulaciones. Se destacan especialmente los problemas relacionados con el descenso del número de matriculaciones. En la segunda parte se hace incidencia las orientaciones que se consideran clave para mantener las titulaciones al máximo nivel: internacionalización, enseñanza a distancia, e integración o convergencia con la archivística. Finalmente, en las conclusiones se destaca la necesidad de planificar adecuadamente la diplomatura y la licenciatura y en la importancia de establecer mecanismos de cooperación interuniversitaria, y también entre las universidades y las asociaciones de profesionales, y las organizaciones públicas y privadas.

Mostra de publicacions de l'Escola (1915-1999)

En iniciar el curs 1999-2000, just quan acabem d'adquirir la condició de Facultat, volem recordar que l'Escola sempre ha tingut vocació universitària, com ho demostren algunes de les seves publicacions. L'exposició vol mostrar de primera mà la feina que s'ha fet fins ara i com es pot continuar la tasca encetada fa tants anys.

Mètodes i tècniques de recerca en els articles de documentació periodística a Espanya (1997-2002)

[eng] This article analyses articles and papers related to journalistic documentation that have been published in journals and in conference proceedings in Spain over the period 1997-2002. There is a listing of all articles as well as a summary of those that have followed scientific research processes. The results of the analysis of the articles' content are explored, according to different parameters: proportion of research, methods and research techniques articles studied, authorship, authors' place of work, type of publication and distribution by year. The article closes with some conclusions about research on journalistic documentation in the period studied.

Informe sobre la 63a IFLA Conference (Copenhaguen, setembre de 1997)

La conferència anual de l'IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) -enguany la 63a- va tenir lloc a Copenhaguen, Dinamarca, entre el 30 d'agost i el 6 de setembre de 1997. Els congressos de l'IFLA tenen un contingut professional que abraça tots els àmbits de la biblioteconomia. Durant la setmana que dura el congrés les diverses seccions, taules rodones i altres grups en què s'organitza l'entitat mantenen reunions tancades en les quals es revisen els objectius del grup i els treballs duts a terme durant l'any, es planifiquen nous projectes i es preparen les properes reunions. Així mateix, cada grup organitza sessions obertes i seminaris en els quals es presenten treballs i es debaten qüestions professionals.

Els estudis bibliomètrics basats en l'anàlisi de citacions en àrees d'humanitats en el període 1959-2008

[eng] Objective: To analyse the scientific papers studying citations in the areas of humanities during the period 1959-2008 and to determine the aspects evaluated. The main bibliometric aspects measured were type of study, obsolescence, dispersion, language, theme, author impact and self-citations.Methodology: Broad revision of the international literature in the area of library and information science in the period studied, and detailed analysis of 119 bibliometric studies.Results: Most of the few studies of this area are based on ad-hoc citation compilations. There is a certain predominance of philology. Library quarterly is the journal that has published most papers of this kind. The conclusions of these studies can be as useful as those in the experimental sciences; it would be useful to increase their number.

Disseny i creació de bases de dades bibliogràfiques amb CDS/ISIS: l'experiència de SABA-DOC

Es descriu el procés de disseny i creació de bases de dades bibliogràfiques amb el programa CDS/ISIS. Es tracta de la base de dades SABA-DOC, principal producte del projecte Centres de Documentació i Biblioteques de Sabadell en Xarxa. La base de dades conté referències bibliogràfiques dels fons documentals de diverses entitats de Sabadell i els registres referits a Sabadell provinents de la base de dades del Servei d'Història Local de Catalunya, de la UAB. Es comenten aspectes de l'estructura de la base de dades, del seu manteniment i de la interfície de consulta des del web. S'hi inclou també una primera avaluació dels resultats obtinguts fins ara.

Informe sobre les VII Jornadas Españolas de Documentación, FESABID 2000 (Bilbao, 19-21 d'octubre de 2000)

Aquestes jornades espanyoles de documentació tenen lloc cada dos anys en una localitat diferent d'Espanya, i són organitzades conjuntament per FESABID (Federación Española de Sociedades de Archivística, Biblioteconomía, Documentación y Museística) i l'associació professional de la comunitat autònoma on se celebren. En aquesta ocasió, Bilbao fou la ciutat amfitriona, i ALDEE (Artxibozain, Liburuzain eta Dokumentazainen Euskal Elkartea), una de les associacions professionals que existeixen al País Basc, participà en l'organització