Things in the library 20 Dec...

Things festive and dusty...
We will be having our annual pre-Christmas workout in the library on Monday....our stocktake day. We will be closed all day but will be open in the evening from 17:00 until 19:00.

We are then closed over Christmas and New Year, re-opening on Thursday Jan 2nd so we wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. If you need to return items when we are closed then a book-drop box is available outside the library.

Things about cell genomics...
There is a SITraN external seminar  on January 10th 12:00 - 13:00 in Meeting rooms B02/B03, SITraN, 385a Glossop Road. The speaker is John Marioni - Cancer Research Uk, Cambridge / European Bioinformatics Institute , University of Cambridge
Title: "Using single cell genomics to understand cell fate decisions"
With recent technological developments it has become possible to characterise a single cell’s genome, epigenome, transcriptome and proteome. However, to take advantage of such data it is critical that appropriate computational methods are applied and developed. In this presentation, I will describe some of the computational challenges and the solutions we have developed, focusing particularly on applications in the context of cell fate decisions in early mammalian development.

Things about neonates...
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership has published National Neonatal Audit Programme 2019: annual report on 2018 data.  The National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) reports on key measures of the care provided to babies in 181 neonatal services across England, Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man.  Included in this annual report for the first time is network level reporting of mortality until discharge from the neonatal unit, and adherence to neonatal nurse staffing standards.

and also...
NHS England has published Implementing the recommendations of the Neonatal Critical Care Transformation Review.  This action plan to implement the recommendations of the Neonatal Critical Care Transformation Review sets out how the NHS will further improve neonatal care with the support of funding set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Things about Paediatric Intensive Care...
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership has published Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network: Annual Report 2019.  This is the sixteenth annual PICANet clinical audit report summarising paediatric critical care that took place in the United Kingdom and Republic of  Ireland between 2016 and 2018.  It provides data on five key metrics: case ascertainment; retrieval mobilisation times; number of qualified nurses per bed; emergency readmissions within 48 hours and mortality in PICU.

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay 

Things carolling...
If you want to catch some Christmas carol singing in Sheffield over the next few days then this search should bring you plenty of choice.





Things to eat...
If you are catering for vegetarians (or anyone else!) over the Christmas period there are some fantastic recipes here like this savoury spiced baklava.

Things in the library 13th Dec...

Things to listen and watch...
The Snowman: Live   Saturday 21 December, 3pm Family ticket: £40 (up to two adults) Under 18s £10 / Adults £14 Babies go free
Raymond Brigg’s heartwarming tale of a snowman that comes to life, and his adventures with the little boy who built him is magically brought to life in this breathtaking performance!
A full orchestra (Sheffield Rep.) will play Howard Blake’s musical score live as you watch the film. The orchestra will also be playing a medley of music from the film FROZEN, alongside other Christmassy favourites; timeless Christmas magic for the whole family!
This concert takes place in The Octagon, Clarkson Street, Sheffield S10 2TQ.
The event is seated but specific seat numbers are not allocated.

Things inside...
The human microbiota plays a crucial role in educating the immune system and influencing host health right since birth. Various maternal factors along with the vertical microbial transfer from the mother, as well as the horizontal environmental transmission and internal factors relating to the infant, play a crucial role in modulating the gut microbiota. The early life microflora is highly unstable and undergoes dynamic changes during the first few years, converging towards a more stabilized adult microbiota by co-evolving with the host by the age of 3-4 years. Microbiota studies have underlined the role of dysbiosis in developing several metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes and immune-related disorders like asthma, to name a few. Thus, understanding early life microbial composition and various factors affecting the microbial community will provide a platform for developing strategies/techniques to maintain host health by restoring gut microbial flora. This review focuses on the factors that affect the microbial composition of the foetus in utero, during birth, infancy through childhood.

Things about delivering care with magic...

This article discusses five unconventional health and care organisations. These are organisations that have considered deeply the needs of people in their care and found substantively different ways of supporting them, in some cases adopting practices that might seem unusual or even risky to people working in traditional health and care services. There is also evidence that they have been successful, including in coping with increasing demand for services, delivering humane and compassionate care with limited resources and providing effective support for people with complex needs. The long read highlights common features of these organisations’ approach: their ways of working with service users, their approach to providing care, their organisational structures and their management practices. Magic is one of the examples used in Evelina London Children’s Hospital with children with hemiplegia.

Things to drink...
Research shows that what children drink – from birth through age 5 – can have a big impact on their health, as beverages make a significant contribution to dietary intake during this period. However, with so many choices available in the marketplace, it can be confusing for parents and caregivers to know which drinks are healthy and which ones to avoid. Many authoritative bodies have issued guidance and recommendations for healthy beverage intake, but important gaps exist as these recommendations have not been comprehensive in the age groups covered or in the types of beverages discussed. Given the importance of beverage consumption in early childhood and the need for comprehensive and consistent evidence-based recommendations, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel representing 4 key national health and nutrition organizations to develop comprehensive recommendations for beverage consumption consistent with a healthy diet for children from birth to age 5. The 4 organizations represented on the expert panel are the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association. The beverage recommendations put forward by this expert panel are based on the best available evidence and provide consistent messages that can be used by health care providers, public health practitioners, and parents and caregivers to improve the beverage intake patterns of infants and young children. This consensus statement presents the expert recommendations and an overview of the evidence for why certain beverages are or are not healthy for young children.

Things to attend...
Journal Club F Floor Stephenson Wing,  Thursday 19 Dec 8.00 - 9.00 am, the article being presented and discussed is 'Chromosomal Microarray Analysis and Whole-ExomeSequencing in Children With ASD'. Please contact the library if you wish to see a copy of the paper.



Things to read next year...
The full list of books we will be reading in our Reading Group next year and the dates are as follows. As always we will have one copy of each available to borrow in the library - we have an extensive fiction collection now so do come and choose some Christmas reading.


8th  Jan   The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

5th Feb    Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

4th Mar   Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

1st  Apr    Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

6th  May  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

3rd  Jun    God’s Own Country by Ross Raisin

1st  Jul     Before the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

5th Aug    The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

2nd  Sep   When I had a little sister by Catherine Simpson.

7th  Oct     The versions of us by Laura Barnett

4th Nov    John Wyndham: Day of the Triffids

2nd  Dec  The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

6th Jan 2021 The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Things to eat...

A breakfast dish for today, Papas a lo pobre with chorizo,

Things in the library 6th Dec...

Things to read...

We had our Reading group Christmas Party this week with a bumper attendance of 14 people. The books for next year are all chosen and will be announced shortly when we have confirmed which book will be read when. I can tell you however that the book we will be reading over Christmas and discussing in our meeting on 8th January will be 'The Snow Child' by Eowyn Ivey set in Alaska in 1920.



Things to attend...
ScHARR are running a course in May next year on 'The Identification and Review of Evidence to Inform Cost Effectiveness Models' there is an early Bird booking fee available until March 6th. The course will enable participants to develop an understanding of the methods available for the identification and review of evidence to inform cost effectiveness models. The course will meet the needs of those involved in health technology assessments and is particularly suited to:

• Health economic modellers wishing to extend their knowledge of how to identify and review evidence

• Information specialists who wish to advance their skills in identifying evidence for cost effectiveness models

• Systematic reviewers who wish to extend their reviewing skills related to cost effectiveness models

Alice Roberts (illus)

Things of beauty (and to use)...
Professor Alice Roberts makes programmes and write books about human anatomy, physiology, evolution, archaeology and history. She is also a medical doctor, and now a university lecturer. She taught human anatomy to students and doctors, and did research into human origins and disease in ancient skeletons - her talents also include watercolours and illustrations. This week she has uploaded many of her anatomy illustrations to her flickr page and says they are free to download and use for private use or any sort of teaching - please credit her as the illustrator.

Things about microbes...
The Annual Christmas Lecture on antimicrobial resistance by pioneers in the field, Professor Simon Foster and Professor David Hornby of the University of Sheffield is taking place Mon 9th Dec at 18:30 Man vs Microbe: Battle to the Death in Lecture Theatre 2 ,The Diamond Building. Whilst everyone is welcome, this event is suggested for those 16 and over, the event is free and open to the public The event is first come first come first served.

Things to make...
Today is Sinterklass in the Netherlands - last night shoes would have magically been filled with biscuits and sweets. My eldest son was born in the Netherlands and is staying with us at the moment so we thought we had better make an effort this year - courtesy of Tesco! However much nicer is to make your own Kruidnoten, Pepernoten or Speculaas. These biscuits are spiced with ginger, cinnamon, white pepper, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, with a hint of molasses. The origin of these traditional treats is intricately linked to the history of the Netherlands. The Dutch controlled the spice trade with the East in the 17th century, making the use of spices more accessible to ordinary Dutch people. Spices were still expensive, however, which is why their use was reserved for the holidays.

...and read

An interesting read around the history of this time is Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Minton an adventure story of unthinkable hardship and savagery, the navigation of uncharted waters, and the exploitation of new worlds, not always easy to read but is it a remarkable chapter in the history of the colonial powers of that time.




Things to sing...
The local carol workshop will be held again this year for University staff and friends - a chance to sing some well known and lesser known Christmas carols, many originating from the villages to the north of Sheffield. These workshops were originally put on for staff in what was LeTS, and expanded quickly to include friends in other parts of the University as well as family members and friends.
There will be one session this year:  Friday 20 December  from 12.30-1.50pm  (come and go as you please - no need to book)

The venue is St Andrew's URC Church on Upper Hanover Street (the church with the spire near University tram stop). Supported by members of Worrall Male Voice Choir (Musical Director: Nigel Russell-Sewell) and Broomhall Community Choir (Musical Director: Stephen Vickers), due to popularity the workshops have grown from a few people meeting in the Union TV studio, to Firth Hall, to moving five years ago to St Andrew's.

If you have a copy of "The Blue Book-The Joy of Christmas" please take that with you, otherwise the carols will be available on the day (and copies of the Blue Book will be available for purchase).