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Over the past two years these columns have covered a variety of topics in the area of chemistry and the Internet. One of the valuable features of the world-wide web (WWW) version of these columns has been the hot links to the references. As anyone who has used the WWW knows there is a great deal of material and information, which either is very difficult to find or not worth finding. Coupled with the current overloading of the communications lines (often called WWW - for World Wide Wait), some people are beginning to wonder if this resource will really live up to its potential and promise. I can't really give an accurate answer to that question. What I hope I can do in this column is to provide an example of what one can do now to find something on the WWW. The computer system described here provides a way to easily find some possible useful chemistry information that is now on the WWW.
There are two main types of information available on the WWW - that which is free (i.e., you don't pay for it directly) and that which requires a fee. From there one can divide each category into two main areas - those that contain useful information and those which contain less than useful to useless information. What is (to me) particularly frustrating is spending a great deal of time looking for something, and then to find it is useless. (For example the time I discovered a reference to "chemistry" in a popular magazine which turned out to involve the chemistry between an actor and an actress or, better still, between a football quarterback and his wide receiver).
For those who have grown up with fee-based scientific information resources
(DIALOG, ISI,
Questel-Orbit, CAS/STN,
and so on), one of the features of early information systems was something
called "selective dissemination of information" or SDI. This
involved a scientist (usually in conjunction with someone from the library
or information department) making a list of keywords or phrases (called
a search profile) which would entered into the computer and used to search
a database every time it was updated (usually every 1-2 weeks). These SDI
searches were generally useful and still exist even with today's online searching.
(For example the "keep me posted" function of the CAS SciFinder
system is an SDI capability.) This column will describe one such an SDI
service now available from Dartmouth College.
The Informant is your own
personal search agent on the Internet.
When it comes to the Internet, the equivalent buzzword for searching is
called an "intelligent agent". A number of commercial companies
have been developing these, but the one I want to describe here is available at no cost. In the information provided at their web site, the creators
of this system describe The Informant as a notification service that works
in two ways (1):
1. You can enter up to three sets of keywords or phrases. At
a periodic interval of 3, 7, 14 or 30 days (the user specifies the interval), The
Informant uses the AltaVista
or Lycos search engine to find the ten
web site pages that are most relevant to the keywords or phrases used.
When a new web site page appears in the top ten, or if one of the previous
top ten web site pages has been updated, The Informant sends you an e-mail
message.
2. You can enter up to five URL's that are of particular interest
to you. At a periodic interval of 3, 7, 14 or 30 days (again, which you
specify), The Informant checks these Web pages and sends you e-mail if
one or more of them have been updated. Once you receive the e-mail, you
return to The Informant where
you will find a table of the Web pages that are new or updated. What follows
is a real example from how to start to looking at search results.
For a new user one simply goes to The Informant WWW main screen (http://informant.dartmouth.edu) and clicks on the checkbox to the left of the "I'm a new user!" label (see below). Then one enters any desired username (I used TrAC1 as my name for the puproses of setting up an account to write this column) and password (again I used TrAC1) in the username and password boxes. Finally, click on the GO! button. (In case the username is already in use, The Informant will tell you this and you will have to pick a different username. If the username is not in use, you will be taken to a preferences screen where you enter your e-mail address, your three sets of keywords, and your five URL's.
For existing or already registered users you just go to The Informant home page (http://informant.dartmouth.edu), enter your existing username and password (in this example TrAC1 and TrAC1), and click on the GO! button. You are then connected to a results screen where you will see a table of new and updated Web pages. If you want to change your preferences you can click on the Change my account information! button at the top of the results screen.
If you want to change your search or find a useful Internet site you can change you search. All you need to do is go to the preferences page. There are two ways to get there.
Once you are on your preferences page, you can change your e-mail address, the number of days between e-mail updates, your search keywords, and your special URL's. Change whatever you want and then click on the All done! Save my changes! button at the top or bottom. If you do not click on this button, your changes will not be saved!
Since all searches at done at night, your results page will not actually change until the next day.
The developers have indicated that they hope to do a number of additional things with The Informant .
What follows is an SDI search I set up for myself using the following
three keywords:
1. Chromatography
2. Spectrometry
3. Spectroscopy
For this particular search I did not specify any of my favorite URL's.
I first connected to this web site by pointing my browser to:
http://informant.dartmouth.edu.
The following screen then appeared:
After indicating I am a new user and typing in my user name (TrAC1) and
user password (TrAC1) and clicking on the "Go!" button, the following
new screen appears:
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Image © Brian Brewington 1996
Welcome, trac1, to The Informant
The Informant allows you to input 3 sets of keywords that you like to search for, and 5 favorite URLs. We will check these at an interval you specify, and tell you by email if those pages have been updated, or if new URLs appear for your keywords.
Enter your data in the appropriate spaces below. Then hit either of the All done! Save my changes! buttons.
The next when I logged into my computer to read my e-mail, one of the messages
I received was the following:
Date: Wed, 06 Nov 1996 00:40:51 -0400
From: Informant Administration <info_adm@cosmo.dartmouth.edu>
Subject: New material at The Informant
Hello,
The Informant has discovered new information!
30 new WWW page(s)
0 updated WWW page(s)
3 unreachable WWW page(s)
To see your new and updated pages, please come vist us at
http://informant.dartmouth.edu/
Remember that your username is: TrAC1
Note that if you do not visit, we will keep reporting the
*same* sites in this e-mail message.
Power users can once again reach the Informant via
http://informant.dartmouth.edu/index.cgi?username=TrAC1
If you are tired of receiving this e-mail, please visit
the Web site and increase the number of days between
updates, blank out your e-mail address, or remove
yourself from the service.
Your faithful servant,
The Informant
After I received this above e-mail I went back to The Informant site
on the WWW, logged in, and received the following:
|
|
Web sites can be ...
|
| About the Informant |  |
Contact us |  |
Informant Home Page |
| Change your password |  |
Remove your account |
The table below shows the site, its address, and its current status.
In the third column, we tell you if the site shown came from a keyword
set or a URL that you have specifically asked to be monitored.
| Rank | Status | Source | Site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 / 10 |  |
KeyWords chromatography |
H
igh Osmotic Pressure Chromatography and Phase Fluctuation Chromatography
http://aps.org/BAPSMAR96/abs/S2560010.html |
| 2 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
Biotech
Bunny: Liquid Chromatography http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/CHROMO/chromliquid.html |
| 3 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
Journal
of Chromatography A (Special Issues) http://www.elsevier.com/catalogue/SA2/205/06040/06050/521179/521179.html |
| 4 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
Affinity
Chromatography http://www.biotech.pharmacia.se/affinity/affinity.htm |
| 5 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
Journal
of Chromatography A (Special Issues) http://www.elsevier.nl/catalogue/SAA/205/06040/06050/521179/521179.html |
| 6 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
Chromatography
http://www.servicom.es/addlink/scishop/categ/cat15.html |
| 7 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
JOURNAL
OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A, Volume A707, Issue 1 Workshop on Chromatography, http://www.elsevier.nl/cas/estoc/contents/SA2/00219673/SZ957987.html |
| 8 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
P
erSeptive Biosystems - Perfusion Chromatography http://www.ultranet.com/~pbweb/perchro.htm |
| 9 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
JOURNAL
OF CHROMATOGRAPHY A, Volume A691, Issue 1-2 18th International Symposi
http://www.elsevier.nl/cas/estoc/contents/SA2/00219673/SZ957942.html |
| 10 / 10 | |
KeyWords chromatography |
JOURNAL
OF CHROMATOGRAPHY B: BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS, Volume 664, Issue 1 Bio-
http://www.elsevier.nl/cas/estoc/contents/SA2/03784347/SZ957983.html |
| 1 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
SIUC
Mass Spectrometry Facility at SIUC http://www.science.siu.edu/mass-spec/index.html |
| 2 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
Mass
Spectrometry (CST-8) http://mwanal.lanl.gov/../../CST-8/massspec.html |
| 3 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
NCSU Mass Spectro
metry Facility http://ch9000.chem.ncsu.edu/ |
| 4 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
European Mass
Spectrometry http://www.impub.co.uk/ems.html |
| 5 / 10 |  |
KeyWords spectrometry |
The
Chemistry Department Spectrometry Lab : Home Page http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena.mit.edu/org/s/speclab/www/ |
| 6 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
Mass
Spectrometry at Utrecht University http://www.chem.ruu.nl/amsmass/www/teaching.html |
| 7 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
Bruker Mass Spect
rometry http://applab.bruker.com/ms/ |
| 8 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
Bruker Mass Spectrom
etry http://www.bruker.com/ms/ |
| 9 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
EMBL
Mass Spectrometry Page http://mac-mann6.embl-heidelberg.de/MassSpec/MS.html |
| 10 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectrometry |
M-Scan provides Mass
S pectrometry services in chemical, pharmaceutical, oil, e http://www.m-scan.com/ |
| 1 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Spectroscopy
http://chipo.chem.uic.edu/SpecHome.html |
| 2 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Emission
Spectroscopy, Analytical Microwave Spectroscopy, Analytical Applicati http://www.elsevier.com/catalogue/SA2/205/06020/06024/501093/501093.html |
| 3 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Souther
n California Clinical Spectroscopy Service http://www.hmri.org/~soccss/1HMRS.html |
| 4 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Spectroscopy:
Relating Spectroscopy to the Wavefunction http://www-wilson.ucsd.edu/education/spectroscopy/spwaveelectron.html |
| 5 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Spectroscopy:
Relating Spectroscopy to the Wavefunction http://www-wilson.ucsd.edu/education/spectroscopy/spwavespectra.html |
| 6 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Stud
y of DX centers in Zn_0.2Cd_0.8Te:Cl by thermoelectric effect spectroscopy
http://aps.org/BAPSMAR96/abs/S800039.html |
| 7 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Internet
Catalogue Spectroscopy http://www.elsevier.com/catalogue/SA2/205/06080/06080/Menu.html |
| 8 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Southern
California Clinical Spectroscopy Service http://www.pi.net/~sofa/homeuk.htm |
| 9 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Spectroscopy
Links on the WWW http://www.ibd.nrc.ca/~mansfield/spec_links.html |
| 10 / 10 | |
KeyWords spectroscopy |
Vibrational
Spectroscopy http://www.elsevier.nl/catalogue/SA2/205/06080/06080/504273/504273.html |
For someone wanting to find what information is available on the WWW in the area of analytical chemistry, The Informant is a quick and easy way to get started. As this facility improves, and others like it are developed, these personal search agent engines will become more prevalent. While not a real alternative to the commercial databases for chemical information, these are a cheap and easy way to get started. They are also a good way to learn how to create and modify search profiles.
Over time I would expect that all journal publishers will finally get themselves organized and make the names of authors, titles of papers, and abstracts of their journals available via the WWW, and these intelligent search agent engines will become very valuable tools for chemists. Besides obtaining information much faster from the journal publishers (as opposed to the secondary information services such as ISI and Chemical Abstracts Service who need to wait until they get the journal information from the publisher) one will be able to get this information at no cost, which should reduce the need and cost of searching DIALOG , Questel-Orbit, CAS/STN , and other such fee-based information services. This notion of using the using the Internet as a first step in a search process is not new, but it has not yet come to chemistry. With a little effort on the part of journal publishers, good intelligent agents, and an informed community of users, this process may well become one of the really practical and useful aspects of the Inernet.
(1) With permission (e-mail from Robert Gray of October 29, 1996) I have borrowed heavily from the material provided at this web site in describing their system.
(2)The Informant is a service of the Computer Engineering Group at Dartmouth College. The developers are Aditya Bhasin, Professor George V. Cybenko, Bob Gray and Katsuhiro Moizumi.
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