CCInfo: Electronic news bulletin of The Cochrane Collaboration 17 August 2006 Contents: A. Changes at CCInfo B. Evidence-based Child Health - Issue 2 now available C. Clinical Trials database republished D. Comments sought on The Cochrane Library Feedback system E. New TSC at CEVG F. 5th Canadian Cochrane Symposium G. 18th Trout Workshop H. Recent Developments in Neuropathic Pain Conference I. MSc in Evidence for Public Policy and Practice J. Job ads K. New books and articles L. Next issue of CCInfo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A. Sender: Miranda Cumpston [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: Changes at CCInfo From the next issue on 31 August 2006, Cheryl Arratoon, Knowledge Broker at the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre, will be taking over responsibility as Editor of CCInfo. The email address for submissions to CCInfo will not change - please continue to send your news and announcements to cochrane@uottawa.ca. Also from the next issue, the CCInfo email list will be hosted by the server at the German Cochrane Centre in Freiburg, where most other Cochrane mailing lists are based. The following items might affect you: - CCInfo emails will now arrive from the address ccinfo-bounces@lists.cochrane.org. Please make sure that this address is on your safe list and not blocked by your junk mail filters. - to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the CCInfo list, please go to http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/ccinfo. - existing list members will be automatically issued a password. You do not need to know this password to receive CCInfo or unsubscribe from the list. If you want to make other changes to your subscription options, such as change your address, you can use the Password Reminder function on the website to find out your password. If you have any questions about the new arrangements, please email cochrane@uottawa.ca. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX B. Sender: Fabienne Reynolds [FReynold@wiley.co.uk] Subject: Evidence-based Child Health - Issue 2 now available In the latest issue of Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal, an Umbrella Review looks into nephrotic syndrome. In the 1950s, approximately two-thirds of children with nephrotic syndrome died. Despite effective treatment with corticosteroids, nephrotic syndrome still has a significant morbidity and mortality rate. The Umbrella Review concludes that, although corticosteroids are very effective, there is a need to search for alternative treatment options for children who relapse. Other reviews in the second issue of Evidence-Based Child Health: A Cochrane Review Journal include: - Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children - Antibiotics for acute pyelonephritis in children - Interventions for promoting the initiation of breastfeeding - Interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing practices in ambulatory care - Neuromuscular paralysis for newborn infants receiving mechanical ventilation XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX C. Sender: Ben Hickling [BHicklin@wiley.co.uk] Subject: Clinical Trials database republished The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical Trials) was republished on 11 August 2006. This is to correct a reported error regarding a selection of records (18,808 records; approximately 4% of the database) which were published without a year displayed when viewing the record. These same records were also showing 2001 for the year in search results, regardless of the correct date. We have now fixed both of these issues and are re-publishing these records. Users are recommended to re-run any date-based Clinical Trials searches carried out since Issue 3, 2006 was launched (19th July) as they may have received either too many or too few results. The problem manifests itself slightly differently on the CD-ROM version of The Library: neither search results nor the records themselves show years. Users of this product are advised to complete Clinical Trials searches on Wiley InterScience for this issue. We are supplying third parties (e.g. Ovid) with revised data and they will update in due course. Many apologies for any inconvenience caused by this. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX D. Sender: Sherri Sheinfeld Gorin [ssg19@columbia.edu] Subject: Comments sought on The Cochrane Library Feedback system The Feedback system (formerly Comments and Criticisms) seeks to improve the quality of the evidence published by The Cochrane Library via post-publication peer reviews. The Cochrane Collaboration has established an iterative system through which successive versions of each review reflect not only the emergence of new data, but also valid feedback, solicited or unsolicited, from whatever source. To improve the capacity of the feedback system to perform this function, the Feedback Management Advisory Group (FMAG) would appreciate your comments on approaches to better encourage, acknowledge, process and benefit from feedback. In addition, if you are aware of literature on the feedback process, including established approaches to evaluating the benefits and logistics of letters to the editors/correspondence and feedback, we would welcome your suggestions. Thank you in advance for your contribution. Please send your comments (by September 10, 2006) to: Sherri Sheinfeld Gorin, PhD Convenor, FMAG Associate Professor Columbia University 954, 525 W 120th Street Mailbox 239 New York, N.Y. 10027 Telephone: 212-678-4024 (for messages, Rebeca Franco, MPH, 212-678-3990) Fax: 212-678-4125 ssg19@columbia.edu XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX E. Sender: Anupa Shah [CEVG@lshtm.ac.uk] Subject: New TSC at CEVG Iris Gordon (currently based with the Upper Gastrointestinal & Pancreatic Disorders Group) will be starting as the new TSC for the Eyes and Vision Group on Monday 4th September. Iris's email will be iris.gordon@lshtm.ac.uk. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX F. Sender: Miranda Cumpston [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: 5th Canadian Cochrane Symposium I am pleased to announce that the 5th Canadian Cochrane Symposium will be held on 12-13 February 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ottawa, ON. We hope you will all be able to attend this exciting gathering of Cochrane Collaboration contributors and others interested in discussing and debating evidence-based healthcare. Further details and a call for abstracts will be available soon on our website: www.cochrane.uottawa.ca. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX G. Sender: Dave Sackett [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: 18th Trout Workshop Dave Sackett writes that he will hold the 18th Trout Workshop on clinical-practice research methods from Friday evening October 20th to Sunday afternoon October 22nd at the Trout Research & Education Centre at Irish Lake, Ontario, Canada. A Trout Workshop is a 3-day series of seminars in which 6 participants and Dave: 1. review their draft protocols for clinical-practice research projects (especially but not exclusively randomized trials), 2. see if we can come up with improvements for their protocols, 3. based on their objectives for the workshop: a. discuss both specific and general issues in research methods, and b. consider the determinants of their academic success as clinician-scientists,and how to acquire them. These tuition-free Workshops are held twice a year for clinical epidemiology graduate students and new faculty. The application deadline will be midnight Tuesday October 10th. For more information, see Dave’s website: www.davesackett.com XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX H. Sender: Primrose Ante-Bennett [primrose.ante-bennett@rsm.ac.uk] Subject: Recent Developments in Neuropathic Pain Conference Tuesday 3 October 2006 The Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE This wide-ranging symposium will consider recent developments in the characterisation, investigation and treatment of neuropathic pain. Topics covered will include definition and clinical assessment, new investigations, spinal cord disease, trigeminal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, and the place of cognitive behavioural therapy and neurosurgery in the treatment of neuropathic pain. For more information and to register on line please go to: www.rsm.ac.uk/academ/a10-neuro.htm or contact Primrose Ante-Bennett on (+44) 020 7290 2965, Fax (+44) 020 7290 2977. You can also email primrose.ante-bennett@rsm.ac.uk. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I. Sender: Cesar Bazan [C.Bazan@ioe.ac.uk] Subject: MSc in Evidence for Public Policy and Practice Ready to improve your skills for informing policy and practice? Our new MSc in Evidence for Public Policy and Practice will equip you with conceptual and practical skills for conducting and appraising systematic reviews and evaluating the potential for the use of research evidence to inform policy and practice. You will study empirical research, practical examples and theory so as to cover a broad range of approaches to synthesis, models of research use, research questions, study types and types of data. The course can be taken over one year full-time, or part time over two years. Who is this MSc for? This MSc has been designed for graduates and policy-makers, practitioners, managers and researchers who want to become more skilled in systematic reviewing and develop a critical understanding of the relationships between research evidence and public policy and practice. Disciplines: Students will be encouraged to build their studies around their own areas of interest. These could relate to social welfare, education, crime and justice, transport, health and health promotion, housing, or any other area of social policy or practice. Duration: This degree can be completed in one year full-time or over two years part-time. Flexibility: Core course modules are delivered in four full-day sessions, one week apart. These modules can be taken as short courses without accreditation. Who is offering this course? The new MSc in Evidence for Public Policy and Practice is based in the EPPI-Centre, part of the Social Science Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, in the UK. Professor Ann Oakley is the Founding Director of the Centre and Professor David Gough the Director. Since 1993, the EPPI-Centre has been at the forefront of developing and providing training for carrying out systematic reviews of social science and public policy research. These reviews have wide-reaching consequences in encouraging professionals, policymakers and others to take advantage of the best available evidence on particular topics. Education and health promotion & public health are the two main streams of the Centre’s work. Further information: Please visit our website (http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms) or contact Cesar Bazan (EPPIAdmin@ioe.ac.uk) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX J. Sender: Monica Kjeldstrøm [mk@cochrane.dk] Subject: Job ads Position: European IMS Support Staff (part time) Organisation: Nordic Cochrane Centre Location: Any European Cochrane entity base, or from home Application deadline: none Contact: Monica Kjeldstrøm (e-mail: mk@cochrane.dk; or telephone: +45 3545 7110) Web: www.cochrane.org/jobs or http://cc-ims.net/Projects/newIMS/Jobs/ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX K. Sender: Andrew Herxheimer [a@herxheimer.net] Subject: New books and articles Paper: Guidelines for the production of scientific and technical reports: how to write and distribute grey literature Author: Grey Literature International Steering Committee Details: Version 1.0, March 2006 Web: www.glisc.info XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX L. Sender: Miranda Cumpston [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: Next issue of CCInfo The next regular issue of CCInfo will be published on Thursday, 31 August 2006. Please submit your items to cochrane@uottawa.ca. When submitting messages for CCInfo, please include "CCInfo" in the subject line of your email so that I can readily identify submissions. Unless you request otherwise, your submissions to the CCInfo may be duplicated in other regular Cochrane Collaboration news channels, such as Cochrane News and the Cochrane Collaboration web site, at the discretion of the editors. regards, Miranda Miranda Cumpston Education Coordinator The Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre Institute for Work & Health 481 University Ave, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M5G 2E9 Canada Ph: +1 416 927 2027 x2193 Fax: 416 927 4167 Email: cochrane@uottawa.ca Web: www.cochrane.uottawa.ca XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ______________________________________________ To subscribe to CCInfo, send an email to listserv@listserv.uottawa.ca with the message text "SUBSCRIBE CCINFO-L" (leave the subject line blank). 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