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• Updated MeSH Vocabulary, New Structured Abstracts and Other Enhancements Improve Searching in STN Reload of MEDLINE   
• Improved Timeliness of CAS Indexing Adds Value to USPATFULL and USPAT2 Chemistry Patents
• CABA Will be Updated Weekly
• Release of the New and Enhanced DPCI Database on STN
   

Updated MeSH Vocabulary, New Structured Abstracts and Other Enhancements Improve Searching in STN Reload of MEDLINE    

A number of new features and enhancements, including an updated version of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary, are now available with the January STN reload of MEDlars onLINE (MEDLINE/LMEDLINE), produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).

2011 MeSH The revised MeSH vocabulary, loaded on STN on December 13, 2010, features the following changes:

• 573 new terms
• 54 terms replaced by more up-to-date vocabulary
• 19 deleted terms

Note: Important changes were made to the vocabulary concerning Rare Diseases, Algae, and Disorders of Sexual Development. For complete details of the 2011 changes to the MeSH vocabulary, visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd10/nd10_medline_data_changes_2011.html.

Tip for optimum MEDLINE SDIs If you have SDIs running in MEDLINE, its a good idea to review the MeSH vocabulary annually after it has been updated to determine whether your SDI strategies need to be updated to conform to the new and different search terms.  

New Structured abstracts To facilitate easier, quicker navigation and comprehension of MEDLINE abstract information, the NLM is introducing a new structured appearance for some MEDLINE abstract records. Unlike unstructured abstracts, which are loaded as single paragraphs on STN, MEDLINEs structured abstracts contain multiple paragraphs labeled with headings that serve as visual signposts  BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS, and CONCLUSIONS. Structured abstracts are created whenever NLM encounters three or more headings, or terms synonymous or related to the headings, within an abstract. You can search these new headings in the FA field.

Use paragraph (P) proximity to limit your search results within an abstract (/AB) to a single paragraph of the abstract, including its heading. You can continue to use link (L) proximity to find terms co-occurring within the entirety of structured and unstructured abstracts. 

The new structured abstracts now appear in approximately 10% of MEDLINE records.  

New Chemical Name Segment (/CNS) field STN has introduced a new field to enhance chemical searching capabilities within MEDLINE. Based on terminology appearing in the /CN (Chemical Name) and /RN (CAS Registry Number ) fields, the /CNS field includes  

• chemical compound names (e.g., 8-chloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1-methyl-1H-3-benzazepine)  
• names of chemical groups (e.g., Oxidants)  
• CAS Registry Numbers
• Enzyme Commission Numbers

You can SEARCH or EXPAND on the contents in the /CNS field, but displays of this field are not available. Instead, use HIT and KWIC displays to show your search terms within the /CN and/or /RN fields.   

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) To simplify your retrieval of full text, DOIs are supplied by the NLM for some MEDLINE records. You can now search FTDOI/FA to create a set of records that include DOIs. When available, the DOI field (or its alias FTDOI) is available for custom display.   

New Citing Reference Count (/OSC.G) field The number of times a particular record has been cited by other authors is often considered a measure of its importance. With the 2011 reload, the STN version of MEDLINE is introducing a Citing Reference Count (/OSC.G) field.

The field is numerically searchable (e.g., => s 500-1000/osc.g). When present, the /OSC.G data is included in the BIB and ALL display formats and is also available for custom display.

Versioning Beginning with the 2011 production year, the NLM will be creating an individual citation for each version of an online article. While there are, at present, no versioned articles in MEDLINE on STN, the following actions will be taken when these articles begin to arrive:

• The second version of an article will be indexed as VERSION 2/FA, the third as Version 3/FA, etc.
• The Document Numbers (DNs) for the versioned articles will be related.  While the first version of the article will receive a DN of XXXXXXXX, the second will get XXXXXXXX.2

For additional information on the MEDLINE reload, enter HELP RLOAD at an arrow prompt (=>). Complete details of the reload can also be found at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd10/nd10_medline_data_changes_2011.html.

For additional information about MEDLINE on STN, refer to the revised MEDLINE/LMEDLINE Database Summary Sheets. 

Improved Timeliness of CAS Indexing Adds Value to USPATFULL and USPAT2 Chemistry Patents

The next time you are searching for chemical patents in the USPATFULL and USPAT2 databases, look closely at the CAS index terms. You will notice a big change in the previously static indexing due to a recent en masse refreshing of the CAS indexing included in these records. Effective immediately, you may also observe weekly updates to relevant index records. .

These changes are the result of a new updating process CAS has implemented for these two databases. This new approach will allow CAS indexing in these two databases to change over time. 

A little more than 1.8 million chemistry and chemistry-relevant patents in the USPATFULL and USPAT2 databases include indexing from CA^SM/CAplus^SM. These records, which include CAS Registry Numbers, provide additional access points enabling you to quickly locate the patent information you need. (These records are easily identified. Look for inclusion of the phrase: CAS INDEXING IS AVAILABLE FOR THIS PATENT.)

The move away from static indexing is a result of CAS desire to increase the relevancy and consistency of the index terms accompanying the chemical patents in the USPATFULL and USPAT2 databases.  

For patents from very simple patent families, it is unlikely that you will see much change in the CAS indexing content in USPATFULL and USPAT2. On the other hand, CAS indexing included in these two databases for more complicated patent families with many basics will now more closely reflect the content of the U.S. patent, providing you with access points that are much more timely and relevant.

As of February 2011, CABA (CAB Abstracts) will be updated weekly. Automatic current-awareness searches (SDIs) will be available weekly or monthly (weekly is the default).

The new and enhanced DPCI^SM (Derwent Patents Citation Index) database released on STN on January 23, 2011, substantially increases coverage. DPCI now provides patent citation information from 23 sources including Asian sources like Korea, inventor, opposition, post-grant, and third party citations. In order to improve the support for current awareness searches, additional update codes are provided. The DPCI replaces the previous PCI file. It is backward compatible but existing procedures such as scripts may require adjusting in order to fully exploit the new features provided.

A reference manual is available at http://www.stn-international.de/dpciman.html. The summary sheet is available at http://www.stn-international.com/sum_sheets.html.