Monday, August 31, 2009

Broken links for U.S. government documents



The links to many U.S. government resources are currently not working.

These links, also called "PURLs" or "persistent URLs" are maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO's PURL server had a significant hardware failure on August 24, 2009. The hardware has been fixed, but the process to restore online document service is on-going.

No data has been lost, and if you have a non-PURL internet address for the documents, you will still be able to reach them. Even documents hosted by GPO itself should still be available.

If you do encounter a broken PURL, do an internet search on the title, using Google or another search engine. I'm also happy to help look for a document.

Here's what a GPO PURL looks like: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS5149

And here's a MadCat library catalog record with a PURL link.

Alternate access...

...to selected government documents in the plant & insect sciences not available in print at the UW-Madison:

Friday, August 28, 2009

Upcoming events: WI Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters



"The nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters connects people and ideas from all areas of knowledge and all walks of life to celebrate thought, culture and nature in our state and help solve our common problems."

In 2006, The Academy sponsored a state-wide public policy program on "The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin."

Selected upcoming events:

September 29, 2009
"Green Jobs: Growing Wisconsin Employment"
Discovery World Museum, Milwaukee, WI

October 13, 2009
"The Future of Farming and Rural Life: Reconnecting with Wisconsin Values and the Lost Art of Citizenship"
Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI

November 15, 2009
"Heat Waves and High Water: Climate Change, Public Health, and the 2050 Wisconsin Landscape"
Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI

March 16, 2010
"What's Driving My Car? 2050 Biofuels and Other Sustainable Energy Sources"
Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI

May 11, 2010
"Why Third World Migrants Will Disappear from the United States by 2050"
Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Andrew Bent honored by Am. Phytopathological Society


Dr. Andrew F. Bent, a faculty member in the UW-Madison department of Plant Pathology, is the 2009 winner of the Noel Keen Award for Research Excellence in Molecular Plant Pathology from the American Phytopathological Society.

This award recognizes contributions to "the understanding of molecular aspects of host-pathogen interactions, plant pathogens or plant-associated microbes, or molecular biology of disease development or defense mechanisms."

Dr. Bent's current research is focused on:
  • Leucine-rich repeat (LRR) structure/function, and plant detection of bacterial flagellin
  • Study and manipulation of disease resistance in soybean
  • Previously unidentified biochemical responses of plants to pathogen infection

Recent publications:

Adams-Phillips. L., J. Wan, X. Tan, F.M. Dunning, B.C. Meyers, R.W. Michelmore & A.F. Bent. 2008. Discovery of ADP-ribosylation and other plant defense pathway elements through expression profiling of four different Arabidopsis-Pseudomonas R/avr interactions. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 21(5): 646-657.


Bent, A. & D. Mackey. 2007. Elicitors, effectors and R genes: The new paradigm and a lifetime supply of questions. Annual Review of Phytopathology 45: 399-436.


Bent, A.F. 2006. Arabidopsis thaliana floral dip transformation method. In: Agrobacterium Protocols (K. Wang, Ed.). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press. Methods in Molecular Biology 343: 87-103.


Briggs, A.G., L.C. Adams-Phillips, A.F. Bent. 2009. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and host-pathogen interactions [Meeting abstract]. Phytopathology 99(6): S16.


Dunning, F.M., W. Sun, K.L. Jansen, L. Helft & A.F. Bent. 2007. Identification and mutational analysis of Arabidopsis FLS2 Leucine-Rich Repeat domain residues that contribute to flagellin perception. Plant Cell 19(10): 3297-3313.


Bent, A.F., T.K. Hoffman, J.S. Schmidt, G.L. Hartman, D.D. Hoffman, X. Ping & M.L. Tucker. 2006. Disease- and performance-related traits of ethylene-insensitive soybean. Crop Science 43: 893-901.


Genger, R.K., G.I. Jurkowski, J.M. McDowell, H. Lu, H.W. Jung, J.T. Greenberg and A.F. Bent. 2008. Signaling pathways that regulate the enhanced disease resistance of Arabidopsis "defense, no death" mutants. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 21(10): 1285-1296.

MacGuidwin, A.E., A.F. Bent, D.I. Rouse. 2006. Active learning in "Plants, Parasites, and People" [Meeting abstract]. Phytopathology 96(6): S159-S160.

Suarez-Rodriguez M.C., L. Adams-Phillips, Y. Liu, H. Wang, S.H. Su, P.J. Jester, S. Zhang, A.F. Bent & P.J. Krysan. 2007. MEKK1 is required for flg22-induced MPK4 activation in Arabidopsis plants. Plant Physiology 143(2): 661-669.


Sun, W., F.M. Dunning, C. Pfund, R. Weingarten & A.F. Bent. 2006. Within-species flagellin polymorphism in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and its impact on elicitation of Arabidopsis FLS2-dependent defenses. Plant Cell 18: 764-779.


Tan, X.P., B.C. Meyers, A. Kozik, M. Al West, M. Morgante, D.A. St. Clair, A.F. Bent, R.W. Michelmore. 2007. Global expression analysis of nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat-encoding and related genes in Arabidopsis. BMC Plant Biology 7(56).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Search property data in 2,000 e-books



Knovel has launched the first of several database enhancements, making it easier and faster to find reliable technical information. Changes include:

  • Graphs/Equations/Tables (G.E.T.) search tab
  • Improved search results display
  • Keyword auto-complete
  • Spell check
  • Suggested search terms
Graphs, Equations & Tables search

You can search for numeric and other tabular data contained in Knovel's interactive graphs, equations and tables from over 2,000 books and databases. Data can be sorted, filtered, and extracted to other formats, such as Excel and HTML. Types of data you can search:

  • Acid-base properties: acceptor or donor number

  • Applications: use, human or veterinary therapeutic category

  • Bearing properties: bearing strength, bearing yield strength, shear modulus, shear strength

  • Combustion properties: calorific value, combustion products/fuel ratio, flame temperature, heat per volume of standard air, ignition energy, ignition temperature, laminar flame velocity, percent theoretical air, rate of pressure rise, research octane number, stoichiometric combustion product, terminal oxygen concentration, Wobbe index

  • Creep properties: creep stress, stress to rupture

  • Electrical properties: arc resistance, dielectric conststant, dielectric strength, dipole moment, dissipation factor, electric conductivity, IACS electric conductivity, formation resistivity factor, specific resistivity at min temp, specific resistivity at max temp, standard electrode potential V, static decay time, surface resistance, surface resistivity, thermoelectric voltage, voltage, volume resistivity

  • Electrochemical properties: reduction potential

  • Energy and power consumption: degree days, mean daily temperature range, power consumption

  • Environmental characteristics: acidification, atmospheric half life, bioconcentration factor, chemical oxygen demand, log bioconcentration factor, energy use, eutrophication, global warming potential, greenhouse gas emissions, ozone precursors, urban ozone formation potential, theoretical oxygen demand

  • Flexural properties: flexural modulus, flexural strength, flexural strength retained, flexural yield strength, fatigue properties, notched fatigue endurance, unnotched fatigue endurance

  • Gas properties: altitude, compression ratio, odor threshold, percent humidity, residual water

  • Geography: elevation, latitude

  • Hazard-related properties: biodegradation probability, Biological Oxygen Demand, carcinogenicity, explosion limit, exposure limit, flammability, flammability limit, flash point, flash point method, food law approvals, 100-yr global warming potential, Halocarbon global warming potential, hazard rating, HMIS health, HMIS flammability, HMIS reactivity, ignition temperature, lower flammability limit, maximum workplace concentration, terminal oxygen concentration, mutagenicity, NFPA flammability, NFPA Health, NFPA Instability, NFPA Reactivity, oxygen index, ozone depletion potential, personal protection, reproductive/developmental toxicity, RTECS No., safety group, threshold limit, TLV - TWA, toxicity, UN risk phrases, UN safety phrases

  • Ion exchange properties: dry exchange capacity, exchange swelling, wet exchange capacity

  • Material composition: ash content, azeotropic concentration component A, carbon residue, filler content, material composition, H/C ratio, nominal composition, nutrient content, energy basis, nutrient content, mass basis, other metals, volatiles content, water content, content of individual elements

  • Materials and substances: additives, alloy number, atomic number, CAS Registry no., chemical category
    color (including Gardner scale or platinum-cobalt scale), common formula, class/condition/temper, DOT no., DPR, EC no., EEC, EINECS No., empirical formula, entry code, EPA, form, ICSC, ingredients, linear structure, manufacturer, IUPAC name, material or substance name, material class, material DIN No., molecular formula, odor, P number, physical state, schedule number, specification, supplier, trade or common name, type or grade, UNS no., valence, yellowness index change

  • Mechanical hardness: Brinell hardness, Durometer hardness, hardness, Rockwell hardness, Rockwell B hardness, Rockwell C hardness, Shore hardness, Shore hardness change, static load, Sward hardness

  • Mechanical properties: Poisson's ratio, reduction of area

  • Optical properties: band gap, band gap pressure coefficient, band gap temperature coefficient, molar refraction, refractive index, specific rotation

  • Organisms: species

  • Permeability: permeation rate, vapor transmission rate

  • Physical constants: acceleration of gravity, acentric factor, API gravity, atomic weight, boiling point, critical compressibility, critical density, critical pressure, critical temperature, critical molar volume, critical volume, density, density temperature coefficient, diffusion coefficient, dissociation constant, freeze point, gas/liquid volume ratio, gas specific gravity, lattice constants, melting point, molecular mass, molecular weight, molar density, molar volume, natural abundance, parachor, pour point, property code, radius of gyration, refractive index, saturation temperature, second virial coefficient, sedimentation constant, specific gravity, specific volume, specific weight, theoretical oxygen demand, triple point pressure, triple point temperature, van der Waals' area, van der Waals' volume, vapor pressure, weight, weight per unit length

  • Process conditions: conversion, yield

  • Processing properties: application method, machinability rating, melt flow index, melt temperature, molding pressure, polydispersity index, processing method, processing temperature, shrinkage

  • Radiation and radiation safety: Archer Fitting Coefficient alpha, Archer Fitting Coefficient beta, Archer Fittin, Coefficient gamma, air kerma, Beta (v/c), distance, energy/mass, effective dose, field size, Gamma (1-2)(1/2), T/A kinetic energy per nucleon, momentum, operating potential, removal mean free path, workload

  • Reaction kinetics: first order rate constant

  • Rheology: Darcy friction factor, dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity, melt flow index, Reynolds number, thixotropic index, viscosity

  • Shear properties: bearing strength, shear modulus, shear strength, shear yield strength, tear strength

  • Size: area, AWG, diameter, diameter change, length change, metric designator, thickness, volume, volume change

  • Solution properties: pK acid dissociation constant, acid number, cation exchange capacity, concentration, cryoscopic constant, Davies scale, detection limit, ebullioscopic constant, free energy function, Hansen solubility parameter, Henry's law constant, Hildebrand solubility parameter, iodine value, Kauri butanol number, mol fraction of substance, Negative Log Solubility Product pKsp, octanol-water partition coefficient, log octanol-water, partition coefficient, pH polarity parameter, saponification value, solubility, solubility parameter, solubility product constant, solvent, supersaturation ratio, suspended solids, water solubility
  • Special indices: datatype, graph index, properties index, subject index

  • Spectroscopic properties: absorption coefficient, anisotropy factor, attenuation coefficient, chemical shift, effective attenuation coefficient, emission lifetime, emissivity, energy, molar extinction coefficient, frequency, gain cross section, ionization potential, magnetic moment, nuclear spin quantum number, quadrupole moment, relative sensitivity, saturation fluence, scattering coefficient, spectral wavelength, transport scattering coefficient, width

  • Stability: log formation constant, corrosion rate, corrosion resistance, deflection temperature, material consumption rate, maximum continuous service temperature, NACE resistance rating, PDL Rating, water absorption, weight loss

  • Stoichiometric properties: mass ratio, stoichiometric excess, volume to mass ratio, volumetric ratio

  • Surface properties: adsorption capacity, apparent porosity, closed pores, Freundlich coefficient, Freundlich exponent, particle diameter, particle length, pitting depth, relative roughness, sorption coeffcient, log sorption coeffcient, specific surface area, surface tension, surface area
  • Tensile/compressive properties: allowable stress, compressive modulus, compressive strength, compression ratio, compressive stress, compressive yield strength, elastic limit, elongation, elongation retained, endurance limit, fatigue strength, fracture toughness, load ratio, modulus of elasticity, modulus retained, rupture strength, stress intensity, tear resistance, tensile modulus, tensile strength, tensile strength retained, tensile stress, tensile yield strength

  • Test/exposure conditions: PV value, acid concentration, activity, allowed working pressure, chromic acid, inhibitor concentration, concentration, copper sulfate inhibitor concentration, experimental parameters, exposure medium, exposure strain, exposure medium class, exposure stress, ferric chloride inhibitor concentration, light intensity, load, load/deformation type, nitric acid inhibitor concentration, penetrant, route of entry, sample geometry, temperature, testing apparatus, time

  • Thermal properties: area heat flow, ASME temperature limit, brittleness temperature, elongation, glass transition temperature, maximum continuous service temperature, melting point, melting range, minimum continuous service temperature, phase transition temperature, Thermal Diffusivity, thermal expansion coefficient, UL RTI rating, vapor pressure, Vicat softening point, working pressure

  • Thermodynamic properties: acentric factor, adiabatic compressibility, compressibility factor, dry-bulb temperature, enthalpy of combustion, enthalpy of formation, enthalpy of fusion, enthalpy of solution, enthalpy of sublimation, enthalpy of vaporization, entropy, entropy of fusion, entropy of formation, free energy function, Gibbs free energy of formation, Cp heat capacity, heat of adsorption, heat of combustion, heat of solution, Helmholtz free energy of formation, internal energy of formation, isothermal compressibility factor, log equilibrium constant, mean coincident design wet-bulb temperature, molar enthalpy, molar entropy, molar heat of vaporization, Prandtl Number, Q quality factor, h specific enthalpy, s specific entropy, cp specific heat, specific heat at constant pressure, cv specific heat at constant volume, specific heat ratio, u specific internal energy, v specific volume, specific volume change at min pressure, specific volume change at max pressure, w speed of sound, thermal conductivity, thermal resistivity, van der Waals’ coefficient, velocity of sound, wet-bulb temperature

  • Thermodynamic variables: pressure, temperature

  • Tissues: tissue, tissue source, tissue preparation

  • Toughness: fracture energy, impact strength retained, normalized Izod impact strength, notched impact strength, plane strain fracture toughness, relative critical crack-size index, unit Charpy impact strength, unit propagation energy, unnotched impact strength, work to maximum load

  • Transport properties: diffusion coefficient, dynamic viscosity, energy gradient, friction gradient, headloss, solute retention, specific resistance, thermal conductivity, transport number at min concentration, transport number at max concentration, volumetric flow rate, volumetric flow rate per unit area, volumetric flow rate/pressure, water absorption

  • Transportation: DOT class, ICAO/IATA Class/packing group, IMDG Class/packing group, TDG class, UN/NA class, UN number, UN packaging group

  • Tribological properties/wear: coefficient of friction, tribological conditions, wear coefficient, wear mechanisms, wear rate

  • Velocity

  • Volatility: relative evaporation rate

Friday, August 14, 2009

MadCat library catalog upgrade: 8/14

The MadCat online library catalog is being upgraded until approximately 11:00am, Friday, August 14th.

Unrelated services are not affected, including:

"MadCat" is the UW-Madison's name for our online library catalog (once called a "card catalog"). A library catalog is a way to search or browse to find materials which the libraries have collected: books, journals, magazines, newspapers, movies and other visual works, music and other audio works, software for check-out, maps, kits, realia, government documents, technical reports, databases and data sets, standards and codes, etc.

Monday, August 10, 2009

National Community Gardening Week: August 23-29


The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared August 23rd-29th to be "National Community Gardening Week"!

"Community gardens provide numerous benefits including opportunities for local food production, resource conservation, and neighborhood beautification," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

"But they also promote family and community interaction and enhance opportunities to eat healthy, nutritious foods. Each of these benefits is something we can and should strive for."

Videos:
E-books:
Books, documents & theses:
Websites:
Bibliographies:

Thursday, August 6, 2009

New campus library website!



The new UW-Madison Libraries website launched this week. The new design features:
  • A single tabbed search box for Articles, Books, Journals, Databases, and Site Search
  • Re-worded links, based on user testing
  • No deleted content
  • A commitment to continuous improvement

If you'd like assistance finding the new location for your favorite resources or services, please let me know.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Note: the MadCat library catalog will soon undergo design changes, as well.

Coming soon: A new look for PubMed



The National Library of Medicine has announced that the PubMed database will soon undergo an interface redesign. Stated goals are to make PubMed easier to use, simplify the interface, refresh the look, better organize the text on the screen, and promote scientific discovery. NLM anticipates that the new design will be ready in mid-September.

Among the expected changes is the replacement of the current tab system (Limits, Preview/Index, History, Clipboard, Details) with a single screen combining many features onto one page.

The campus libraries offer hands-on training for PubMed (and many other research tools) - check soon for the
Fall workshop schedule.

FAQ:

  • What is the launch date? Proposed for mid-September.

  • Where have changes been discussed? June issue of the NLM Technical Bulletin.

  • Where will Single Citation Matcher & Clinical Queries be? Links will be on the front page and on Advanced Search.

  • Is “Preferences” replacing “MyNCBI”? Undecided.

  • What are the most results we can view on a page? Changing from 500 to 200 as a max.

  • Will there still be links to the MeSH database? Yes.

  • Will there be a direct export function to bibliographic management software? No, can’t support the many types of software.

  • Is Advanced Search changing? Not at this point.

  • Why not call it MySavedSearches instead of Preferences or MyNCBI? Because it includes functionality for all of the other Entrez systems.

  • Are there any plans for adjacency searching? No. Not part of the base technology.

  • Where will clipboard items be displayed? A link to access clipboard items will be available in the upper right hand corner, similar to the Limits message.

  • Will saved searches be lost when the new interface goes into effect? No.

  • Will LinkOut still exist? Yes

  • Will search screens for other NCBI databases change as well? Others will eventually change, unsure which ones and on what timeline.

  • Will cross-database searching be available? They are not implementing a new technology, just a change in appearance. The only cross database search capability is found on the Entrez home page.

  • Will it be possible to e-mail to more than one address? Not at this point as far as we know.

  • Will the library links to full text still be there? Yes, probably in the upper right corner on individual citation display.

  • Will we still have the ability in history to combine search numbers? Yes, will probably have to go to Advanced Search page.

  • What citation display views will we still have? All, except Citation and AbstractPlus won’t exist anymore.

  • Is it still possible to display text on the screen not as HTML? Yes, in Summary and Abstract views.

  • Will the hyperlinked MeSH terms in the display run a search or link to the database? They will probably only run a search, not link to MeSH database.

  • Where is "details"? Only by clicking into AdvancedSearch at this point.

  • Will Journals and MeSH database be available like on the sidebar now? Yes, on front page and through a drop-down menu above search box. Drop-down menu should be customizable in MyNCBI.

  • Is there a limit to the number of buttons for full-text access? Not that we are aware of.

  • Will the preview function still exist? Yes, on Advanced Search.

  • Will Powerpoint slides be available? Yes, in the June TB issue. A webinar recording will also be available later.

  • Are the limits available for both search boxes? There is only one search box.

  • Will there be another orientation when the new look debuts? Yes, including tutorials, quicktours, etc.

  • Where will limits be? Advanced Search page.

  • Where will history be? Advanced Search page.

  • Where will single citation matcher be? On the home page and on Advanced Search page.

  • Can you select to view MeSH terms in the citation record? Yes, you can set that preference in MyNCBI.

  • Can Advanced Search be set as the default searching page? No, the search box will be at the top of every page, so the page itself can’t be set.

  • Is it possible to get rid of the boxes on the right-hand side? You can click the minus sign, but they won’t totally go away.

  • Will we have to change our OutsideTool settings? No.

  • How much of a heads-up will we get? As much as we can get from NCBI.


[Thanks to Ebling Library blog]