Things in the library 24 Sept...

 Things about health... 

The fourth annual profile combining data and knowledge with information from other sources to give a broad picture of the health of people in England in 2021. Includes sections on Child Health and also the effect COVID-19 has had on health in England.

Things coming soon... 

The interviews were held for my replacement this week so, providing all the paperwork goes through correctly, an excellent new member of staff will be joining the library with good experience of doing this type of job. I am sure you will make them feel very welcome. They will also lower the average age of the library staff ! 

Things about adoption... 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence has published a report looking at the experiences and needs of adopted children and their families. Findings include: a child’s needs must be comprehensively assessed and form the basis of a support plan that is put in place from the start; support for families should be proactively provided to meet their needs; children’s continuing relationships with former foster carers, social workers, birth family members and their local community can be critical to placement stability; and adopted children require ongoing and evolving support throughout their childhoods.

Things about bread... 

The addition of folic acid to food has been a successful public health policy in a number of countries worldwide such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, resulting in falls in neural tube defects. Folic acid will be added to non-wholemeal wheat flour across the UK to help prevent life-threatening spinal conditions in babies, the government and devolved administrations have announced.

Adding folic acid will mean foods made with flour, such as bread, will actively help avoid around 200 neural tube defects each year – around 20% of the annual UK total.

Things about safeguarding... 

The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has published a review of the circumstances involved in cases where babies under-one-year-old have been harmed or killed by their fathers or other males in a caring role. 

Findings include: a range of risk factors were common in many of the cases, a lack of information sharing was a key factor that prevented practitioners from responding to risk to babies, and many services aimed at new parents are predominantly focused on the mother. 

Recommendations include: the government should fund pilots to develop holistic work with fathers and the engagement of fathers must be embedded in prospective and current family-focused programmes. NSPCC Learning has published a CASPAR briefing summarising learning from the review.

Things about getting to school... 

Children who walk or cycle to school may have a healthier body weight than those who arrive by car. A new study followed more than 8,000 schoolchildren over a period of years. The findings showed that even using public transport instead of taking the car led to a reduction in body fat.

It is widely accepted that physical activity helps people of all ages stay at a healthy weight. Walking or cycling (active travel) to school is likely to help children achieve this but, before this study, there was a lack of adequate evidence.

As children get older, they become more independent and often have more choices about how they get to school. Researchers found that children who switched to walking and cycling to school between the ages of 7 and 14 had healthier body weights than those who continued to travel by car. The findings also suggest that the beneficial effects of walking or cycling may be greater for children from the most deprived areas. 

Obesity is a major public health problem in the UK. More than one in five children in the last year of primary school are overweight and as a result are likely to have poorer physical and mental health.

This research underlines the importance of encouraging active travel. This means providing safe and effective infrastructure to encourage people to walk, cycle, or use public transport. Finding ways of supporting children and families from lower income households to walk or cycle could help these groups overcome some of the health inequalities they face. 

Things to make... 

I do love Autumn (by retiring in Autumn my plan was always to visit New England during the Fall ... maybe one day)  and it's nice to get the nip in the air to prompt me to cook some suitable autumnal food. This vegetarian lasagne is a lovely recipe I have made before and will be featuring in next week's menu at our house. 

Things in the library 10th Sept...

 Things about child well-being... 

The Children’s Society has published its annual Good Childhood report, looking at the wellbeing of children in the UK in 2021. Findings from a survey of around 2,000 10- to 17-year-olds between April and June 2021 include: 7% of 10- to 15-year-olds in the UK are not happy with their lives; the areas causing the greatest dissatisfaction are school, friendship and how they feel about their appearance; and 85% of children who rated how well they had coped during the pandemic gave themselves a score of above five out of ten. Children's happiness is in an alarming state of decline. 

"Society is tragically failing our young people. School, friendships and how they feel about the way they look are causing the greatest dissatisfaction in adolescence."

 Things about art... 

Evening in Benares, India
Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945)

For the past six months there’s been a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to renovate, redecorate and redisplay works at the Graves Gallery, and they are now open again.

They have transformed four of the galleries in the Graves – walls have been re-cladded, spaces redecorated and over a third of the artworks on display have been changed over.

Currently you will be able to see Phlegm’s Pandemic Diary, a new exhibition of work by sculptor Mark Firth, an exhibition curated by pioneering artist Keith Piper, and a new display on the theme of landscape.

Things to buy... 

We have over 100 second-hand books for sale, the list and prices are on this spreadsheet. Now that we can take card payments it is easier than ever for you to come up to the library to browse and buy.  You can also ring us with your choices and, if they are still available, we can take your card payment over the phone and either keep them for you to collect or send in the internal mail (at your risk). Please make sure all transactions take place 30 mins before our closing times. 

Things about opening hours... 

A reminder that we are now back open on two evenings a week  Tuesday and Wednesday until 19:00 - it seems to be popular and we have a few regular attendees.

Things about ultra processed foods... 

A cohort study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, of 9025 British children assessed longitudinal associations between UPF consumption and adiposity trajectories from childhood to early adulthood.  Ultraprocessed foods tend to be more energy-dense and nutritionally poorer (ie, high in levels of free sugar, salt, and saturated fats but low in levels of protein, dietary fiber, and micronutrients) compared with less processed alternatives and are designed to be cheap, palatable, durable, convenient, and appealing. The findings suggest that higher UPF consumption is associated with greater increases in adiposity from childhood to early adulthood. 

Robust public health measures that promote minimally processed foods and discourage UPF consumption among children are urgently needed to reduce obesity in England and globally.

 

Things about everything... 

 Whether you want to know more about our training, what we do, how to request an article or what services we can provide for management then our website is the place to look. Including useful links to Book a Librarian, finding e-books or searching our library catalogue.

Things to book and attend... 

Sheffield's brilliant 'Off the Shelf' literary festival is back 15th-31st October. With speakers and events for everyone including comedian and writer Andy Hamilton, Former Labour MP Helen Jackson, Black Women Write Now – curated by Désirée Reynolds' Lady Hale (who was the first woman and youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, President of the Supreme Court and a pioneering reformer), Miriam Margoyles and  Poet Laureate Simon Armitage performs a newly commissioned piece in celebration of the Peak District National Park’s 70th anniversary. This brochure has all the events at a glance.

Things to make... 

One of my jobs this weekend is to make crab apple jelly. This year my fairly new tree is heavily laden with fruit. If you don't have crab apples then other UK apples are coming up to their best season - one of my favourite apple recipes is Dorset apple traybake.

 

Things in the library 8th January...

 Happy New Year to you all from the Library Staff

Things about child health...

Below you can find the joint Commissioners’ (England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland) reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Every five years, the Committee examines the whole UK on how well it is meeting its promises under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The reports on this page are submitted to the Committee. They assess how the UK Government and devolved administrations have progressed towards giving every child the opportunities and protections enshrined in the UNCRC.

The “Report of the Children’s Commissioners of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child”, including a “Covid-19 annex”, identifies emerging trends and key issues regarding children’s human rights in the UK. Some of these draw on previous concluding observations while others reflect worrying trends caused by the UK’s departure from the European Union (Brexit) and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report “Are we there yet?” is based on engagement with children and young people in all four nations, and it aims to provide the Committee with children and young people’s voices about their experiences on the delivery of their rights. A summary report goes alongside it.

Things about children and justice... 

This report from the Children's Commissioner looks at the issues around children in the justice system.

The past decade has seen a welcome reduction in the numbers of children getting caught up in the criminal justice system. Since 2010, the numbers receiving a caution or sentence have fallen by 83% and the number of children in custody has fallen by 73% to 571 in August 2020. But there are still hundreds of children ending up in our courts and prisons. By comparison, in 2015, there were only 13 children aged 15-17 in prison in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Denmark combined.

We know how and why many of these children end up involved in violence and crime. The blueprint is there for all to see – children growing up in turmoil and experiencing trauma, but not receiving the support and protection they need. Or worse, targeted by those who wish to exploit their vulnerabilities for personal gain. Our under-resourced system of child protection was not designed to safeguard against risks outside the family home and is creaking under the pressure of trying to keep kids safe.

Many of these children have been let down by the systems that should be keeping them safe from harm before they ever set foot inside a police station. Over half (56%) of children sentenced are currently or have previously been a ‘Child in Need’ (assessed as needing additional support from the state) and 7 in 10 have identified mental health needs. 85% of boys in young offender institutions have previously been excluded from school. When compared to their peers, children in residential care are at least 13 times more likely to be criminalised.

At every stage of a child’s journey through the criminal justice system, opportunities are being missed to get to the root causes of offending and put children’s best interests at the heart of the response. When children’s home staff call the police on a child for damaging property, rather than ground them or dock their pocket money as a parent might. Or when they meet a police officer unable to recognise vulnerability and trigger a safeguarding response. Or when the courts remand children to custody before they’ve even been tried – last year almost a third of children in custody were on remand, two thirds of whom never went on to receive a custodial sentence. Ultimately, the system fails to see the child first and the ‘offender’ second, which reduces the opportunity for real change. This appears to be particularly true for Black children, who are over four times more likely to be arrested than White children. Despite accounting for only 18% of the general population, children from BAME backgrounds now make up almost half (49%) of the entire population of youth custody.

The number of children in custody in this country is half the size of a secondary school and yet custodial institutions are failing to even keep children safe, let alone rehabilitate them. Levels of violence are high, and over a third (35%) of children have felt unsafe in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. This violence leads to incidences of restraint and a situation where children are spending hours at a time shut in their cells, rather than accessing the education or support they need to turn their lives around.  Too many children are set up to fail when they leave, because not enough is done to find them the right place to live, or get them the treatment or education they need on release.  Is it any wonder that 7 in 10 children released from custody reoffend within a year?

We need a radical new approach to preventing children becoming involved in crime and turning children’s lives around when they have spiralled out of control. This means: stopping gangs from exploiting vulnerable children; identifying children at risk of getting involved in crime and diverting them away from that path; reducing the numbers of children in custody to an absolute minimum and transforming secure care for children so that rehabilitation is at its heart.

This about unhealthy food and drink... 

It was announced in December that promotions on food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) in retailers will be restricted from April 2022. Offers for unhealthy foods like ‘buy one get one free’ and promotions in prominent locations in stores and online to be restricted from April 2022. Free refills of sugary soft drinks will also be prohibited in the eating-out sector. Restrictions will apply to medium and large stores. The new rules, designed to support the nation to make healthier choices, will prohibit retailers from offering multibuy promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘3 for 2’ offers on these products. Unhealthy promotions will also no longer be featured in key locations, such as at checkouts, store entrances, aisle ends and their online equivalents. Promotions often appear to help shoppers save money. However, data shows that these deals actually increase purchases of promoted products by almost 20%. They encourage people to buy more than they need or intended to buy in the first place

Things to attend... 

Our next Reading Group will be on 3rd Feb at 18:30 meeting by Microsoft Teams - please contact us if you want to be added to the mailing list or if you want the link to join a specific group. Our next book is the modern classic by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four. Interesting parallels with our world today I think and 'fake news'.

...and also Journal Club

The next meeting will be on 12th January 13:00 - 14:00pm meeting virtually & physically from the Education & Skills Centre, F Floor Stephenson Wing discussing the paper 'Intracranial injuries on computed tomography head scans in infants investigated for suspected physical abuse: a retrospective review'. Please contact the library fo attending information and a copy of the paper. Bring your own muffins!

Things about eating disorders... 

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is alerting parents and guardians to look out for signs of eating disorders in children and young people.  The College spoke to paediatricians from around the country working in the field allll had seen an increase in cases in the last year, and all put this down to the effects of the pandemic on young people’s lives. 

A number of factors are thought to have contributed to increased stress, deterioration in young people’s mental health and an intense focus for some on eating and exercise during the pandemic. These include: isolation from peers during school closures, exam cancellations, loss of motivating extra-curricular activities such as sports, dance/drama/youth clubs; an increased use of social media with young people concentrating on unrealistic ideas of body image; being forced to quarantine (a particular problem for many students newly arrived at university); worries about families’ economic problems; illness or death of loved ones, and fears about contracting the virus.

Dr Elizabeth Allison, Lead Consultant Paediatrician for eating disorders at Sheffield Children’s Hospital (medical lead in the region for the community eating disorders service): 

“We’ve seen around twice the number of referrals for medical outpatient reviews and around twice the numbers of inpatient medical admissions for patients with Anorexia Nervosa in 2020 compared to 2019 and these numbers appear to be continuing to rise even further since September.  The lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic has created a fertile ground in which eating disorders can flourish. This is maybe due to the confinement away from young people's normal social and educational structure and also perhaps due to the increased exposure to social media influences. We are concerned that we may continue to see this trend continue over the next year or more." 

Things to make...

Our latest Reading group book that was much enjoyed was The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. How much more fun it would have been if we had all had some of this  Apple Cake with Bourbon Honey Glaze to eat along with it (scroll down the page for the recipe). This blog suggests recipes based on various books and I think we should embrace this idea when we can return to physical meetings.

Things in the library 15th May...

Things about mental health...
The Mental Health Foundation have picked 'kindness' as the theme for  Mental Health Awareness Week 18-24 May 2020. In his blog their CEO states

"Kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity. It is a cornerstone of our individual and collective mental health. Wisdom from every culture across history recognises that kindness is something that all human beings need to experience and practise to be fully alive." 

We have seen so many little acts of kindness in the current pandemic from local groups organising shopping and help in their neighbourhoods, little gifts left for people or simply a heartfelt 'thank you'. Their CEO goes on to say their reports show as child poverty rises, children and young people in the poorest parts of our country are two to three times  more likely to experience poor mental health than those in the richest. After the 2008 credit crunch it was the most vulnerable in our communities who experienced the severest consequences of austerity, with devastating effects on their mental and physical health. This not the hallmark of a kind society

"Applied kindness could have a transformative impact on our schools, places of work, communities and families. As the former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has said, now is a time to put values above valuations. We must seize this time to shape a society that tips the balance in favour of good mental health, for all of us, but especially for those who are most vulnerable."  

Things about rice...
More than half of rice varieties sold in the UK contained levels of arsenic higher than regulations allow for babies and children under five. A University of Sheffield study published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety finds brown and organic rice contain more inorganic arsenic than the others. More than half of rice varieties sold in the UK contained levels of arsenic higher than regulations allow for babies and children under five Scientists call for labelling to warn of particular risk to infants and young children Scientists have called for labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice, after their research found half of rice varieties studied exceeded maximum limits on the deadly toxin.

Things about arts & culture...
University of Sheffield and Sheffield City Council have partnered with 'Our Favourite Places' to launch Sheffield Culture Hub this allows events in the city to be accessed for the first time through one digital route, providing visitors with a one-stop online arts and cultural events guide. Many events in Sheffield have already made the move to online delivery due to the Covid-19 lockdown. The new hub will help make these events accessible to more people as well as provide a platform for smaller events and cultural groups that don’t have access to digital delivery systems. It includes digital resources from theatres, Museums Sheffield, music and dance.

Things about e-books...
To thank everyone in the NHS across the country who are working so hard to protect us during this crisis, Hachette UK is offering all NHS staff a free e-book to download. Simply enter your NHS email address, choose a book from the selection available, then validate using the link sent to your NHS email address and create an account. The offer is open till Sunday, May 31, 2020.

More free books...

Amazon have a page which give an overview of some of the Kindle Books and digital magazines that are currently available for free download. This selection includes public domain titles as well as Kindle Books and digital magazines which publishers are providing for free download for a limited time. If you don't have a Kindle you can read on any tablet or smartphone with the free Kindle Reading App.





Things to do in the library...
As a Covid-19 conversation free zone the library is supplying free drinks, leisure reading and colouring sheets. Sarah has now started a gallery of completed artworks.






Things about Reading Group...
Our next book is God’s Own Country by Ross Raisin on Wed 3rd June via a virtual link at 18:15 to 19:15. Sam Marsdyke is a lonely young man, dogged by an incident in his past and forced to work his family farm instead of attending school in his Yorkshire village. He methodically fills his life with daily routines and adheres to strict boundaries that keep him at a remove from the townspeople. But one day he spies Josephine, his new neighbor from London. From that moment on, Sam's carefully constructed protections begin to crumble—and what starts off as a harmless friendship between an isolated loner and a defiant teenage girl takes a most disturbing turn.


Things to eat...
A meal we ate this week was Spinach, sweet potato & lentil dhal...I was afraid it might be a bit 'worthy' but it had such high ratings we decided to give it a go and it was truely delicious.

Things in the library 11 May...

Things without plastic...
The University of Sheffield Student Union (just down the road) has opened a ground-breaking new shop dedicated to waste-free goods. The Zero Waste Shop sells a huge variety of herbs, spices, nuts, cereals and grains along with household goods, all of which are free from plastic packaging. The outlet also stocks a range of sustainable everyday products including recycled kitchen roll, biodegradable refuse sacks and bamboo cutlery and kitchenware. There is also a refill station where you can fill up bottles with household essentials including soap, laundry detergent and surface cleaner. Cheaper and better for the environment, refilling is a great alternative to buying a new plastic bottle every time you run out of these items. Products are sold by weight, so you can buy as much or as little as you need. Take your own container, pick up a recyclable paper bag, or invest in a reusable jar or lunchbox from the wide range on offer in the shop. We are all welcome to use it - not just for University staff or students.

Things about obesity...
2020health’s third report on obesity since 2014 highlights that strong and mandated central policy, supporting bold, holistic local action, is still needed to impact what is arguably the greatest health challenge of the 21st century. Tackling obesity - What the UK can learn from other countries (Matt James, Dr Aaron Parkhurst and Jon Paxman) examines topical obesity intervention strategies from around the world to frame the question: can the UK learn from policy abroad?



Things about news items...
In the news last week was a report stating that bath oils for childhood eczema provide 'no clinical benefit'. When you hear items like this and want to know what the article referred to really said and see an appraisal of the research then go to the NHS behind the headlines site. Where the following points will be covered.

• Where did the story come from?
• What kind of research was this?
• What did the research involve?
• What were the basic results?
• How did the researchers interpret the results?
• Conclusion

Things across the road...

Take a step back in time and come along to Weston Park May Fayre on Sunday 20th May for a wonderful nostalgic day out with all of your family! Enjoy live traditional and contemporary music from the restored Victorian bandstand. The event is free and there will be lots of attractions and entertainment between 11am and 5pm to suit all of the family including: Carousel, Helter-Skelter and Children’s Rides, Artisan Crafts Marquee, Classic and Vintage Cars, Victorian Characters, Children’s Art and Craft Activities, Food and Refreshment Stalls and much more…

Things to top your toast...

Here are six toast toppings for spring brunch eating and none takes more than 10 minutes to make. 

Things in the library 13th October...

Things about very low birthweight...
A recent article in The Journal of Pediatrics evaluated the impact of major neonatal morbidities on the risks for rehospitalization in children and adolescents born of very low birth weight. They concluded  specific major neonatal morbidities as well as the number of morbidities were associated with excess risks of rehospitalization through childhood and adolescence. The full details can be found here


Things about medical apps...

(c) Jannie Iivonen

This article by Matt Burgess, of Wired, explains how they tested the symptom checkers of Ada, Babylon and Your.MD to find out how reliable they really are.
The work concluded that 34 per cent of the time the checkers managed to make the correct diagnosis. Within the top 20 diagnosis given, they were correct 58 per cent of the time. Care advice was correct almost two-thirds of the times (ranging from 33 per cent to 78 per cent).


Things about other health librarians...
A day in the life of a Welsh health librarian is detailed here as part of Libraries week - she was shortlisted for Welsh Librarian of the Year and one of the comments in her nomination was:
“... I have found in my 17 years of working as a consultant and the five preceding years as a registrar the one certain and sure source of knowledge and wisdom was via Isabel...I would state categorically that any health organisation that wishes to be innovative must not merely invest in excellent library services (including an extensive stock of books and journals) but also reward and support librarians like Isabel.  Put simply without an Isabel no organisation can be truly innovative.”
Dr Mark Temple, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC).
We are always grateful for the comments and feedback we receive - if we have had an impact on your work please let us know.

Things about sharing health info with children...

The Patient Information Forum is holding an event in London on 'Health Information for Children and Young People' on Friday 3 November 2017. If you have any queries about this event please contact admin@pifonline.org.uk. The event will share learning, best practice and good examples of:

• Innovative approaches to sharing information with children and young people
• Co-creating and involving children/young people in the development of health information
• Top tips for engaging with (or writing for) different age groups

Things about eggs...

You probably heard in the news this week that UK Lion mark eggs have been declared safe for pregnant women and young children, nearly 30 years after a salmonella scare. More information and link to the full report..

More Things to eat...

(c) Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

A nice vegetarian meal 'Lasagna With Spicy Roasted Cauliflower' which I spotted on NewYork Times website this week. Some of the measurements are in cups but I think it will be easy to follow. It mentions Marinara sauce - a name I wasn't familiar with - but basically any preferred tomato/onion/garlic/herb sauce that you would normally use. In fact according to Wikipedia "Marinara sauce is an Italian tomato sauce that originated in Naples, usually made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions. Its many variations can include the addition of capers, olives, spices, and a dash of wine"

Things in the library 22 Sept...

Things to eat...
Enjoy fantastic food at great prices during Dine Sheffield. Starting Thursday, 21 September, foodie’s can sample the cuisine of almost 50 restaurants and cafes throughout the city centre. Participating restaurants include established favourites, independent eateries and unique cafes. Diners will enjoy menus created especially for the week at a cost of either £5, £10 or £15.
The restaurants taking part include Marco’s Italian by Marco Pierre White, gourmet brasserie Browns and meat lover’s paradise Smoke Barbecue. They are joined by some of the city centre’s favourite restaurants and cafes such as tapas restaurant and bar Cubana, popular Indian restaurant Aagrah, new kid on the block Firepit BBQ, El Paso and Silversmiths.


Things about split families...
This article studies shared physical custody in Sweden, the country in the world where the phenomenon is most prevalent. They ask whether children in shared physical custody settings are more likely to report high levels of stress compared to children living in sole custody. The analysis is based on data with combined information from parents, children, and administrative registers. The models are controlled control for interparental as well as parent–child relationship quality and parents’ income. The results show that children sharing residence equally have lower likelihood of experiencing high levels of stress. The results can be interpreted as evidence for a positive effect of continuing everyday-like parental relationships after a family dissolution.

Things about Pediatric tracheotomy...
In this retrospective study, to assess outcomes of pediatric tracheotomy and duration of associated hospital stay according to indications, subjects were 142 consecutive pediatric patients (<18 years old) who underwent tracheotomy at a tertiary referral medical center, National Taiwan University Hospital, in 1997–2012. Age, sex, indications, pre-operative status (oxygen demand, number of repeated intubations), and post-operative status (duration of weaning, length of hospital stay, mortality) were analyzed. They conclude that outcomes of pediatric tracheotomy and duration of hospitalization depend on indications. Children with craniofacial anomalies had earlier tracheotomy age and longer mechanical ventilation before tracheotomy resulted in longer hospitalization. Earlier tracheotomy can shorten the duration of post-tracheotomy mechanical ventilation in several conditions.

Things about antibiotics...

A report, "Antibacterial agents in clinical development – an analysis of the antibacterial clinical development pipeline, including tuberculosis", launched this week by WHO shows a serious lack of new antibiotics under development to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Most of the drugs currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. The report found very few potential treatment options for those antibiotic-resistant infections identified by WHO as posing the greatest threat to health, including drug-resistant tuberculosis which kills around 250 000 people each year.
"Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency that will seriously jeopardize progress in modern medicine," says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. "There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery."
In addition to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, WHO has identified 12 classes of priority pathogens – some of them causing common infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections – that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics and urgently in need of new treatments.

Things about birthweight...
An e-pub this week in Acta Paediatrica looks at "Outcomes of infants with a birthweight less than or equal to 500 g in Northern England: 15 years experience" . They aimed to evaluate mortality and short-term neonatal morbidity of babies born ≤500 g cared for in the Northern Neonatal Network over a 15-year period.
They say "In conclusion, we have shown that survival to a year in babies born weighing ≤500 g and ≥22 weeks over the past 15 years is poor. This could be due to a combination of attitudes towards resuscitation and intensive care, or the intrinsic nature of these tiny babies. Manufacturers of equipment and devices should attempt to further miniaturise their products for neonatal intensive care so  that optimal monitoring and management can be offered to this exceptionally vulnerable group of babies, and survival can perhaps be improved."

Things we have achieved...
The University of Sheffield has recognised the work our staff did to make such a success of our 'Book a Librarian' campaign this year and is rewarding us with lunch. This means we will be closed from 12:00 to 14:00 on Wed 27th Sept. Apologies for any inconvenience - when we reopen we will be staying open to the normal 19:00...but we might need a bit of a snooze during the afternoon ...so please don't ask us anything too difficult!


Food for students...

Whether it is trying to walk 'the wrong way' past the hospital against the flow of freshers...or whether your own youngsters have flown the nest...you can't help but notice that the student term has begun again. So if you are, or know someone who is, a student why not look at these  easy recipes... more exciting than beans on toast....but with simple instructions and videos for the non-cook ..and why not try some yourself too. Here is a great simple tomato sauce

Things in the library 21 April...

Things about fussy eating...
Fussy/picky eating – i.e. consistently avoiding certain foods – is common in childhood and can be worrisome for parents. Repeated exposure to various flavors as occurs in breastmilk and early exposure to complementary feeding may increase food acceptance and thereby decrease fussy eating. This study examines the associations between infant feeding and child fussy eating in 4779 participants of Generation R, a Dutch population-based cohort.  Results suggest that breastfeeding does not predict fussy eating. However, introducing vegetables into a child's diet before 5 months might be protective against fussy eating, although future research should account for parents' own fussy eating.

Things about growth & development...
This article "Postnatal growth in term infants born small for gestational age is associated with later neurocognitive and metabolic outcomes" systematically reviewed papers published in English between 1994 and October 2015 on how postnatal weight gain and growth affects neurodevelopment and metabolic outcomes in term-born small for gestational age (SGA) infants. Two randomised trials reported that enriched infant formulas that promoted early growth also increased fat mass, lean mass and blood pressure, but had no effect on early neurocognitive outcomes. Meanwhile, 31 observational studies reported consistent positive associations between postnatal weight gain and growth with neurocognitive outcomes, adiposity, insulin resistance and blood pressure. They concluded that few intervention studies exist, despite consistent positive associations between early growth and neurocognition in term-born SGA infants.

Things about social media...
A discussion paper entitled "Social Media Use and Children's Wellbeing" from University of Sheffield authors was shared on SSRN (SSRN is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of research and is composed of a number of specialised research networks.) This research explores the effect of children's digital social networking on their subjective wellbeing. Using a large representative sample of 10-15 year olds over the period 2010 to 2014 from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, and estimating the effect of time spent chatting on social websites on a number of outcomes which reflect how these children feel about different aspects of their life, specifically: school work; appearance; family; friends; school attended; and life as a whole. Their results suggest that spending more time on social networks reduces the satisfaction that children feel with all aspects of their lives, except for their friendships; and that girls suffer more adverse effects than boys. As well as addressing policy makers' concerns about the effects of digital technology on children, this work also contributes to wider debates about the socioeconomic consequences of the internet and digital technologies more generally, a debate which to date has largely been based on evidence from outside of the UK.

Things about Case Reviews...
The National Guardian's Office (NGO) will launch a twelve month trial of its new case review process on 22 May. The case review will commend areas of good practice, where NHS staff have been supported to raise concerns. It will also provide where evidence of where inappropriate practice is found and recommendations to help foster a positive change in speaking up culture. After the twelve month trial period, the case review process will be reviewed and any necessary changes and improvements will be made. Information on how to submit a case for review will shortly be available on the National Guardian’s Office web pages. You can download a draft summary  of how the case review process will work or view the feedback received so far.

Bristol Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) has published the report of the serious case review (SCR) into the death of a new mother and her four-day-old daughter. Key issues include: professionals lost focus on the unborn child, and appeared more focused on the needs of the mother who had mental health problems; professionals felt intimidated by an unpredictable and hostile service user, and became less confident in using their skills and expertise; the range of individual services working with pregnant women with mental ill-health made it difficult to coordinate multi-organisational working.

Things about adolescent health...
This study 'Educational Attainment at Age 10–11 Years Predicts Health Risk Behaviors and Injury Risk During Adolescence'  is based on life course theory, whereby low-educated individuals are exposed to cumulative disadvantage through socioeconomic adversity, chronic stress, and poor health lifestyles and environments, among other mechanisms. All those factors manifest over the long term and culminate in poorer health in late life. It was designed to contribute to this literature by examining the effect of educational attainment on adolescent health, using injury rates as a proxy for risk-taking behaviors. It concludes that "Interventions aimed at children with declining attainment in primary school could help to improve adolescent health."

Things about sleep...
The Sleep Copuncil's website has many interesting resources to help you get a better night's sleep. Including some 'nodcasts' for you to download they asked more than 2,000 people what sounds helped them to de-stress/get to sleep. Among the top answers were the sounds of birdsong, rain, thunder and lightning, waves and wind. So they have reproduced those sounds  for you to listen to whenever you need a soothing sound to help you off to sleep.

Something zingy...
Perhaps not the meal to eat just before bedtime but this Hot-smoked salmon salad with a chilli lemon dressing is lovely and fresh for spring after all the Easter chocolate, simnel cakes and hot-cross buns.