Metropolis revisited: the evolving role of librarians in informatics education for the health professions.

Objective: The authors' goal was to assess changes in the role of librarians in informatics education from 2004 to 2013. This is a follow-up to "Metropolis Redux: The Unique Importance of Library Skills in Informatics," a 2004 survey of informatics programs.

Methods: An electronic survey was conducted in January 2013 and sent to librarians via the MEDLIB-L email discussion list, the library section of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Medical Informatics Section of the Medical Library Association, the Information Technology Interest Group of the Association of College and Research Libraries/New England Region, and various library directors across the country.

Vancomycin covalently bonded to titanium alloy prevents bacterial colonization.

Periprosthetic infection is a devastating consequence of implant insertion and can arise from hematogenous sources or surgical contamination. Microbes can preferentially colonize the implant surface and, by forming a biofilm, escape immune surveillance. We hypothesized that if an antibiotic can be tethered to a titanium alloy (Ti) surface, it will inhibit bacterial colonization, prevent biofilm formation, and avert late-stage infection.

Covalent bonding of vancomycin to Ti6Al4V alloy pins provides long-term inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus colonization.

Self-protecting Ti6Al4V alloy pins were prepared by covalent bonding of bis(ethylene glycol) linkers, then vancomycin to the oxidized, aminopropylated Ti6Al4V alloy surface. Fluorescence modification-enabled estimation of yields of free amines on the metallic surface monolayer at each reaction step. The vancomycin-protected Ti6Al4V pins were not colonized by Staphylococcus aureus, even after 44days storage in physiological buffer.

Metropolis redux: the unique importance of library skills in informatics.

Objectives: The objective is to highlight the important role that librarians have in teaching within a successful medical informatics program. Librarians regularly utilize skills that, although not technology dependent, are essential to conducting computer-based research. The Metropolis analogy is used to introduce the part librarians play as informatics partners.