Publish or Perish

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In academic medicine we are all aware of the pressure to publish, and the metric by which many judge the quality of the papers that are published by a given author is the impact factor of the journal in which their papers appear. The impact factor of a journal is simply the average number of citations per article divided by the total number of “citable articles”. This method of assessing the quality of journals has become increasingly important over the last 20 years and has led to some changes in publication practices. For example, reviews tend to get cited more often than original research papers which is why review journals often have a relatively high impact factor (e.g Current Opinions in Nephrology and Hypertension in our field). Case reports, in contrast, rarely get cited and as a result, journals have moved away from publishing case reports and towards publishing reviews.
Ten years ago, Thomson Reuters (who generate the impact factors) realized that some journals were gaming the system to increase their citation count by publishing review articles and editorials that would preferentially cite papers published in their own journal. TR changed their algorithm to detect this kind of behavior and it is much less common as a result. Which brings me to this great website: Retraction Watch. This is a site which details on a daily basis papers which have been retracted from the literature for various reasons some sinister and some more innocent. Yesterday, they reported on the case of a series of articles retracted for citation manipulation which resulted in 3 journals losing their impact factors for this year. The articles were review papers which almost exclusively cited papers in another journal called “Cell Transplantation” and the authors were editorial board members of this journal. All in all, if these papers were excluded from the citation record, the impact factor of this journal would decrease from 6.2 to 4.1 for last year! This is a great post detailing the whole saga.
See here for a paper detailing the history of the impact factor.
Of course, we in the nephrology world would never get caught up in something like this…

Pantry Nightmare

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Pantry Nightmare

Surprise, surprise, you may have expired foodssitting in your pantry. If you stock up on dry goods like breadcrumbs, cakemixes, noodles, and canned goods, it is possible that many will expire withinone to three years (if not already). If your pantry is overflowing and disorganized (like mine), it is easyto overlook products that have been sitting on your shelves long past theirprime.With Spring-cleaning looming, it may be time totackle your pantry.  Yes, someguilt about getting rid of unused expired products may be lurking around, butexpired food can cause health problems such as gastric distress, gas, bloating,or diarrhea. Many materials found in dry food packaging areperfect for recycling.  Make agreen choice by recycling expired foods packaging materials.  Keep in mind that some packagingmaterials may look like foil or another material but is plastic. Try these tipsfor responsible recycling as you clean out the pantry:1.       Removeplastic packages such as cake mixes and noodles from the cardboard packaging.This is easy to throw away in the green recycle bin.2.       Removedry foods from their plastic wrappers. You can make plastic wraps more suitedfor the recycling bin by rinsing them off quickly under the tap.3.      Dumpout the contents of expired canned goods, rinse them out, and throw them in therecycling bin.
After following these steps, you will reach thebest part, a pantry with room to clean, reorganize, spray for bugs (if needed),and stock up on healthy foods for this summer! 

What is that odor?

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Pets,kids, cooking, dirty laundry, and trash all contribute to give our homes a notso fresh odor.  Try as we may to keep the laundry done and the kids’clean, lagging odors persist.  Glade may not be able to bathe your pets ortake out the trash, but it certainly can help remove their annoying odors. Below are the top Glade coupons.  Get a coupon and have a fresh smellinghome.
 
1.      $1.00off 2 Glade Sense & Spray refills 2.      $3.00off Glade Sense & Spray starter kit 3.      $0.55off Glade Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator 4.      $1.00off two Glade Scented Oil Candle products 5.      $1.00off two Glade 4-oz. Jar Candles 6.      $3.00off Glade PlugIns Lasting impressions 7.      $1.00off Glade PlugIns Scented Oil warmer 8.      $1.00off Glade PlugIns Scented Oil refills 9.      $0.55off Glade Premium Room Spray

Fight the Bite

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This post is a featured CDC.**

There will always be bugs, but don't let them bite you!Learn about the steps you can take to avoid tick and mosquito bites that maycause serious illnesses such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Fifth andsixth graders can help promote bug bite prevention by participating in theFight the Bite Poster Contest.
Spring is coming soon! As we get ready for anotherseason of outdoor fun, it's important to remember to protect ourselves frommosquitoes and ticks that may spread the viruses or bacteria that cause seriousillness such as WestNile virus, Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Fortunately,we can all take steps such as using an effective insectrepellent on skin and clothing, wearing long sleeves and long pants (whenit's not too hot), taking care of our yards to get rid of standing water wheremosquitoes lay their eggs, and reducing brush, tall grasses, leaf litter, andharborage where ticks may like to hang out.
Kids, there is an important role that you can play inspreading the message about protection from these bugs. CDC and the DEETEducation Program are sponsoring the annual "Fight the Bite" Poster Contest,open to any child in grades 5 or 6. Create a poster showing people how to fightthe bite of mosquitoes and ticks and enter it in the contest. Contest rules andan entry form are available online at Fight the Bite Contest.
Fight the Bite Contest.But don't wait; entries must be submitted by April 18, 2012.
More information on bugs can be found at:
1.   Centers for Disease Control andPrevention:  West Nile virus website and Lyme disease web site2.   DEET Education Program: www.deetonline.org3.   University of Florida: http://mosquito.ifas.ufl.edu/Index.htm4.   American Lyme DiseaseFoundation: www.aldf.com5.   About Bugs: www.aboutbugsbugsbugs.com  
**This post is a featured CDC post and can be viewed init’s entirety at CDC

Ladies Only

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The arrival of warmer weather is not just a timefor moms to plan fun activities to keep children busy outdoors, it is also a good time to pamper ourselves.  The warmerseasons are perfect times to follow up on heath care matters that you may havebeen neglecting.  Postponing doctors’visits, these can have a long-term impact on your health. You and yourphysician may miss early signs of cancer and other illnesses.   Make a list of heath care related task (dental, OB-GYN,Family Doctor, Podiatrist, etc) that you have postponed during the wintermonths and check them off as each is completed.  If stress is one of your concerns, call your favorite masseuse to schedule a needed massage. It is well known that annual trips to the OB-GYNfor well-woman examinations are no picnics in the park given the cold tables, stirrups,and paper gowns that open in the back.  However, skipping your OB-GYNappointment could mean missing early signs of cervical or uterine cancers. Ifpossible, discuss with your physician when you will need a mammogram and how toperform breast self-examinations to check for any lumps.  If you think you may have found a lumpin your breasts, you need to seek medical care as soon as possible. If you have postponed seeing your family phycianfor so long that you may not recognize him if he introduced himself, then you needto make an appointment for a routine check-up.  Seeing your family physician may save you from debilitating effects of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.  For example, a woman suffering from headaches while readingmay buy a pair of reading glasses and take some Ibuprofen to relieve theheadache.  The ibuprofen may relieve that headache; however, she should see her family physician to find out if other diagnosis such as hypertensionand elevated triglycerides are not contributing to her headaches. Both diagnosescan lead to strokes or heart attacks. This is a good time to work on your diet andexercise routines.  Start by addingmore fruits and vegetables to your daily diet and reduce the amount of caffeinatedand sugary drinks from your daily intake. Avoid fries and other high fat processed foods.  If you hibernated during the wintermonths, see your doctor before starting a workout plan.  You may have to start slowly by walkinga mile a day at the local park. Talk with your health care provider about yourhealth, diet, and exercise before you start your plan.  You and your physician will be able to create adiet and exercise plan tailored to your needs. 



Disclaimer: The information in this article is notintended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider.Please consult a health care provider for advice regarding any specific medicalcondition.

Alternative jobs for graduates without their RD credential

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The semester is finally starting to wind down for me. Fortunately, this also means that I graduate soon. I decided not to do the January match for dietetic internships because the ones that I am interested in applying to only have the April match. I already have a job as a dietary aide at a hospital, but I will soon be over-qualified for this position. I’m hoping I can get a little more work experience under my belt before the internship would start (if I got one), but what sort of jobs can I get with a B.S. in Dietetics but without the RD credential?????I’ve been searching and asking around and here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

• ·         WIC Nutritionist

• ·         Foodservice Manager

• ·         Diet Tech

• ·         Nonprofit Organizations

• ·         Food Industry

• ·         Weight Loss Clinic

That’s about all I’ve been able to find in my area. Have any other suggestions for how to gain work experience? Share your ideas!

Touching the Lives of Children through Nutrition Education

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1^st Week of Nutrition Education
One of the best parts of this rotation is being able to touch the lives of children through classroom lessons.  I had the opportunity this past week to work with kids in 2^nd grade and kindergarten at a couple different schools throughout the district.  Reaching kids through nutrition education is one of the reasons I am so interested in a career in school food service.  It is at this age that nutrition education can make a critical impact in inspiring kids to live a healthy lifestyle and eat a nutritious diet.  Here are a couple activities that we held with the children:
With the second grade class we held a “tasting party.”  This was the third lesson with the nutrition educator that they have had this year.  Foods that each child was given to sample included cucumbers, yellow squash, broccoli, grapes and a whole grain cracker.  The kids were given a survey to document how much they liked each food they tried which they could then bring home to their parents.  Most of the kids liked all the fresh foods that they tried and many of them said they had eaten something that they never had tried before!
We focused on MyPlate and the food groups with the kindergarten class.  This group was so enthusiastic to learn and answer questions.  After discussing all the food groups the kids were given paper plates and crayons so they could draw their own healthy plate.  Here is a picture of the finished plates that were hung in the windows outside the school cafeteria for everyone to see:



This coming week will also be filled with nutrition education lessons.  I will also be busy devising a proposal for the school wide nutrition campaign that will take place in January.  It will be a busy week!