New Version of the NLM Gateway Includes Two New Resources

On May 1, 2006, NLM released a new version of the Gateway that includes access to two additional NLM resources. Users are now able to search the Household Products Database and the Bookshelf, a growing collection of full text biomedical books.

NLM is pleased to provide simultaneous searching and access to the data in these collections in addition to those in the 20 collections that the NLM Gateway also searches. For more information see What's New on the Gateway's features bar.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at gateway@nlm.nih.gov.

Updated Training Manuals Available

Recently updated editions of the PubMed®, NLM Gateway, and ClinicalTrials.gov training workbooks are now available for download from the NLM Web site. The current edition of the PubMed workbook reflects changes since August 2005 including the redesigned Limits page and My NCBI collections. The current edition of the Gateway and ClinicalTrials.gov workbook reflects changes through April 2006. The manuals are available for downloading in Portable Document Format (PDF) and Microsoft® (MS) Word formats. These materials correspond to the NLM's National Training Center and Clearinghouse training courses described at: http://nnlm.gov/mar/online/description.html. Feel free to use any part of the workbooks - you may customize parts for training programs, demonstrations, or workshops you conduct. These workbooks are not copyrighted.

Training materials used in training on Toxicology and Environmental Health Web Resources, the Unified Medical Language System® (UMLS®), and Molecular Biology Information Resources are also available from the NLM Training Manuals and Resources site.

New Instructional Resource on MeSH®

The Basics of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is designed to help you understand more about the Medical Subject Headings.

Learn about:

• the structure of the MeSH hierarchy
• how indexers select terms when indexing articles for MEDLINE®
• how to use MeSH to search PubMed®
• treatment of chemical and drug terms

The Basics of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is accessible from the NLM's PubMed Online Training page and the Distance Education page.

We welcome comments and suggestions on both the content and presentation.

PubMed® Tutorial Updated

The National Library of Medicine® is pleased to announce recent updates to the PubMed Tutorial. As always, the tutorial is available from the PubMed sidebar.

The updated sections incorporate major changes to PubMed through April 2006 including the enhanced Limits page, My NCBI Collections, and the Send to Printer option. Please see PubMed's New/Noteworthy to view a list of recent changes.

WISER Version 2.2 Available for Download

[Editor's Note: This Technical Note is a reprint of an announcement published on NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L, an e-mail announcement list available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services. To subscribe to this list, please see the NLM-TOX-ENVIRO-HEALTH-L Join, Leave, or Change Options page.]

WISER version 2.2 is now available for download. This release includes:

• Updated data for existing chemicals
• 15 new substances (listed below), including all that have been suggested by users
• The "Help Identify" feature of WISER for Windows now allows searching by NFPA 704 placard. This feature will also be coming soon in the PDA and WebWISER applications, and will include more comprehensive data.

New WISER substances include:

• Acetic Acid (64-19-7)
• Acetonitrile (75-05-8)
• Chloroacetic Acid (91-11-8)
• Dimethyl Sulfoxide (67-68-5)
• Glutaraldehyde (111-30-8)
• Methly Isobutyl Ketone (108-10-1)
• Phosphoric Acid (7664-38-2)
• Potassium Hydroxide (1310-58-3)
• 1,2-Propanediol Dinitrate (6423-43-4)
• Sodium Hydrosulfide (16721-80-5)
• Stoddard Solvent (8052-41-3)
• Sulfur (7704-34-9)
• Amosite Asbestos (12172-73-5)
• Chrysotile Asbestos (12001-29-5)
• Tremolite Asbestos (14567-73-8)

Download this new release from the WISER Web site, or try WebWISER, the on-line version of WISER.

We are eager to hear your suggestions and feedback...they drive our priorities and make WISER a better tool.

Thanks for your help!

Papers of Cardiologist Edward D. Freis Added to Profiles in Science®

The papers of cardiologist Edward D. Freis are the most recent collection added to the NLM Profiles in Science Web site, dedicated to the lives and works of prominent 20th century biomedical scientists.

This online Exhibit is designed to introduce you to the various phases of Freis' scientific career and professional life. It is divided into sections that focus on Freis' life and major scientific contributions to public health.

Edward David Freis (1912-2005) was an American cardiologist who made key contributions to clinical and scientific understanding of cardiovascular disease. He is best known as the father of the first double-blind, multi-institutional controlled clinical trial of cardiovascular drugs, the Veterans Administration Cooperative Study on Antihypertensive Agents. This landmark study demonstrated that treating high blood pressure--hypertension with medication could dramatically reduce disability and death from stroke, congestive heart failure, and other cardiovascular diseases. Freis received a Lasker Award in 1971 in recognition of this work. The study provided the impetus for the establishment of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1972, and launched an era of preventive cardiology.

As part of its Profiles in Science project, the National Library of Medicine is digitizing and making available over the World Wide Web a selection of the Edward D. Freis Papers, for use by educators and researchers. This Web site provides access to the portions of the Edward D. Freis Papers that are now publicly available. Individuals interested in conducting research in the Edward D. Freis Papers are invited to contact the National Library of Medicine.

The collection can be accessed from the Profiles in Science Web site.

RSS Feeds for PubMed's® New/Noteworthy

NCBI is now offering RSS 2.0 (Really Simple Syndication) feeds for PubMed's New/Noteworthy. Instructions for setting up the feed are available from the newly redesigned New/Noteworthy Web site.

RSS is a Web standard for sharing and distributing news and other frequently updated content provided by Web sites. The New/Noteworthy feed will alert you when there is a change or update to PubMed, Journals, or the MeSH databases.

RSS feeds are also available for PubMed searches.

RSS News Feed and Quick Tour Now Available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services

[Editor's Note: This Technical Note is a reprint of an announcement published on NLM-Tox-Enviro-Health-L, an e-mail announcement list available from the NLM Division of Specialized Information Services. To subscribe to this list, please see the NLM-TOX-ENVIRO-HEALTH-L Join, Leave, or Change Options page.]

The National Library of Medicine Division of Specialized Information Services (SIS) now offers RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds of its News page. RSS is a Web standard for sharing and distributing news and other frequently updated content provided by Web sites. The SIS feed address is http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/rss/sisnewsfeed.rss.

The SIS News feed will keep you informed about new resources, such as LactMed, updates to NLM/SIS databases, and alert you to scientific meetings at which SIS will have exhibits, presentations, or classes.

An RSS reader, also called an aggregator, is required to use this service on your computer. There are many RSS readers from which to choose and many are available to download free from the Web. They offer a variety of functions; each has its own advantages. Instructions for adding the Division of SIS News RSS feed to your reader are available at http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/sisrssfeed.html.

Now you can learn about NLM environmental health and toxicology resources via a four minute "Quick Tour." The tour provides an overview of resources including Tox Town, the Household Products database, TOXNET, TOXMAP, and ChemIDplus. It is available from the Environmental Health and Toxicology portal. Macromedia Flash Player is required.

NCBI Toolbar No Longer Supported

The link for the NCBI Toolbar, as announced in the Nov-Dec 2005 issue of the Technical Bulletin, has been removed from PubMed's blue sidebar. We regret that we will no longer be able to provide technical support for the NCBI Toolbar. It has been increasingly difficult to maintain this product in the face of more pressing demands for NCBI databases and services. You may continue to use your current version of the NCBI Toolbar, but we will not be able to provide technical assistance or updates.

Try New Features in PubMed®

NCBI and other NLM® Divisions are working to make the wealth of information in the Entrez databases more accessible to PubMed users. In upcoming months, searchers may encounter options designed to lead them to additional Entrez resources. Currently, searchers can find a link on the Abstract display that will take them to a new version of that format. We hope PubMed users will try this and future enhancements and let us know if they lead to useful information.

NLM® Adds Interactive Body Maps to MedlinePlus®

On May 11th, NLM released several enhancements to its Web-based consumer health resource, MedlinePlus. The Health Topics homepage now showcases new graphical elements and an expanded color palette. Links to frequently requested topics and special resources are also featured prominently. Fourteen clickable, illustrated body maps were added to provide an interactive way to navigate to MedlinePlus health topics. Each of the Body Locations/Systems on the Health Topics homepage links to an interactive body map and a listing of related health topics. All of these enhancements are available in both English and Spanish.