NLM Gateway Survey

On January 9, 2007, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) will begin inviting users of the NLM Gateway to take an online survey. The three-question survey is the first step in improving the search experience for NLM Gateway users. The survey asks users to define the type of information they are seeking, to describe their role in using the Web site, and how they arrived at the NLM Gateway Web site. It attempts to develop a profile of the typical NLM Gateway user (or user groups) to understand their requirements. This information will allow the site development team to better understand and meet the requirements and expectations of the various user groups.

The survey will be available to all users via a clickable link on the NLM Gateway homepage. A pop-up window will also appear randomly to users of the Web site inviting them to take the brief survey. No personally identifiable information will be collected during the survey and responses are confidential.

Updated PubMed® Training Materials Available

The following PubMed training materials have been updated for 2007:

• the PubMed training workbook
• Branching Out: the MeSH Vocabulary instructional video
• the PubMed Tutorial

These materials have been updated to reflect changes in MeSH® and PubMed through December 2006. For details regarding these changes, see the November-December 2006 Technical Bulletin.

Additional training materials for PubMed and other NLM® resources are available from the NLM Distance Education Program Resources page and the NLM Training Manuals and Resources site. The training manuals correspond to the NLM National Training Center and Clearinghouse training courses described at: http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/description.html.

MeSH® Subheading Consolidation Decision

Last year, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) proposed to consolidate the 83 existing qualifiers (subheadings) in the Medical Subject Headings and create a smaller set. The goal was to make the use of qualifiers easier for the searching public. NLM distributed a background paper within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, whose members also posted it on a number of widely seen listservs. At the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting in 2006, Dr. Stuart Nelson, Head of Medical Subject Headings, and those in attendance had a lively dialogue on the proposed changes.

Over the intervening months, NLM staff analyzed all comments, suggestions, and feedback. We considered the potential impact on the searching public, Network libraries, and the internal processes at NLM. Ultimately, in part due to budget constraints and limited resources, NLM has made the decision to retain the qualifiers in their present form. We hope to concentrate our efforts on other ways to improve searching and retrieval for all users. We greatly appreciate the many thoughtful comments received, and thank all those who provided input.

"Books" Removed from Links Menu in PubMed®

The "Books" option on PubMed Links was removed. This is the function that used to link the content of PubMed abstracts to the Bookshelf via concept terms. Books continue to be linked from a PubMed abstract if the corresponding article has been cited in a book through the link "Cited in Books." An improved feature providing concept links from PubMed to Bookshelf Books will be added in the future.

To receive an e-mail notification of additions to the Bookshelf go to the Books-announce information page: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mailman/listinfo/books-announce.

New NLM Technical Bulletin Index and "Articles About" Portal

A new portal to the Technical Bulletin Indexes and "Articles About" is now available from the Technical Bulletin homepage and subheader/footer in each article. The portal provides access to:

• a chronological list of "Articles About":
  • PubMed
  • NLM Gateway
  • Environmental Health and Toxicology
• Indexes:
  • 1997 - Present
  • 1979 - 1996
• PDF Archive 1969-1997

A new topic, Environmental Health and Toxicology, joins PubMed and the NLM Gateway on the "Articles About" list. Here you will find a chronological list of relevant articles and Technical Notes published in the Technical Bulletin as well as other useful resources.

NLM® Announces the New Web Page: Journals Recently Accepted by NLM for Inclusion in MEDLINE®

NLM announces a new Web page that lists the journals accepted for MEDLINE indexing after LSTRC (Literature Selection Technical Review Committee) meetings. LSTRC meets three times per year (February, June, and October). The debut page has the complete list from the 2006 LSTRC meetings. Results from future meetings will be announced after each meeting with subsequent journals added to the top of the annual list.

This new resource includes the full journal title, the journal title abbreviation, NLM Unique Identifier, first issue to be indexed, ISSN (print or electronic or both), and language of the journal. Links from the full journal title take you to fuller bibliographic information about the journal in the NLM Catalog.

Some electronic-only journals are in a pending acceptance status (meaning that citations will not appear in PubMed®) until NLM receives confirmation from the publisher/editor of a permanent archive arrangement and approves the required submission of XML (Extensible Markup Language) electronic citation data.

RxNav Available to Search RxNorm

An updated version of the Web-based browser RxNav is now available to search RxNorm, the NLM database of standard names for clinical drugs that references the names of approximately 17,000 clinical drugs from several sources. RxNav displays graphically links from clinical drugs, both branded and generic, to their active ingredients (e.g., Ibuprofen), drug components (e.g., Ibuprofen 200 MG) and drug forms (e.g., Ibuprofen Oral Tablet). It also associates generic with brand names (e.g., Ibuprofen / Advil).

Every aspect of the RxNorm database can be queried through RxNav, including the names and codes of drugs and components in the drug resources referenced by RxNorm. Spelling suggestions are offered when no exact match is found in RxNorm for a given input term. RxNav accesses the RxNorm server at NLM, which is updated monthly.

For more information, see the main Web site for RxNav: http://mor.nlm.nih.gov/download/rxnav/.

NCBI Influenza Resources Available

Influenza virus infection is a major threat to public health in the United States, resulting in over 200,000 hospitalizations and 30,000 deaths each year. The Influenza Virus Genome Project is providing researchers with a growing collection of virus sequences essential to the identification of the genetic determinants of influenza pathogenicity. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) provides online tools for the analysis of these and other influenza sequences in GenBank.

For more information about these resources, please see: New Databases and Tools Target Influenza. NCBI News. 2006 Summer;(15):1.

PubMed® Subject Subset Strategies Updated for 2007

All PubMed subject subset strategies are reviewed at least once a year to see if modifications are necessary. Modifications may include revisions due to changes in MeSH vocabulary, adding or deleting terms, and changing parts of a strategy to try to optimize retrieval. The following subset strategies were recently revised: AIDS, Bioethics, Cancer, Complementary Medicine, Systematic Reviews, and Toxicology. The History of Medicine subset was revised in October 2006.

Tox Town® Adds New Port Neighborhood

[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.]

What do longshoremen, sunbathers, ship crews, and shrimp lovers have in common? Whether they live on the coast, work in a maritime industry or play on the beach, they can find information about the environment and how it might affect their health at Tox Town's new Port neighborhood. This imaginary port illustrates drinking water and air quality concerns along with wastewater treatment, shellfish safety, work hazards, sun and surf safety, aquaculture and many other topics. The port also highlights possible locations and descriptions of 26 hazardous chemicals.

Tox Town, http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov, uses neighborhood scenes – the Port, City, Town, Farm, and US–Mexico Border region – along with color, graphics, sounds and animation to add interest to learning about connections between chemicals, the environment and the public's health. Tox Town's target audience is high school, college and graduate students, educators (see the home page link For teachers), and the interested public. Tox Town also has a growing number of resources en español.

Tox Town® is a project of the Specialized Information Services Division of the National Library of Medicine®, National Institutes of Health®. Promotional materials and Tox Town images for Web sites and publications are listed at http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/clipart.php#clip. Please send your comments or questions on Tox Town to tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov.

New Books Added to NCBI Bookshelf

Four new books have been added to the Bookshelf:

Disease and Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Jamison, Dean T.; Feachem, Richard G.; Makgoba, Malegapuru W.; Bos, Eduard R.; Baingana, Florence K.; Hofman, Karen J.; Rogo, Khama O., editors
Washington (DC): The World Bank; c2006
Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dmssa.TOC&depth=1

Cardiology Explained.
Ashley, Euan A.; Niebauer, Josef
London: Remedica; c2004
Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=cardio.TOC

Genetics for Surgeons.
Morrison, Patrick J.; Spence, Roy A.J., authors Hatchwell, Eli, series editor
London: Remedica; c2005
Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=gfs.TOC

Guide to Peripheral and Cerebrovascular Intervention.
Bhatt, Deepak L., editor
London: Remedica; c2004
Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=vd.TOC

The books in Bookshelf may be searched directly from the Bookshelf site, via links from the Links pull-down menu from relevant PubMed® citations, or through the Entrez cross-database search page.

AHRQ Evidence Reports Added to NCBI Bookshelf

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has recently added three new AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) Evidence Reports to the HSTAT collection on the Bookshelf. HSTAT, Health Services/Technology Assessment Text, is a free, Web-based resource of full-text documents that provides health information and supports health care decision making.

127. Acute Stroke: Evaluation and Treatment

128. Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment of Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Impaired Fasting Glucose

132. Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology

NLM® Discontinues DOCLINE® 'ISO' Support

On January 25, 2007, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM) announced its decision to discontinue support for the DOCLINE ISO (International Organization for Standardization) ILL (Interlibrary Loan) Protocol. DOCLINE no longer offers connectivity using the ISO ILL Protocol (ISO 10160 and ISO 10161).

After fifteen months in production, support for the ISO ILL Protocol via DOCLINE was discontinued due to the considerable staff and IT resources required combined with a low demand from DOCLINE libraries for the ISO ILL connectivity. The current DOCLINE ISO libraries will be converted back to regular DOCLINE before April 30, 2007.

NLM continues to investigate alternate methods for DOCLINE participants with local ILL systems to exchange requests.

Papers of Rosalind Franklin Added to Profiles in Science®

The National Library of Medicine® announces the release of an extensive selection from the papers of Rosalind Franklin, a chemist and crystallographer who did groundbreaking work in shedding light on the structure of DNA, on its Profiles in Science Web site.

Franklin began her scientific career analyzing the structure of coal and carbon during World War II, and became an internationally recognized expert in that field. For five years before her premature death, she did pathbreaking research that elucidated the structure of plant viruses. Yet chemist and crystallographer Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) is now best known for the research that occupied her briefly: the structure of DNA.

Early in 1953, when Francis Crick and James Watson were struggling to build an accurate theoretical model of the DNA molecule, it was Franklin's meticulous X-ray diffraction photos and analyses that gave them crucial clues to DNA's structure, and allowed them to win the race for the double helix. Franklin didn't know that there was a race going on, and she never knew that Crick and Watson had access to her then, unpublished data.

The online exhibit features correspondence, published articles, photos, lab notebooks, and reports from Franklin's files. An introductory exhibit section places Franklin's achievements in historical context.