Network News
March/April 2001
- Contents:
- News From the NN/LM SCR
Office
- What's New in
PubMed
- NLM Announces Institutional
Training Grants for Informatics Research
- Public Access to the Human
Genome
- DOCLINE Update
- Interactive Health
Tutorials
News From the
NN/LM SCR Office
--Renée Bougard, Associate Director
Beginnings and
endings�spring is the sign of rebirth, and we in the NN/LM
SCR Office are in the final stages of the 1996 � 2001 RML
contract, with the beginning of the 2001 - 2006 contract on
the horizon. Negotiations have gone well and we look
forward to presenting a strong program to the region over
the next five years. We appreciate the support of all of
you in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and
Texas.
At this time, I would like to publicly thank the NN/LM
SCR staff for their support and participation in helping us
regain and maintain momentum over the past two years so
that we could provide quality service to the region. We
look forward to serving you as your Regional Medical
Library during 2001 - 2006. Please continue to let us know
if we can assist you in any way. 
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Contents
What's New in
PubMed
PubMed Tutorial
A Web based interactive
PubMed tutorial is now available from the blue menu sidebar
on the PubMed Web site. This tutorial is based on the
PubMed portion of NLM's Keeping Up with NLM's PubMed,
the NLM Gateway and ClinicalTrials.gov course that is
taught throughout the country. The latest version of the
workbook for this course can be found at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/web_based.html
For more information see Zipser, JR., At your Desktop:
the PubMed Interactive Tutorial. NLM Tech Bull. 2001
Mar-Apr;(319):e2 (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/
ma01/ma01_tutorial.html).
Linkout
Now libraries can be
included in the LinkOut program. LinkOut is the PubMed
feature that allows publishers and aggregators to display
the links to full text and other resources you see on
PubMed citations. LinkOut for Libraries enables libraries
to display their icons on the Abstract and Citation formats
in PubMed. This allows patrons of participating libraries
to see which articles they can obtain electronically in
full text and link to them directly.
To participate, a library must submit "electronic"
holdings data to NLM. Important information and
instructions for participating in the LinkOut for Libraries
program can be found at
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/
static/liblinkout.html
For more information see Nahin AM, Canese K., LinkOut
for Libraries Now Available. NLM Tech Bull. 2001
Mar-Apr;(319):e7 (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
pubs/techbull/ma01/ma01_linkout.html).
Document Delivery Services Added
PubMed's Order button,
which is used to order documents via Loansome Doc, now can
access other document delivery services. Currently two
commercial services, Infotrieve and Mediscope, are
available. NLM expects more services to be added in the
future.
To change to another service in PubMed, you must
register for Cubby and use Cubby's Document Delivery
Services option. When first accessing PubMed, the default
will remain Loansome Doc until you logon to Cubby. Then the
default will change to your chosen document delivery
service.
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Contents
NLM Announces
Institutional Training Grants for Informatics
Research
--Milton Corn, M.D., Director, Extramural
Programs, NLM, Bethesda, MD
As it does every five
years, NLM announces an open competition for Institutional
Training Grants for Research Training in Informatics.
Information about the Request for Applications can be found
at
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-LM-01-001.html
.
Applications are due at the National Institutes of
Health by June 22, 2001. NLM expects to fund approximately
15 programs for five-year grants starting July 1, 2002. The
12 existing programs are eligible to apply for renewal.
Although NLM's basic format for these programs is
similar to those in previous competitions, the current RFA
requires increased attention to details of the core
curriculum, and a distinct emphasis on incorporation of the
informatics of biomedical research.
NLM's training programs have played an important role in
providing informaticians for the nation for almost two
decades. Please call the RFA to the attention of any who
might be interested in applying.
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Contents
Public Access
to the Human Genome
The DNA sequence of the
Human Genome is now freely accessible to all, for public or
private use, from the National Center for Biotechnology
Information (NCBI). The Web address for the Human Genome
home page is:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/guide/human. NCBI's Web
site serves as an integrated, one-stop, genomic resource
for biomedical researchers around the world. Using search
and analysis tools developed at NCBI, scientists can, for
example:
- find a gene's location in the genome
- find other genes in the same region
- correlate many diseases to genes
- find out if a similar gene exists in another organism
- see genetic variations
The Human Genome data can be downloaded in its entirety,
chromosome by chromosome, in segments referred to as
�contigs� (for �contiguous sequence�). This data, along
with information about the location of genes and other
biological features associated with the sequence, is
available from NCBI's public FTP site.
For more information and sample searches illustrating
how NCBI tools used for scientific discovery, see the
Introduction to NCBI's Genome Resource or Take a Tour of
the Draft Human Genome, both at the Human Genome Web site.
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Contents
DOCLINE
Update
--Re Mishra, Network Coordinator
July-September Quarterly Reports
The July-September,
2000 DOCLINE quarterly statistical reports are now
available. To view, print or download the report, go the
Requests Module in DOCLINE and click on Reports. Then click
on the individual reports.
In reviewing these reports, please keep in mind that
data from the old DOCLINE system was converted to the new
system to ensure complete reports for the July-September
2000 quarter. Unfortunately, combining the data resulted in
some anomalies in the reports. For example, one or two
requests were lost on some but not on all reports.
A summary description of the quarterly reports as well
as information on printing and saving these reports may be
found at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
docline/docline_manual/requests/statisticalreports.html.
The October-December 2000 quarterly reports should be
available soon. Users will continue to have access to the
July-September 2000 quarterly reports until the
January-March 2001 reports are released.
Internet Explorer 5.5
Many users have asked
about the support of Internet Explorer 5.5 with DOCLINE.
During NLM's testing of IE 5.5, they encountered a 'known'
Internet Explorer bug that occurs on PCs that have upgraded
from an earlier version. In DOCLINE, the problem is evident
by the "Runtime Error has occurred' message received upon
trying to read the Online Help or the FAQs. NLM and RML
administrative functions are also affected. The problem
also occurs on non-DOCLINE web sites as secondary windows
are opened by an application.
The problem has no known fix or workaround when it
occurs. On the machines upgraded at NLM, roughly half of
the machines are affected. The only solution is to re-build
the machine and install IE from scratch. For most
organizations, this solution is not appealing.
Separate from the Microsoft upgrade issue, many users
have reported a problem printing receipts with IE 5.5. The
reported behavior ranges from printing an extra page with
each set of requests to no data printing. This is due to a
change in the frame behavior of IE between 5.01 and
5.5.
NLM is awaiting further word from Microsoft technical
support on the problem introduced by the IE upgrade
process. Microsoft has not given an estimate for a
resolution. Once NLM has additional information of a
workaround or fix, they will implement and test again. They
plan to resolve the problem with printing of receipts at
the same time. Until then, DOCLINE continues to be
compatible with Netscape 4.51, 4.6, or 4.7 and IE 4.0 or IE
5.01.
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Contents
Interactive Health Tutorials
--Gretchen Schweiger, Consumer Health
Coordinator
MEDLINEplus
now includes a series of education modules called
Interactive Health Tutorials (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials.html).
Created by the Patient Education Institute (PEI) and
modified to NLM specifications, these tutorials help
consumers use an interactive tool to learn about health
issues. The tutorials are about ten minutes long and use
graphics (animation, sound, pictures) to engage the user.
There are 30 topics covered.
These topics include four different categories:
- Diseases and conditions
- Tests and diagnostics
- Surgery and treatment
- Modules in Spanish on diabetes and hypertension
The information uses straightforward and easy-to-read
language. Illustrations are used to aid in understanding.
The user is prompted by questions throughout the tutorial
(mostly true or false) and must answer correctly to move
on. The questions review the information provided up to
that point, thus enhancing the interactive learning
experience.
To run the tutorials, a Flash plug-in, version 4 or
higher, is required. If a computer does not already have
this software, there is an automatic prompt to download a
free version of it. Sound is not needed to understand and
use the tutorial but is very beneficial for the health
consumer with a low reading level. Also, if using the Flash
plug-in is not possible, there are full-text, print
versions of all the modules available in .pdf format.
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Contents
Published bimonthly by the
National Network of Libraries of Medicine,
South Central Region
Supported by NLM Contract NO1-LM-6-3523
NN/LM SCR Board Chair
Holly Buchanan
Network News Editor
Ruicha Mishra
Houston Academy of
Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
1133 M.D. Anderson Blvd
Houston, TX 77030-2809
Phone: 800-338-7657 or 713-799-7880
Fax: 713-790-7030
nnlmscr@library.tmc.edu
http://nnlm.gov/scr/scnn/mar_ap01/text.htm
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