the intermediary reloaded

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

The Intermediary Reloaded –On the Need for a "Go-Between" to Information Users and Producers

Engelbert Zass

Chemistry Biology PharmacyInformation Center

ETH Zürich

8093 Zürich, Switzerland

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Prof. Dr. Dr .h.c. mult. Emanuel Vogel * 2.12.1927 † 31.3.2011

Gratefully dedicated to the memory of my first academic teacher

History of Searching

about:

• -1970 print sources only

• 1970- isolated electronic sources for information specialists

• 1985- isolated electronic sources for chemists (“end-users”)

• 2000- integrated electronic sources for chemists

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Searching the Beilstein Handbook (1984)

Searching (1993)

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Librarian

Online-"Specialist"

End-User / Research group specialist

Printed Sources

CD-ROMs

Public Online Databases (Data-Star, STN, DIALOG,

ORBIT, CIS, Questel)

Chemistry Library ETHZ

Access to Chemical Information

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Searching (1998)

Library Staff (Chemists)

End-Users

Printed Sources Public Online Databases

(Data-Star, STN, DIALOG, ORBIT, CIS, Questel)

ETH Chemistry Information Center

Access to Chemical Information

at InfoCenter

"at the bench"

"Electronic Library" CD-ROMs

In-house Databases

at InfoCenter

8

Licence Control

Problems in End-User Searching

• Insufficient education and experience

– Searches are often executed in the best

known/easiest accessible, not in the most

appropriate source

• New user interfaces often hide …

– old data structures & indexing policies

– problems of content & coverage

⇒ Availability of databases „at the bench“ does not per se improve information access

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Goals in End-User Searching

• Enable chemists do do their own routine searches in appropriate sources

– Stimulate critical distance to searching

• What am I able to search on my own ?

• When do I need support for searching ?

• What do I have to delegate to specialists ?

– Select most suitable sources

– Formulate appropriate queries

– Evaluate search results critically

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Problem Matrix

Search procedure

obvious ?

Interface

useful ?

Data base

appropriate ?

Yes Yes Yes End User

Search

No Yes Yes Supported

Search

No No Yes Mediated

Search

No No No Instruction /

Test Searches

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Service Matrix

End User Search Support

Supported Search Individual Coaching

Training

Mediated Search Search Service

Instruction / Test Searches Education

Individual Instruction

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

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Roles of an Intermediary

• Support of Users

• Education & Training of Users

• Search Services

• Evaluation & Testing of Sources

• Licensing & Propagation („meta info“)

• Feedback to Producers:

– identifying problems

– developping bypasses

– suggesting solutions

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Disclaimer

Some people in the audience will probably not like several of the conclusions drawn from the search examples shown

… but

XX

Support of Users

• Catalogs (Web OPAC)

• Navigational Help (GIS)

• Meta Databases

• General Services

• Personal Services

• …

WYNIWYG: what you need is what you get

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Locate „J. Comput. Chem.“

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„Fast Track“ to e-Journals

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ETH Central Library Knowledge Portal

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Clemenceau Paraphrase (1)

La guerre ! C’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires

Chemical Information: too important to leave it to Central Libraries

Flourish. Enter (after Shakespeare):

Chemical Information Specialist

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Meta Databases: Patent Sources

Education & Training

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Integrated Bachelor Courses

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

http://www.infochembio.ethz.ch/kurse_chemie.html

Tailored Special Courses

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Master/Ph.D. Level

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Search Services

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Request: Phase Diagram for B2O3-V2O5

Not found in:

• Springer Materials (Landolt-Börnstein)

• Reaxys

• SciFinder

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All three references indexed by CAS, but irretrievable by conceivable queries

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Search Services: Chemical Abstracts

• Complex (precise, comprehensive) Topic Searches (by Keyword)

– Boolean & Proximity Operators

– Truncation

– (more) Roles

– Lexikon

– Specific Data Fields

• Composition of Compounds (Materials)

• Sequences of Biopolymers

NOE Difference Spectroscopy

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

SciFinder (4.6.2010)

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cf. SciFinder: 7 !

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Citation Searching

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 53, 1210–1215 (2002)

Multifile Citation Search: CA + SCI

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ETH InfoCenter: STN Expenses

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0.00

2000.00

4000.00

6000.00

8000.00

10000.00

12000.00

14000.00

16000.00

Exp

en

ses (

EU

R)

1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009

Year

1995: CrossFire

2002: SciFinder Scholar

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Roles of an Intermediary

• Support of Users

• Education & Training of Users

• Search Services

• Evaluation & Testing of Sources

• Licensing & Propagation („meta info“)

• Feedback to Producers

– identifying problems

– developping bypasses

– suggesting solutions

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Meta Information: Database Content

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CASREACT (STN): Documents

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CASREACT (SciFinder): Reactions

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Reaxys: Content Gmelin

• Gmelin database sources:

– printed handbook 1924-1975

• 248 vols. (1924-1975) in database

• 512 vols. (1976-1997) NOT in database

– instead 112 journals 1976-

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Reaxys: Recent Update

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Point of Attachment: before Update

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Point of Attachment: after Update

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Comparison: Substructure Search

• Repeating Groups

• VPA (variable points of attachment)

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Repeating Groups and VPAs such entered do not work in a Reaxys search !

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Comparison of Literature Coverage

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Comparison: Steps of Total SynthesesDysidiolide(6/2009)

Reaxys SFS CASREACT

longest sequence commercial start. longest sequence commercial start.

Waldmann 2002 "multistep" 3 of 3 14 7 of 10 (0 of 3)

Forsyth 2002 20 8 of 8 19 8 of 10 (1 of 2)

Yamada 2001 15 3 of 6 (2 of 3) 23 9 of 13 (2 of 4)

Yamada 2000 22 10 of 12 (2 of 2) 1 0 of 2 (1 of 2)

Forsyth 2000 18 7 of 9 (2 of 2) 17 7 of 9 (1 of 2)

Shirai 2000 THL 17 10 of 10 15 10 of 10

Shirai 2000

BMCL

5 5 of 6 (1 of 1) 4 4 of 5 (1 of 1)

Danishefsky 1998 10 3 of 6 (3 of 3) not found not found

Boukouvalas 1998 13 6 of 8 (1 of 2) not found not found

Corey 1997 24 9 of 10 (1 of 1) 3 0 of 1

E. Zass, Forum Molekulare Wissenschaften, 2.6.2010 50

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Books by Gisbert Schneider

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SciFinder: „MnSO4“

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 54

CA: Salts „dot.disconnect“ + Hill

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 55

Chalkogen Acids: acidic H kept !

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 56

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 57

„dot.disconnect“: Normalization

BexHy(PO4)z Be3(PO4)2 Be(H2PO4)2 BeHPO4

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Reaxys: BxFyOz

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 59

A Legacy to Keep in SciFinder: Analyses

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 60

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CrossFire Gmelin: Composition

• „Element Symbol“

• „No. of Elements“

• „No. of Components“

⇒ not available any more in Reaxys !

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

SciFinder (Scholar): Warning ???

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Problem: SciFinder „Explore by Topic“

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SciFinder: Variants ?

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Problem: First Total Synthesis of Estrone

• Search via Structure: 2011 2004

total synthesis 1948 1967

• Search via Keyword (trivial name):

– estron total synthesis 1938,1945 1966

– estrone total synthesis 1942 1958

– total synthesis of estron 1948 1948

– total synthesis of estrone 1940,1942 1942

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

PubMed: not a „Black Box“ !

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Preparation of Lidocaine (27.6.2009)

• Reaxys

23 references 1946-2008

• SciFinder Web

– CASREACT: 4 references 1984-2009

– CAplus: 109 references 1948-2009

only 45 relevant !

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9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Preparation of Lidocaine: CAplus

• Substance Detail: Preparation from Patents 47Preparation from Nonpatents 62

• Categorize:Categorize – Prepared SubstancesPatents 13 ( 6 relevant) –

34 incl. 22 rel. eliminated !

Nonpatents 21 (11 relevant) –

41 incl. 6 rel. eliminated !

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Bug Reporting

10 different ring systems tested

Clemenceau Paraphrase (2)

La guerre ! C’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires

Database development: too important to leave it to producers

Flourish. Enter (after Shakespeare):

The Intermediary

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© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 74

Reaction Searching

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 75

Inorganic Reactions

• Reaxys (Gmelin, PCD)

– the only large inorganic reaction database

– missing structures !

• SciFinder

– no inorganic reactions in CASREACT

– inorganic reactivity information in CAplus

⇒ Different problems, similar solution

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© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 77

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 78

Product ⇒ Preps („half reaction“)

© E. Zass, InfoZentrum Chemie Biologie Pharmazie, FS 2011 79

Combination of „half reactions“

Produkt: „All Preps“

Edukt: „All Reactions“

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Google, Wikipedia & the Web

• Google, Wikipedia

– Coverage unknown

– Content uncontrolled

– Search procedures unknown (in detail)

• SciFinder, Reaxys, Web of Knowledge, etc.

– coverage known

– content controlled

– search procedures known

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

Competition ?

insufficient meta data

insufficient meta data

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011

The Future of Chemical Literature

• 1° Literature (full text)indispensable for scientific communication,

essential for the career of scientists

• 2° Literature (A & I)potentially endangered

• 3° Literatureno substitute yet for intelligent concentration

82

A Badge for Intermediaries

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que les bases de données seraient améliorées

9th Intl. Conf. Chem. Structures, June 5th, 2011