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Digital transformation in the supply of medical literature and information was initiated in the mid-1990s with the emergence of e-journals. Since then, a shift towards digital formats is in progress, comprising more and more media forms. Libraries have taken up this change and designed access and use concepts. The current shift is from traditional textbooks and reference books to digital online learning & examination tools and digital clinical decision support tools. Whereas printed medical textbooks have long held their own against e-books in libraries, a new shift away from books is now emerging due to the popularity of online learning platforms and digital information systems among students and physicians. This article outlines the process of change and the role of medical libraries in it.

In 2019 the annual meeting of the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) took place in Göttingen, Germany, from September 16 to 18. The meeting was organized by the Göttingen medical library of the University library of Göttingen. This year’s motto was “AGMB 2019: Shaping new paths together”. The article provides a summary of the three-day conference program.

The University of Würzburg supports and funds its scientists for many years in open access publishing. The University Library provides information and advice around the publishing process. The article describes the different options and goes into detail for the situation in the medical discipline.

BackgroundFalls and fall-related injuries pose a major threat to older peoples’ health, and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In the course of demographic changes, development and implementation of fall prevention strategies have been recognized as an urgent public health challenge. Various risk factors for falls and a number of effective interventions have been recognized. A substantial proportion of falls occur for people who are neither frail nor at high risk. Therefore, population-based approaches reaching the entire older population are needed. ObjectiveThe objective of the study presented is the development, implementation, and evaluation of a population-based intervention for the prevention of falls and fall-related injuries in a medium sized city in Germany. MethodsThe study is designed as a population-based approach. The intervention community is a mid sized city named Reutlingen in southern Germany with a population of 112,700 people. All community dwelling inhabitants 65 years and older are addressed. There are two main measures that are defined: (1) increase of overall physical activity, and (2) reduction of modifiable risk factors for falls such as deficits in strength and balance, home and environmental hazards, impaired vision, unsafe footwear, and improper use of assistive devices. The implementation strategies are developed in a participatory community planning process. These might include, for example, training of professionals and volunteers, improved availability of exercise classes, and education and raising awareness via newspaper, radio, or lectures. ResultsThe study starts in September 2010 and ends in December 2013. It is evaluated primarily by process evaluation as well as by telephone survey. ConclusionsPhysical activity as a key message entails multiple positive effects with benefits on a range of geriatric symptoms. The strength of the design is the development of implementation strategies in a participatory community planning. The problems that we anticipate are the dependency on the stakeholders’ willingness to participate, and the difficulty of evaluating population-based programs by hard end points.

Are you up to date? This article provides a selection of the most interesting contents of the weblog medinfo from January to April 2009.

At the University of Würzburg there are numerous small libraries at the institutes and clinics of the medical faculty. Several of them merged in the last years to a bigger unit. A central medical library can actually not be installed. The administration of the journal subscriptions will now be centralized.

Are you up to date? This article provides a selection of the most interesting contents of the weblog medinfo from May to December 2008.

Are you up to date? This article provides a selection of the most interesting contents of the weblog medinfo from January to April 2008.

Rückblick auf die Tagung 2007: Das Kernthema war E-Learning. Daneben gelangen mit Workshops und Vorträgen etliche „Blicke über den Tellerrand“. Der Verein AGMB e.V. hat in der satzungsgemäßen Mitgliederversammlung einen neuen Vorstand für die Amtszeit 2007 bis 2009 gewählt.

Are you up to date? This article provides a selection of the most interesting contents of the weblog medinfo from September to December 2007.

Are you up to date? In July 2007 medinfo crossed the limit of 2000 news in the weblog. Many thanks to Oliver Obst for providing medical librarians with that much concentrated information. After the first article with a skim through medinfo including the contents of January to April 2007 here follows the next article with a selection of the most interesting contents of May to August 2007.

On behalf of the management board of the AGMB in 2003-2005 the AGMB task force on financing of medical libraries dealt with several questions relating to the present legal situation of hospital libraries. The following report summarises the activities of the task force. Furthermore it outlines the legal position of hospital libraries in Germany. Finally it specifies to which extent the new legal requirements concerning continuing education of medical specialists can be used to strengthen the position of hospital libraries.

Introduction: The tumor microenvironment gained attraction over the last decades as stromal cells significantly impact on tumor development, progression and metastasis, and immune evasion as well as on cancer therapy resistance. We previously reported that lung-resident mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were mobilized and activated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression and could even mediate radiation resistance in co-cultured NSCLC cells. Methods: We investigated how MSCs were affected by NSCLC cells in combination with cancer (radiation) therapy in indirect co-cultures using tumor-conditioned medium and Transwells or direct three-dimensional NSCLC-MSC spheroid co-cultures in order to unravel the resistancemediating action of tumor-associated MSCs. Results: Although no obvious phenotypic and functional alterations in MSCs following NSCLC co-culture could be observed, MSC senescence was induced following co-applied radiotherapy (RT). Global gene expression profiling, in combination with gene set enrichment analysis upon treatment, was used to confirm the senescent phenotype of irradiated MSC and to reveal relevant senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors that could meditate NSCLC RT resistance. We identified senescent tumor-associated MSC-derived serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) E1/PAI1 as potential SASP factor mediating NSCLC progression and RT resistance. Discussion: Specified intra-tumor-stroma interactions and cell type-specific pro-tumorigenic functions could not only improve lung cancer classification but could even be used for a more precise profiling of individual patients, finally paving an additional way for the discovery of potential drug targets for NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision radiotherapy with proton beams is frequently used in the management of aggressive soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and is often combined with doxorubicin (Dox), the first-line chemotherapy for STS. However, current treatment approaches continue to result in high local recurrence rates often occurring within the treatment field. This strongly indicates the need of optimized treatment protocols taking the vast heterogeneity of STS into account, thereby fostering personalized treatment approaches. Here, we used preclinical STS models to investigate the radiation response following photon (X) or proton (H) irradiation alone and in combination with different treatment schedules of Dox. As preclinical models, fibrosarcoma (HT-1080), undifferentiated pleiomorphic sarcoma (GCT), and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell lines were used; the latter two are mutated for TP53. The cellular response regarding clonogenic survival, apoptosis, cell-cycle distribution, proliferation, viability, morphology, and motility was investigated. The different STS cell types revealed a dose-dependent radiation response with reduced survival, proliferation, viability, and motility whereas G2/M phase arrest as well as apoptosis were induced. RD cells showed the most radiosensitive phenotype; the linear quadratic model fit could not be applied. In combined treatment schedules, Dox showed the highest efficiency when applied after or before and after radiation; Dox treatment only before radiation was less efficient. GCT cells were the most chemoresistant cell line in this study most probably due to their TP53 mutation status. Interestingly, similar additive effects could be observed for X or H irradiation in combination with Dox treatment. However, the additive effects were determined more frequently for X than for H irradiation. Thus, further investigations are needed to specify alternative drug therapies that display superior efficacy when combined with H therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]