MEDI INFO
The E-Mail News Letter of the
Medical Informatics Subcommittee of the
Sri Lanka Medical Association -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vol 2: No 3: 1998 MARCH
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IN THIS ISSUE
1.THE ANNUAL ACADEMICS SESSIONS OF THE SLMA
2.NATIONAL TWIN REGISTRY- UPDATE
3.THE HEALTH MINISTRY WEB SITE
4.SUBSCRIBER SUPPORT
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THE ANNUAL ACADEMICS SESSIONS OF THE SLMA
The 111th Annual Academic sessions of the SLMA was held from 25/3/98 to 28/3/98 at the Hotel Lanka Oberoi in Colombo. The theme of this years sessions was "Quality Assurance and Research - The Way Forward". In keeping with the theme a symposium on Quality Assurance, a Pre Congress workshop on Rational Use of Drugs and a Pre Congress Workshop on Planning and Conducting a Research Project were held as part of the Academic Programme (http://infolanka.com/people/shyam/CMJ/session98.htm)
The the SLMA oration and the S.C Paul oration were as always much looked forward to. This years SLMA orator was Prof. Shanthi Mendis who spoke on "Heart attacks, novel preventive strategies on the horizon". and S.C Paul orator was Prof. Dayasiri Fernando who spoke on "Colorectal carcinoma-an emerging threat in Sri Lanka".
The social program of the sessions included the Poolside Reception after the inauguration, the Doctors Concert and the Anniversary Banquet.
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Here are some links for those who are keen to get going on research:
***FOR RESEARCH GRANTS/SUPPORT
NARESA http://www.naresa.ac.lk
***BIBLIOGRAPHIC SEARCH ENGINES
MEDLINE http://www4.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
NARESA’s Sri Lanka Online Database http://vidya.naresa.ac.lk/
Bibliography of Genetic Disorders and Birth Defects Sri Lanka http://infolanka.com/org/genetics/bibil.htm
Sri Lankan Medical Bibliographies (Not on the web)
Peiris K, Uragoda CG. A bibliography of medical publications relating to Sri Lanka 1811 - 1976. Colombo: National Science Council of Sri Lanka, 1980,453p
Peiris K, Uragoda CG. A bibliography of health in Sri Lanka 1977-1980. Colombo: Ceylon College of Physicians 1983;164p
Uragoda CG. A bibliography of medical publications relating to Sri Lanka 1981-1988. Colombo 1991;175p
Korale SR. Biblography of Medicine 1981-1988.Colombo: Health Literature Library & Information Services Sri Lanka & WHO 1992;883p
Silva M. Bibliography on the Sri Lankan Child. Colombo: Children's Secretariat 1979;179p
Peiris JB, Peiris K, Uragoda CG. A bibliography of publications in Neurosciences relating to Sri Lanka. Colombo 1983;73p
***FOR STATISTICS Statistics on the WEB-All the links http://www.execpc.com/~helberg/statistics.html
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Quality Assurance and Evidence Based Medicine was much talked about at the sessions here are some links:
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/
Calendar of for EBH-related Workshops and other educational events. http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/docs/calendar.html
Teaching Material for EBM http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/docs/teaching.html
EBM Toolbox http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/docs/toolbox.html
The journal Evidence-Based Medicine http://www.bmjpg.com/data/ebm.htm
Bandolier. http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/Bandolier
More Links http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/docs/otherebmgen.html
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2. The National Twin Registry Project of the SLMA completes one year on 28/3/97. We carry an update issued by the Registry:
NATIONAL TWIN REGISTRY- UPDATE Published By The National Twin Registry Committee of the Sri Lanka Medical Association
INTRODUCTION
Twins have long been a source of fascination but gemellology, the scientific study of twins, has emerged only in the last two centuries. Two people in particular have been responsible for promoting the study of twins. The first was Sir Francis Galton, cousin of Sir Charles Darwin, who realized that twins could be invaluable in the study of the effects of heredity and environment on human development. His classic The History of Twins as a Criterion of the Relative Powers of Nature and Nurture was published in 1876. The second was Professor Luigi Gedda, from Rome, who is still actively working for twins, their families and those who study them. In 1951 he wrote a review of all aspects of twins which was later translated into English as Twins in History and Science. In 1974 he founded the International Society for Twin Studies. The purpose of twin studies is two-fold; studying the multiple birth phenomenon per se, and making inquiry into the genetic and environmental sources of human variation.
Twin Registries have been in existence in many countries around the world and have served as a valuable source for Twin studies. What makes our twin registry so special is that it is the first of its kind in the developing world. On March 28th, 1998 we complete one year. We invite you to make use of our twin database for your research.
ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE PAST YEAR
1. Establishing the registry
with a full time research assistant and computer facilities. 2. Establishing
presence on the Internet. http://infolanka.com/org/genetics/twin.htm
3. Completing the first phase of registering twins.
4. Establishing strategic international collaborative links.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE TWINS IN OUR REGISTER
SAME SAME DIFF SEX TOTAL
AGE
SEX SEX SEX TO BE OF
(MALE) (FEMALE) VERIFIED OLDEST
TWINS 1327 1610 1116
321 4374 80 Yrs
TRIPLETS 16 24 39 1 80 46 Yrs
QUADRUPLETS - - 2 - 2 5 Yrs
THE NATIONAL TWIN REGISTRY COMMITTEE
Prof. Rohan W Jayasekara, (Chairman) Prof. Devaka JS Fernando, Dr. Athula Sumathipala, Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe, Dr. Vajira HW Dissanayake, Prof. Anoja Fernando, Prof. Wilfred Perera, Dr. S Siribaddana, Dr. Cris Uragoda, Ms. Nimalie De Silva (Research Assistant)
For further information contact Ms Nimalie De Silva on 695300 ext 335
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3. THE HEALTH MINISTRY WEB SITE
The Health Ministry website has come up at http://www.lk/health/ministry.html
We congratulate the web team Dr.M.A.L.R.Perera - Additional Secretary (Medical Services) Dr.K.C.S. Dalpathadu - Deputy Director General (Planning) Dr.G.S.Senanayaka - Director Information, Mr.M.W.Premaratna - Systems Analyst/Programmer for a job well done.
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4. SUBSCRIBER SUPPORT
How To Subscribe: send an email with the following message to vajiradx@sri.lanka.net SUBSCRIBE TO MEDI INFO <your name/your e-mail address>
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How To Contact The Editors: Dr. Vajira H.W. Dissanayake - vajiradx@sri.lanka.net Dr. Shyam Fernando - shyam@sri.lanka.net
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Published by the Medical Informatics Subcommittee - SLMA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------