The author: Professor Yasser Metwally
INTRODUCTION
March 16, 2010 — It can be a major challenge to keep current with the rapidly growing body of scientific and clinical neurologic knowledge. Fortunately, there are several tools available for neurologists to gain access to this information, almost all of which are now available online. Email alerts, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and XML (Extensible Markup Language) feeds, and mashups (Web pages that display continuously updated information simultaneously from multiple sources, using RSS and XML) are among the most important of these alerting methods. Podcasts (multimedia files that are transferred over the Internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer) are another good way to obtain organized presentations of in-depth information on new topics. Other sources of current neurologic information include major media outlets, academic society Web sites, proprietary medical news sites, neurology news magazines (eg, Neurology Today and Clinical Neurology News), the National Library of Medicine's PubMed data service, and traditional peer-reviewed journals.
- RSS and XML feeds
Various online tools facilitate access to these information sources. So-called push technologies such as RSS and XML allow media sources to send recipients selective updated information, including late-breaking news or newly published articles, along with links to more detailed information. RSS and XML feeds have come into wide use among media sources, and are identified on Web sites of these sources by the symbols and .
Early versions of the special Web browsers required to view RSS and XML feeds, called readers, were limited in that they could only display one information source at a time. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome all have the ability to display individual RSS/XML feeds. Various readers, or aggregators (eg, Google Reader), allow more efficient viewing of multiple RSS/XML feeds on a single screen.
Mashups permit constant desktop display of multiple RSS or XML feeds. Examples include iGoogle (Box 1) and Netvibes, both of which simultaneously display multiple RSS feeds in small boxes, called modules or gadgets, on a single screen. The mashup can be set as the browser's home page, providing the neurologist with a tremendous array of frequently updated news sources. One advantage of mashups is the ability to create a module, or gadget, based on any RSS or XML feed, in addition to the vast number of predefined modules from commercial sources, such as BBC News World Edition. These are powerful tools for organizing information that is being updated constantly.
Box 1. Creating a custom gadget in iGoogle
| Use the following steps to create a custom gadget in iGoogle: •Open a free Google account •On the Google Accounts page, click on iGoogle and follow the instructions to create a mashup page •Find an RSS or XML feed of interest (eg, see the symbols on the home page of http://www.AAN.com) •Click on the RSS or XML icon •Copy the URL for the RSS feed from the address box at the top of the browser •Click on the “Add stuff” link in the upper right of the iGoogle screen •On the next page, click on the “Add feed or gadget” link in the left-hand column •Paste the URL into the address box •The RSS gadget will automatically appear on the iGoogle mashup page. The gadgets can be organized on the page by drag and drop. |
Gadgets That show constantly updated information are frequently used in my web site (www.yassermetwally.com) you can have a look at: http://yassermetwally.com/blog/?p=256. A mashup is a Web page that displays constantly updated information from several media sources, using RSS or XML feeds. Each of the small boxes, or gadgets, contains a summary of several news items, with a link to more detailed information. The iGoogle mashup can be set as a home page, allowing the neurologist to follow multiple news sources in real time.
References
1. Chio A, Montuschi A, Cammarosano S, et al. ALS patients and caregivers communication preferences and information seeking behaviour. Eur J Neurol. 2008;15(1):55–60.
2. Diaz JA, Griffith RA, Ng JJ, et al. Patients' use of the Internet for medical information. J Gen Intern Med. 2002;17(3):180–185.
3. Baker L, Wagner TH, Singer S, et al. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA. 2003;289(18):2400–2406.
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